Division of Translational Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2023 Dec;130(12):1601-1607. doi: 10.1007/s00702-023-02683-w. Epub 2023 Aug 30.
It has been previously proposed that interventions aimed at integrating and co-activating music processing and motor control systems could have therapeutic potential for priming social skill development in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this study, we assessed this hypothesis through a wearable sensor platform called Ambulosono ("Ambulo"-walk; "sono"-sound) in which pleasurable children's musical stimuli are contingently linked to effortful motor action (locomotor step size), thus creating a motivational state proposed to be conducive to joint attention (JA) operation. Five participants were recruited from a community-based partner and were assessed by scoring responses following therapist-directed bids for JA. Multiple assessment sessions through a repeated time-series design were conducted to determine baseline and post-intervention scores. The intervention session consisted of approximately 15 min of Ambulosono exposure. Baseline and post-intervention data were aggregated and analyzed using a linear mixed-effect model. The wearable sensor and wireless headphones of the Ambulosono system were tolerated by the participants, and there were no adverse effects associated with the use of the device. We found an increase in the average responses to bids for JA during the Ambulosono intervention phase compared to baseline across participants. This increase did not appear to result from enhanced general arousal. Our pilot data support feasibility and further testing of Ambulosono as a therapeutic aid for integration into community-based ASD programs to augment shared child-therapist social interactions.
先前有人提出，旨在整合和共同激活音乐处理和运动控制系统的干预措施，可能具有激发自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童社交技能发展的治疗潜力。在这项研究中，我们通过一个名为 Ambulosono 的可穿戴传感器平台来评估这一假设，在该平台中，令人愉悦的儿童音乐刺激与费力的运动动作（步行步幅）有条件地联系在一起，从而创造出一种被认为有利于共同注意（JA）运作的激励状态。从一个基于社区的合作伙伴那里招募了五名参与者，并根据治疗师指导的 JA 请求对他们的反应进行评分来评估。通过重复时间序列设计进行了多次评估会议，以确定基线和干预后的分数。干预会议包括大约 15 分钟的 Ambulosono 暴露。使用线性混合效应模型对基线和干预后数据进行汇总和分析。参与者可以耐受 Ambulosono 系统的可穿戴传感器和无线耳机，并且使用该设备没有任何不良反应。我们发现，与基线相比，参与者在 Ambulosono 干预阶段对 JA 请求的平均反应增加。这种增加似乎不是由于增强的一般觉醒引起的。我们的初步数据支持将 Ambulosono 作为一种治疗辅助工具进行进一步测试的可行性，以整合到基于社区的 ASD 计划中，从而增强儿童与治疗师之间的共享社交互动。
