Psychology Commons^™

Medicalization Of Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Adhd, Childhood Bipolar Disorder And Tantrums: Scientific Breakthrough, Or Broad-Based Delusion?, W. Wyatt

W. Joseph Wyatt

Clearly, a number of psychological and behavioral disorders arise within our biology. These include autism, Down’s syndrome, those due to toxin exposure, metabolic and endocrine difficulties, and several others. In contrast, there is minimal research evidence to support biological origins of the vast number of common disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia or child problems such as conduct disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), childhood bipolar disorder, oppositional behaviors or tantrums. These disorders have been medicalized when, in the absence of supportive research evidence, they are said to be caused by genetic defects, chemical imbalances or other biological phenomena. …

Shared And Idiosyncratic Cortical Activation Patterns In Autism Revealed Under Continuous Real-Life Viewing Conditions, Uri Hasson, Galia Avidan, Hagar Gelbard, Ignacio Vallines, Michal Harel, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

Although widespread alterations in cortical structure have been documented in individuals with autism, the functional implications of these alterations remain to be determined. Here, we adopted a novel inter-subject correlation (inter-SC) and intra-subject correlation (intra-SC) technique to quantify the reliability of the spatio-temporal responses of functional MR activity in adults with autism during free-viewing of a popular audio–visual movie. Whereas these complex stimuli evoke highly reliable shared response time courses in typical individuals, cortical activity was more variable across individuals with autism (low inter-SC). Interestingly, when we measured the responses within an autistic individual across repeated presentations of the movie, …

Practice Makes Improvement: How Adults With Autism Out-Perform Others In A Naturalistic Visual Search Task, Cleotilde Gonzalez, Jolie Martin, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit superior performance in visual search compared to others. However, most studies demonstrating this advantage have employed simple, uncluttered images with fully visible targets. We compare the performance of high-functioning adults with ASD and matched controls on a naturalistic luggage screening task. Although the two groups were equally accurate in detecting targets, the ASD adults improve in their correct elimination of target-absent bags faster than controls. This feature of their behavior is extremely important for many real-world monitoring tasks that require sustained attention for long time periods. Further analyses suggest that this improvement …

Endogenous Spatial Attention: Evidence For Intact Functioning In Adults With Autism, Michael Grubb, Marlene Behrmann, Ryan Egan, Nancy Minshew, Marisa Carrasco, David Heeger

Marlene Behrmann

Rapid manipulation of the attention field (i.e. the location and spread of visual spatial attention) is a critical aspect of human cognition, and previous research on spatial attention in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has produced inconsistent results. In a series of three psychophysical experiments, we evaluated claims in the literature that individuals with ASD exhibit a deficit in voluntarily controlling the deployment and size of the spatial attention field. We measured the spatial distribution of performance accuracies and reaction times to quantify the sizes and locations of the attention field, with and without spatial uncertainty (i.e. the lack …

The Anatomy Of The Callosal And Visual-Association Pathways In High-Functioning Autism: A Dti Tractography Study, Cibu Thomas, Kate Humphreys, Kwan-Jin Jung, Nancy Minshew, Marlene Behrmann

Marlene Behrmann

There is increasing recognition that many of the core behavioral impairments that characterize autism potentially emerge from poor neural synchronization across nodes comprising dispersed cortical networks. A likely candidate for the source of this atypical functional connectivity in autism is an alteration in the structural integrity of intra- and inter-hemispheric white matter (WM) tracts that form large-scale cortical networks. To test this hypothesis, in a group of adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and matched control participants, we used diffusion tensor tractography to compare the structural integrity of three intra-hemispheric visual-association WM tracts, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), the inferior fronto-occipito …

Effects Of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) On Response Perseveration And Ultrasonic Vocalization Emission In Rat During Development, Howard Cromwell

Howard Casey Cromwell

The 3 major symptoms of autistic spectrum disorders include 1) social behavioral alterations, 2) problems in communication and 3) higher-order motoric deficits of perseveration and stereotyped movements. Previous work has shown that early developmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alters rat pup social motivation and juvenile rat social recognition/investigation. The present work extends this previous research by examining how perinatal PCB exposure alters motoric functions and communication abilities at different stages of development. Action perseveration was examined using performance measures from a T-maze environment. Communication abilities were evaluated by monitoring ultrasound emission in rat pups during a brief isolation from …

Best Practice News: School Psychologist Wins Book Award, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Pragmatics, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Mindblindness, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

No abstract provided.

Capella University Sponsors Autism Event, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

A Best Practice Guide To Assessment And Intervention For Autism And Asperger Syndrome In Schools, Lee Wilkinson

Lee A Wilkinson, PhD

Filling a critical void in the autism literature, this authoritative yet accessible book provides expert guidance to psychologists, advocates, consultants, support professionals, and parents. Grounded in the latest research, special features include an index to 50 evidence-based best practice recommendations and real world case examples to illustrate best practice in the field. This book is certain to become a widely used resource in the field of special education.

Diane Adreon, Associate Director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) comments that “Dr. Lee Wilkinson has produced a well-written, user-friendly, comprehensive guide to the …

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurobiology And Current Assessment Practices, Ryan Allen, Diana Robins, Scott Decker

Ryan A. Allen

This study reviews recent research related to the neurobiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) and provides an empirical analysis of current assessment practices. Data were collected through a survey of 117 school psychologists. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS), and Gilliam Asperger's Disorder Scale (GADS) were the most frequently used measures. Among the less popular, but more intensive instruments, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) appears to be gaining popularity within school-based evaluations. Generally, respondents approached the assessment of ASDs from a traditional psychoeducational perspective and reported the use of a very narrow range of …