Reduced Visual Evoked Potential Amplitude in Autistic Children with Co-Occurring Features of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Provided the significant overlap in features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there is a critical need to identify transdiagnostic markers that could meaningfully stratify subgroups. The objective of this study was to compare the visual evoked potential (VEP) between 30 autistic children, 17 autistic children with co-occurring ADHD presentation (ASD + ADHD), and 21 neurotypical children (NTC). Electroencephalography was recorded while children passively viewed a pattern-reversal stimulus. Mean amplitude of the P1 event-related potential was extracted from a midline occipital channel and compared between groups. P1 mean amplitude was reduced in the ASD + ADHD group compared to the ASD and NTC groups, indicating a distinct pattern of brain activity in autistic children with co-occurring ADHD features.

Associations of activity, sedentary, and sleep behaviors with cognitive and social-emotional health in early childhood.

Background: Early childhood is important for cognitive and social-emotional development, and a time in which to promote healthy movement behaviors (sedentary behavior, physical activity, and sleep). Movement behaviors may have interactive influences on cognition and social-emotional factors in young children, but most previous research has explored them independently. The purpose of this study was to determine if movement behaviors are associated with measures of cognitive and social-emotional health in young children and if so, to describe optimal compositions of movement behaviors of a daily cycle for such outcomes. Methods: Children (n = 388, 33 to 70 months, 44.6% female) from a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03285880, first posted September 18, 2017) wore accelerometers on their wrists for 24-h for 9.56 ± 3.3 days. Movement behavior compositions consisted of time spent in sedentary behaviors, light intensity physical activity, moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA), and sleep. Outcomes were cognitive (receptive vocabulary, declarative and procedural memory, and executive attention) and social-emotional measures (temperament and behavioral problems). Compositional linear regression models with isometric log ratios were used to investigate the relations between the movement behavior composition and the cognitive and social-emotional health measures. If a significant association was found between the composition and an outcome, we further explored the "optimal" 24-h time-use for said outcome. Results: Movement behavior compositions were associated with receptive vocabulary. The composition associated with the predicted top five percent of vocabulary scores consisted of 12.1 h of sleep, 4.7 h of sedentary time, 5.6 h of light physical activity, and 1.7 h of MVPA. Conclusions: While behavior compositions are related to vocabulary ability in early childhood, our findings align with the inconclusiveness of the current evidence regarding other developmental outcomes. Future research exploring activities within these four movement behaviors, that are meaningful to cognitive and social-emotional development, may be warranted. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44167-023-00016-6.

Inhibition in developmental disorders: A comparison of inhibition profiles between children with autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and comorbid symptom presentation.

LAY ABSTRACT: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also have symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Children with ASD and ADHD often experience difficulties with inhibition. This study had the goal of understanding inhibition in children with ASD, ADHD, ASD + ADHD, and children who are typically developing (TD) using tasks that measured several aspects of inhibition. Results indicate that children with ASD + ADHD had greater difficulty inhibiting behavioral responses than TD children. Children with ASD + ADHD also differed from children with ASD and with ADHD in their inhibition of distracting information and strategic slowing of response speed. The four groups did not differ in their avoidance of potential losses. Children with ASD + ADHD exhibit a unique profile of inhibition challenges suggesting they may benefit from targeted intervention matched to their abilities.

Effects of Sleep Extension on Inhibitory Control in Children With ADHD: A Pilot Study.

Objective: Children with ADHD often have sleep complaints and cognitive deficits. The aim of this pilot study was to determine whether sleep extension improves inhibitory control, a primary cognitive deficit in ADHD. Method: Children with (n = 11) and without (n = 15) ADHD participated in a within-subject sleep extension intervention that targeted nocturnal sleep duration. Sleep was assessed with actigraphy and polysomnography. Inhibitory control was assessed with a Go/No-Go task. Results: For children without ADHD, there was a significant main effect of time, such that morning inhibitory control was 10% greater than evening inhibitory control. However, inhibitory control did not differ between the baseline and extension conditions in this group. For children with ADHD, although morning inhibitory control did not differ from evening inhibitory control, sleep extension improved inhibitory control by 13% overall. Conclusion: These results suggest that a sleep extension intervention improves inhibitory control in children with ADHD.

Test-retest reliability of the N2 event-related potential in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

OBJECTIVE: The N2 ERP component is used as a biomeasure of executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of the current study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of N2 amplitude in this population. METHODS: ERPs were recorded from 7 to 11-year-old children with ASD during Flanker (n = 21) and Go/Nogo tasks (n = 14) administered at two time points separated by approximately three months. Reliability of the N2 component was examined using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). RESULTS: Reliability for mean N2 amplitude obtained during the Flanker task was moderate (congruent: ICC = 0.542, 95% CI [0.173, 0.782]; incongruent: ICC = 0.629, 95% CI [0.276, 0.831]). Similarly, reliability for the Go/Nogo task ranged from moderate to good ('go': ICC = 0.817, 95% CI [0.535, 0.937]; 'nogo': ICC = 0.578, 95% CI [0.075, 0.843]). CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the use of N2 amplitude as a biomeasure of executive function in school-aged children with ASD. SIGNIFICANCE: This research addresses a critical gap in clinical neurophysiology, as an understanding of the stability and reliability of the N2 component is needed in order to differentiate variance explained by repeated measurement versus targeted treatments and interventions.

Relations between caregiver-report of sleep and executive function problems in children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

BACKGROUND: Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience comorbid symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Additionally, children with ASD and ADHD often have sleep disturbances and deficits in executive functioning (EF). In typical development, sleep disturbances are causally linked to EF deficits and exacerbate ADHD-like symptoms. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine whether caregiver-report sleep and EF difficulties predict ADHD symptoms in children with ASD. METHODS: Caregiver-report of child sleep, EF, and ADHD symptom severity was collected for 101 children with ASD, 7-11 years of age. Hierarchical linear regressions tested the independent and interactive effects of sleep and EF in predicting ADHD symptoms. RESULTS: Children with ASD were more likely to have symptoms of ADHD if they experienced both sleep and EF difficulties. Children with difficulties in working memory were particularly at risk for clinically significant symptoms of ADHD. Notably, however, sleep did not mediate or moderate the relation between working memory and ADHD symptoms in this sample, suggesting that these variables act through independent mechanisms to increase vulnerability for comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: These results have clinical significance as sleep and EF deficits may identify an ASD subgroup that is at increased risk for a comorbid ADHD diagnosis.