The neural basis of third party social interaction perception in autism

Researchers in Baltimore, MD at Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute are interested in investigating the underlying neural mechanisms associated with perceiving social interactions. We are recruiting adults (ages 18-35 years) with and without autism. Participation in this study includes a 90–120-minute MRI scan, a 10-minute recall task, a 30-minute IQ assessment, and six questionnaires. Participants with autism will also be asked to complete a 1-hour interview. Participants will be compensated with a $60 VISA gift card at the end of their research appointment.

What are the goals of the study?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feeding difficulties of infants who are later diagnosed with autism compared to their neurotypical sibling to identify any feeding characteristics that would warrant increased monitoring for autism in infancy.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Completion of a 90-120-minute MRI scan, brief questionnaires, 10-minute recall task and 30-minute IQ assessment

How will this help families?

We are investigating the neural mechanisms underlying perceptions of social interactions which will enable researchers to develop better informed therapies and trainings focused on social skills acquisition

The goal of this project is to establish how our current professional understanding of autism matches with and/or clashes with social media depictions of autism, so that (1) clinicians understand how online experiences might impact their patients’ conceptions about autism, and perhaps themselves, and so that (2) consumers of social media have guidance as they seek information. The study team is made up of Seaver Autism Center researchers, and we decided to put together this project after hearing from our participants and seeing for ourselves the wide range of autism-related content on TikTok.

What are the goals of the study?

We are looking into how people feel about current social media perceptions of Autism. Everyone’s feeds are different and everyone’s relationship with ASD is different, so we want to gather information from people with different perspectives and report back so everyone can enjoy their feeds with a little more big-picture understanding of the strengths and dangers of this content. We also want to have autism professionals weigh in on autism symptoms mentioned in top-performing videos, so the general public can have some guidance on what symptoms are more or less related to autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

You will fill out an anonymous survey that will take anywhere between 2 and 10 minutes.

How will this help families?

Representation is so important. With over a billion users worldwide, TikTok has a tremendous impact on the way outsiders and people in the autism community are thinking about autism. The study team hopes that this study can provide more context and guidance for content consumers.

We are the Psychology of Language Lab at Princeton University, and we are studying how autistic children learn language. We will send families videos of picture books being read aloud, and will study whether different types of picture books can help autistic children learn new words. Families who participate in the study can earn up to $163.

What are the goals of the study?

The goal of this study is to learn more about why some autistic children have difficulty learning language, and to test a teaching method we think may help children learn new words more easily.

What will happen during the visit or online?

If you choose to participate in this study, we will send your family eight short videos of picture books being read aloud. We will also meet with you and your child on Zoom at the beginning and end of the study, during which we will show your child some pictures of objects and ask them to find objects that match. Finally, we will send you a questionnaire to fill out at the beginning and end of the study, and follow up with you three months after the end of the study to see how much your answers change.

How will this help families?

This study will help researchers develop new methods of teaching language to autistic children.

This research study aims to find out more about adults with autism spectrum disorder, including how adults with autism think, how their brains work, and how these things change as they get older.

What are the goals of the study?

The main goal of the study is to understand the aging process in people with autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

The study involves autism diagnostic evaluation at the SDSU Center for Autism, and a neuropsychological battery testing the individual’s memory, attention span, and other cognitive skills. Participants are also asked to undergo an MRI scan at the SDSU Imaging Center, which allows us to collect information about the brain anatomy and function. Because we are aiming to understand how people with autism age, we hope to repeat this evaluation in about 3-5 years, inviting participants to return for another scan and a set of assessments.

How will this help families?

Participants in this study report that they learn important information about their memory and other cognitive abilities from participating in the study. Broadly, the results of this study should help us understand how people with autism age – something that has not been studied nor well understood thus far.

Six-to-ten year old children with autism spectrum disorders are invited to participate in a fun study, which involves wearing an actigraphy watch for two weeks (to estimate the quality and other characteristics of the child’s sleep) and participation in one MRI session at SDSU Imaging Center. Both children and parents are asked to keep sleep diaries for the two weeks when the child is wearing the actigraphy watch. Finally, children are asked to take part in a brief cognitive testing session. The study aims to understand the links between sleep (problems) and brain development in children with autism.

What are the goals of the study?

This study aims to understand potential mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in autism.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Children will be asked to wear an actigraphy watch for two weeks, keep sleep diaries, take part in one MRI scan, and complete a brief behavioral assessment session.

How will this help families?

Sleep problems affect 50-80% of individuals with autism and can have cascading effects on development, everyday function, and quality of life. However, the mechanisms underlying sleep disturbances in ASD are not understood. A better insight into the potential mechanisms of sleep disturbances in autism may ultimately help with developing new treatments targeting sleep in children with autism.

Researchers at Seattle Children’s are looking for caregivers of 2 to 12 year old children without autism spectrum disorder or challenging behaviors (e.g., aggression, destruction) that require intervention to take part in an online survey study and an optional in-person EEG visit. Parents will be compensated with a $50 gift card for completing the questionnaires and a $50 gift card for completing the in-person visit.

What are the goals of the study?

The goal of this study is to study parent and child problem-solving and emotions in an intervention that includes parents.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Parents will complete an online survey (about 30 minutes) about their and their child’s problem-solving and emotions and in a one-time in-person EEG and cognitive visit that includes problem-solving and other tasks.

How will this help families?

The study is being done to learn more about parents’ emotion and mental processes.

The purpose of this study is to understand the healthcare experiences of both non-autistic and autistic adults as well as their related needs. Participants that support adult family members at healthcare appointments will have the option to answer additional questions.

What are the goals of the study?

To improve education to reduce healthcare disparity and to offer guidance on universal design as well as accessibility.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Take an online survey

How will this help families?

Improve education for healthcare professionals and office workers

Dr. Eggebrecht and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are mapping brain function in children with autism spectrum disorder with diffuse optical tomography.

What are the goals of the study?

Dr. Eggebrecht and researchers at Washington University in St. Louis aim to investigate brain function underlying development in children who have or are at risk for developing Autism Spectrum Disorder.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Children will complete a 1-hour brain imaging scan and developmental testing at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Parents will complete online and phone surveys from home. Families will be compensated $25/hour for their participation.

How will this help families?

We hope that, in the future, society may benefit from study results which increase our understanding of typical and altered development of brain function. We hope that in the future, optical imaging will complement the current brain imaging technologies in the management of a variety of patient populations.

This study is being conducted by Dr. Lee Mason and Alexis Bolds of Cook Children’s Health Care System and Texas Christian University’s Burnett School of Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas. Our research is designed to assess your child’s language development over the course of two years. Every six months we will ask you and your child to take part in a telehealth-based functional language assessment that will last approximately one hour. At the completion of this project, we will compare the different language profiles of all participants.

What are the goals of the study?

We are asking you to take part in this research because your child’s language skills are still developing, and we are trying to learn more about how functional language develops over time. The purpose of this research is to determine whether we can accurately conduct language assessments via telehealth, and to better understand the differences in language development between children with and without autism spectrum disorder.

What will happen during the visit or online?

A language assessment called a “verbal operant experimental (VOX) analysis” will be conducted every six months as part of this research. The VOX is a functional analysis of language that has been carefully designed to assess four language domains: conversing, labeling, echoing, and requesting. Across each of these conditions, we will assess your child’s ability to say the same words. Caregivers will also be asked to complete a brief demographic survey at the time of each assessment to identify potential factors that may be related to language development. We expect each assessment to take approximately 45-60 minutes of your time.

How will this help families?

After each VOX analysis, you will receive an assessment report that describes strengths and weaknesses of your functional language skills. The report provides recommendations for helping to remediate any deficit areas identified by the assessment.

The genetic changes we study in TIGER3 have been connected with autism and developmental disabilities, but we are just beginning to learn how those changes might affect each person and family differently, and what effects might be shared versus unique across those genetic variants. By learning more about the shared and unique effects of these rare variants, we aim to contribute to (1) better understanding of co-occurring medical and behavioral conditions, and (2) development of individualized supports for affected individuals and their families.

What are the goals of the study?

In the TIGER research study, we are learning more about individuals with genetic events associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and/or developmental delay (DD). We hope to better understand and describe how different gene changes influence the development, behavior, and experiences of children and adults. Individuals with these genetic changes may have neurodevelopmental differences that we would like to better understand.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Eligible families participate in a consent phone call, and are then invited to complete a series of video- or phone calls to assess for autism-associated features, adaptive skills, cognitive skills, and medical history. Caregivers are also invited to complete a variety of online questionnaires, including measures of adaptive behavior, treatment history, sleep habits, gastrointestinal symptoms, social-emotional functioning, and executive function. Biospecimen (blood or saliva) collection is completed remotely. Finally, families are offered a feedback session with a clinician and a written report of standardized measures and recommendations.

How will this help families?

Families will be compensated $100 for their participation. Participants may receive feedback about their family’s genetic event(s). Families will also receive written and/or verbal feedback regarding adaptive behavior, social communication skills, language skills, and cognitive skills as available from completed study activities.

This study is important as it aims to better understand the impact of anxiety for adolescent ASD females, who are currently understudied and often experience diagnostic delays. Additionally, it examines the intersectionality of ASD, sex and gender and its impact on anxiety during this pivotal period of development.

What are the goals of the study?

This study aims to better understand the interplay between sex, gender and ASD. Specifically, it will examine the experiences of ASD females with a focus on the presence and impact of anxiety in adolescence. ASD females are at elevated risk, especially during the transitional period of adolescence where ASD youth report increased rates of bullying and rejection, potentially contributing to co-occurring conditions such as depression, anxiety and suicidality.

What will happen during the visit or online?

Participants will complete diagnostic assessments, self-report tools, social and non-social stress tests and optional eye tracking paradigms. During the assessment, heart rate data will be collected with Actiheart Heart Rate and Activity Data Loggers. Caregivers will complete measures of ASD symptomatology, gender-role development, pubertal status and anxiety.

How will this help families?

This study aims to help families affected by autism, particularly female adolescents, with a goal to better characterize bio-behavioral markers of anxiety in ASD females. Adolescents with ASD have been reported to experience higher levels of bullying and rejection from peers which can lead to increased rates of depression, anxiety and suicidality. ASD females are particularly vulnerable to anxiety and therefore increased research is needed to better understand their experiences and the role of biological sex, gender and symptomatology in predicting anxiety.

The study of people with new onset face blindness points to a particular brain circuit. We are investigating if this same brain circuit is involved in face recognition difficulty in individuals with autism. If successful, this study may identify new ways to improve face recognition ability.

What are the goals of the study?

Some individuals with autism have difficulties related to face processing and recognition, which can have substantial effects on everyday life. For this study, we hope to figure out where these face processing difficulties arise in the brain. This research could help us provide targets for treatment and could aid in the development of biomarkers for future detection.

What will happen during the visit or online?

The study involves one virtual visit and one visit to Boston Children’s Hospital. The first study visit will involve a series of computer activities designed to measure face processing and should last around 2 hours. The second study visit will involve an MRI, during which the participant will complete additional face processing tasks. This second visit may last up to 3 hours. In between these two visits, we will also share a link to some questionnaires to be completed online by the participant and a caregiver.

How will this help families?

It may lead to new treatments for face recognition difficulties which may help social development.