Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study

Abstract Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with socially embedded movements such as imitation and interpersonal synchrony (IPS); however, related movement characteristics and underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. This study compared the movement character...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wan-Chun Su, McKenzie Culotta, Daisuke Tsuzuki, Anjana Bhat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2021-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94519-4
_version_ 1818694542997585920
author Wan-Chun Su
McKenzie Culotta
Daisuke Tsuzuki
Anjana Bhat
author_facet Wan-Chun Su
McKenzie Culotta
Daisuke Tsuzuki
Anjana Bhat
author_sort Wan-Chun Su
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with socially embedded movements such as imitation and interpersonal synchrony (IPS); however, related movement characteristics and underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. This study compared the movement characteristics and cortical activation patterns of children with and without ASD during a whole-body, sway synchrony task when different levels of social information were provided. Thirty children with and without ASD (mean age: 12.6 years, SE: 0.6 years) participated. Movement kinematics and fNIRS-based cortical activation were recorded when the child observed an adult tester sway side to side, when they swayed solo, or when they swayed face to face with the tester with or without fingertips touching (i.e., IPS). Children with ASD showed reduced synchrony and smaller sway amplitude compared to typically developing children without ASD. They showed reduced cortical activation over the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus during IPS and did not show significant increase in cortical activation when more social information was provided. The cortical activation findings were significantly associated with IPS behaviors and social communication performance. The ASD-related neurobiomarkers identified in our study could be used as objective measures to evaluate intervention effects in children with ASD.
first_indexed 2024-12-17T13:31:15Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d7fa2a570a394544be296e0ff1f1a9ca
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2045-2322
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-17T13:31:15Z
publishDate 2021-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj.art-d7fa2a570a394544be296e0ff1f1a9ca2022-12-21T21:46:34ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222021-07-0111111310.1038/s41598-021-94519-4Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS studyWan-Chun Su0McKenzie Culotta1Daisuke Tsuzuki2Anjana Bhat3Department of Physical Therapy, University of DelawareDepartment of Physical Therapy, University of DelawareDepartment of Language Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan UniversityDepartment of Physical Therapy, University of DelawareAbstract Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulties with socially embedded movements such as imitation and interpersonal synchrony (IPS); however, related movement characteristics and underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. This study compared the movement characteristics and cortical activation patterns of children with and without ASD during a whole-body, sway synchrony task when different levels of social information were provided. Thirty children with and without ASD (mean age: 12.6 years, SE: 0.6 years) participated. Movement kinematics and fNIRS-based cortical activation were recorded when the child observed an adult tester sway side to side, when they swayed solo, or when they swayed face to face with the tester with or without fingertips touching (i.e., IPS). Children with ASD showed reduced synchrony and smaller sway amplitude compared to typically developing children without ASD. They showed reduced cortical activation over the inferior frontal gyrus and superior temporal sulcus during IPS and did not show significant increase in cortical activation when more social information was provided. The cortical activation findings were significantly associated with IPS behaviors and social communication performance. The ASD-related neurobiomarkers identified in our study could be used as objective measures to evaluate intervention effects in children with ASD.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94519-4
spellingShingle Wan-Chun Su
McKenzie Culotta
Daisuke Tsuzuki
Anjana Bhat
Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
Scientific Reports
title Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
title_full Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
title_fullStr Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
title_full_unstemmed Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
title_short Movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks: an fNIRS study
title_sort movement kinematics and cortical activation in children with and without autism spectrum disorder during sway synchrony tasks an fnirs study
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94519-4
work_keys_str_mv AT wanchunsu movementkinematicsandcorticalactivationinchildrenwithandwithoutautismspectrumdisorderduringswaysynchronytasksanfnirsstudy
AT mckenzieculotta movementkinematicsandcorticalactivationinchildrenwithandwithoutautismspectrumdisorderduringswaysynchronytasksanfnirsstudy
AT daisuketsuzuki movementkinematicsandcorticalactivationinchildrenwithandwithoutautismspectrumdisorderduringswaysynchronytasksanfnirsstudy
AT anjanabhat movementkinematicsandcorticalactivationinchildrenwithandwithoutautismspectrumdisorderduringswaysynchronytasksanfnirsstudy