Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Autism
Description
Mental illness has always been a stark fact of life, whether it affects people directly or indirectly. More and more research is now showing that mental illness is becoming increasingly more widespread in the U.S. This poses a serious problem to our society in terms of treatment of mental illness, as well as the costs that are involved with treating those who are affected with different disorders. According to the CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, about 1 in 68 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A large number of these children are given psychotropic medications when there is no real proof of their efficacy. Our children are our society's future, so how can we aide parents of these young children to ultimately benefit their future? As a result of my research in the gut-brain connection, I have developed an application called Portal. Portal will serve the parents of children with autism in assisting with their daily lives and teaching them about the most up to date research. This application will work in conjunction with thesis material developed in the Visual Communication Design program to create a well-rounded approach to incorporating knowledge of the gut-brain connection in everyday life. Portal will have a variety of capabilities including that of autism related news, diet plans, schedules, community resources, and medication planning. There will be a daily tip or reminder to incorporate knowledge of the gut-brain connection in daily life. This can be something as simple as a reminder to eat vegetables to a fact about the research. The main goal of Portal is to assist parents in adapting to a lifestyle with ASD easier and healthier for both parents and children alike.
ContributorsChen, Cynthia Yue (Author) / Sanft, Alfred (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face heightened risk of co-occurring psychiatric conditions, especially depression and anxiety disorders, which contribute to seven-fold higher suicide rates than the general population. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an 8-week meditation intervention centered around training continuous redirection of attention toward present moment experience, and has been shown to improve mental health in autistic adults. However, the underlying therapeutic neural mechanisms and whether behavioral and brain changes are mindfulness-specific have yet to be elucidated. In this randomized clinical trial, I utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to characterize fMRI functional activity (Study 1) and connectivity (Study 2) and EEG neurophysiological (Study 3) changes between MBSR and a social support/relaxation education (SE) active control group. Study 1 revealed an MBSR-specific increase in the midcingulate cortex fMRI blood oxygen level dependent signal which was associated with reduced depression. Study 2 identified nonspecific intervention improvements in depression, anxiety, and autistic, and MBSR-specific improvements in the mindfulness trait ‘nonjudgment toward experience’ and in the executive functioning domain of working memory. MBSR-specific decreases in insula-thalamus and frontal pole-posterior cingulate functional connectivity was associated with improvements in anxiety, mindfulness traits, and working memory abilities. Both MBSR and SE groups showed decreased amygdala-sensorimotor and frontal pole-insula connectivity which correlated with reduced depression. Study 3 consisted of an EEG spectral power analysis at high-frequency brainwaves associated with default mode network (DMN) activity. Results showed MBSR-specific and nonspecific decreases in beta- and gamma-band power, with effects being generally more robust in the MBSR group; additionally, MBSR-specific decreases in posterior gamma correlated with anxiolytic effects. Collectively, these studies suggest: 1) social support is sufficient for improvements in depression, anxiety, and autistic traits; 2) MBSR provides additional benefits related to mindfulness traits and working memory; and 3) distinct and shared neural mechanisms of mindfulness training in adults with ASD, implicating the salience and default mode networks and high-frequency neurophysiology. Findings bear relevance to the development of personalized medicine approaches for psychiatric co-morbidity in ASD, provide putative targets for neurostimulation research, and warrant replication and extension using advanced multimodal imaging approaches.
ContributorsPagni, Broc (Author) / Braden, B. Blair (Thesis advisor) / Newbern, Jason (Thesis advisor) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022