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The Development of the Strengthening Skills Program for Autistic Adults: Feasibility & Acceptability
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For my thesis, I conducted a study on a healthy pediatric cohort to investigate how DNA methylation of genes related to myelin may predict total white matter volume in a healthy pediatric cohort. The relatively new field of neuroimaging epigenetics investigates how methylation of genes in peripheral tissue samples is related to certain structural or functional features of the brain, as measured by neuroimaging data. Research has already demonstrated that methylation of genes in peripheral tissues is related to a variety of brain disorders. We hypothesized that methylation of myelin-related genes as measured in saliva samples would predict total white matter volume in a healthy pediatric cohort. After processing DNA methylation data from saliva samples from participants, multiple linear regressions were ran to determine if DNA methylation of myelin related genes was related to total white matter volume, as measured by data from structural MRIs. Results showed that these genes, which included MOG, MBP, and MYRF, significantly predicted total white matter volume. Two genes that were significant in our results have been previously shown to produce proteins that are essential to the structure of myelin.
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Objective: This research intended to characterize the influence of sex and age on social cognition in adults with ASD using an adult sample. We hypothesized Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME) scores would be lower in adults with ASD, with a stronger relationship between decreasing performance aging effects compared to NTs. Additionally, we hypothesized deficits would be more severe in in males with ASD compared to females with ASD.
Methods: The RME task was administered to 181 adults to quantify ToM abilities. The participants consisted of 100 adults with ASD (69 males, 32 females; age range: 18-71, mean=39.45±1.613) and matched 81 NT adults (47 males, 34 females; age range: 18-70, mean=41.51±1.883). Multiple regression analyses examined interactions between diagnosis and age, diagnosis and sex, and diagnosis by age by sex. Exploratory within group analyses assessed 1) sex differences using ANCOVA, and 2) associations with age using Pearson correlation in SPSS.
Results: We found that NT adults performed better on the RME task than adults with ASD. Worse performance on the RME task correlated with greater age for the NT, but not ASD. Additionally, no influence of sex on RME scores was identified.
Discussion: These results are consistent with other studies indicate social cognition deficits in adults with ASD compared to NT adults. Additionally, we replicated findings that suggest ToM performance declines with age in NT adults. Fewer social relationships, smaller social networks, and reduced social engagement have been associated with aging in both NTs and individuals with ASD (Pratt & Norris, 1994). However, our cross-sectional sample suggests ToM abilities may not decline with age in adults with ASD as hypothesized. Longitudinal studies are needed to corroborate these findings. Further developments in this line of research may inform novel interventions tailored toward the growing population of adults with ASD. Ultimately, our research aims to improve quality of life across the lifespan for an already vulnerable population.