• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.77-90
• /
• 2018

Behavioral studies of emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have yielded mixed results. Most of the studies focused on emotion recognition abilities with regard to ASD using stimuli with unisensory modality, making it difficult to determine difficulties in real life emotion perception in ASD. Herein, we review the recent behavioral and cognitive neuroscience studies on emotion recognition functions in ASD, including both unisensory and multisensory emotional information, to elucidate the possible difficulties in emotion recognition in ASD. In our study, we discovered that people with ASD have problems in the process of integrating emotional information during emotion recognition tasks. The following four points are discussed: (1) The restrictions of previous studies, (2) deficits in emotion recognition in ASD especially in recognizing multisensory information, (3) possible compensation mechanisms for emotion recognition in ASD, and (4) the possible roles of attention and language functions in emotion recognition in ASD. The compensatory mechanisms proposed herein for ASD with regard to emotion recognition abilities could contribute to a therapeutic approach for improving emotion recognition functions in ASD.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.58-61
• /
• 2015

The people with disabilities living in residential facilities have more difficulty in caring oral hygiene than those living at home. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the recent 2014 dental treatment records of free mobile dental clinic service for disabled people in Korea. 203 disabled living in residential facilities participated in mobile dental clinic. Patients classified according to types of disability. Mental retardation were 75.3%, mental disorder were 6.0%, crippled disorder were 7.4%, brain disorder were 6.5%, visual disorder were1.4%, auditory and speech disorder were 2.3% and autism disorder were 0.9%. Performed treatments were 99 scaling and curettage, 88 fluoride varnish and TBI, 4 extraction, 1 endodontic treatment, 16 caries control (resin filling, GI filling), 1 denture repair and 8 refuse the treatment. Free mobile dental clinic can not provide complex dental treatment. So, the organization should systemize advanced dental treatment and regular preventive programs. Furthermore, we need to have a more concerns about the people with disabilities living in residential facilities and constantly participate on a dental voluntary work.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.160-175
• /
• 1991

The purpose of this study is to investigate the parental marital relationships and the parent-child relationships of child psychiatric parents and its control group. This study was carried out two questionnaire instruments ; The marital satisfaction inventory(MSI) and the dyadic adjustment scale(DAS). The subjects are parents of the child psychiatric patients. A matched control group and parents of child psychiatric parents in Seoul area which were collected from July 1987 to September 1987, and classified into five subgroups : 1 Psychiatric disorder 2) Neurotic disorder 3) Tic disorder 4) Autistic disorder 5) Mental retardation. The results are as following ; 1) M.S.I scale scores of parents of patients group are lower than that of control group. 2) D.A.S scale score of parents of patients group is significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.01). 3) The global distress scale(GDS) of the M.S.I. was most positively correlated with affective communication(AFC) and problem-sloving communication(PSC). 4) Female shoed more modern concept of role identification than male but tend to have heavier role assignment especially in child rearing practices which could be characterized by maternal domination. 5) Affective communication and sexual relationship between married couple and child rearing practices are influenced by their own family history of distress. 6) The marital global distress scale(GDS) score was highest in the parents of psychosis, the next in the parents of neurosis, autism, mental retardation, and tic disorder in descending order of severity. 7) The dyadic maladjustment score was highest in the parents of psychosis, the next in the parents of neurosis, tic, autism and mental retardation in descending order of severity. 8) Conflict in child rearing and parenting problems were particularly prominent in parents of the tic patients, and their marital relationship was not significantly disturbed. The above finding suggested that couple adjustment and marital dissatisfaction were closely related with child rearing problems and the children's disorder. So marital dissatisfaction and marital maladjustment seem to play a significant role in the genesis of psychosis and neurosis not much in autism and mental retardation.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.205-210
• /
• 2012

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical profile, efficacy, and safety of long-term treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) in Korean autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) patients. Methods Effectiveness was assessed through a retrospective review of self-reported target symptom improvement at the last follow-up visit. Changes in illness severity and improvement were measured using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity (CGI-S) of illness and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) Scales. Tolerability was assessed through a review of the reason for discontinuation of SSRI and documented adverse events. Results A total of 21 ASDs patients (aged 9 to 19 years) treated with SSRI during July 2010 to July 2011 in department of child and adolescent psychiatry of Seoul National Hospital were identified. The mean duration of SSRI treatment was 47.9 (standard deviation = 36.9) months (range 0.7-114.5), and the mean fluoxetine equivalent dosage of SSRIs was $27.1{\pm}10.8$ mg. Nineteen (90.5%) patients were using concomitant medication. We found that SSRIs were prescribed for symptoms of agitation, stereotyped behavior, aggression, depression, impulsivity and self-injury in ASDs. Ten patients (47.6%) reported improvement in their target symptom after SSRI treatment based on CGI-I scores (CGI-I ${\leq}$ 2). The side effects were reported in 5 patients (23.8%) ; vomiting (n = 2, 9.5%), excessive mood elevation (n = 1, 4.8%), insomnia (n = 1, 4.8%), somnolence (n = 1, 4.8%) and decreased appetite (n = 1, 4.8%). Self-injurious behavior was reported in one patient (4.8%). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that SSRIs may be used effectively in children and adolescents diagnosed with ASDs. However, safety issues need to be considered carefully when choosing SSRIs for treatment. Future controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.154-160
• /
• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical characteristics of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) using methylphenidate (MPH). Methods : Retrospective review of the charts of 79 children and adolescents with ASDs, who visited the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Seoul National Hospital, from July 2010 to July 2011, was conducted. Changes in illness severity and improvement were measured using the Clinical Global Impression-Severity of illness (CGI-S) and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) Scales. Results : We found that MPH was prescribed in 23 (29.1%) children and adolescents. Of the 23 patients on MPH, 4 patients (17.4%) were on MPH monotherapy and 18 patients (78.3%) were using risperidone concomitantly. MPH was prescribed primarily for symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity in ASDs patients. The mean dosage of MPH was $26.2{\pm}11.1$mg/day and mean duration of treatment was $31.9{\pm}28.7$ months. Mean CGI-S score improved significantly from baseline to endpoint (from $5.4{\pm}0.6$ to $4.1{\pm}0.9$ ; p<.01). MPH was reported to be effective in 17 patients (17/23, 73.9%), and 10 patients (10/23, 43.5%) reported side effects. Side effects included decreased appetite (4/23, 17.4%), tic (2/23, 8.6%), sleep disturbances (2/23, 8.6%), headache (1/23, 4.3%) and irritability (1/23, 4.3%). Conclusion : The results of this study demonstrate that MPH may be used effectively and safely in children and adolescents with ASDs with hyperactivity and impulsivity. Future controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.109-123
• /
• 2013

The discovery of the mirror neuron system (MNS) is one of the most important neuroscientific achievements in the 20th century. Some researchers had reported that MNS dysfunction was discovered in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Finally, the 'broken mirror' theory of ASD was announced in the mid 2000's. According to this theory, ASD cannot simulate the mind and behavior of others due to MNS dysfunction; therefore, they cannot imitate the behaviors and empathized with the mind of others. However, ASD does not always show imitation problems. The researchers who have criticized the 'broken mirror' theory proposed the 'social top-down response modulation (STORM)' theory. On STORM theory, the medial prefrontal cortex or temporo-parietal junction, brain areas related with mentalising, might modulate MNS according to social context. We compared the strengths and weaknesses of each theory.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.374-382
• /
• 2017

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains unexplained and untreated despite the high attention of research in recent years. Aside from its various characteristics is the baffling male preponderance over the female population. Using a validated animal model of ASD which is the telomerase reverse transcriptase overexpressing mice (TERT-tg), we conducted ASD-related behavioral assessments and protein expression experiments to mark the difference between male and females of this animal model. After statistically analyzing the results, we found significant effects of TERT overexpression in sociability, social novelty preference, anxiety, nest building, and electroseizure threshold in the males but not their female littermates. Along these differences are the male-specific increased expressions of postsynaptic proteins which are the NMDA and AMPA receptors in the prefrontal cortex. The vGluT1 presynaptic proteins, but not GAD, were upregulated in both sexes of TERT-tg mice, although it is more significantly pronounced in the male group. Here, we confirmed that the behavioral effect of TERT overexpression in mice was male-specific, suggesting that the aberration of this gene and its downstream pathways preferentially affect the functional development of the male brain, consistent with the male preponderance in ASD.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.273-278
• /
• 2015

Objectives : We retrospectively investigated the efficacy and tolerability of risperidone monotherapy in subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In addition, we did mixed effect model analysis of the effects of risperidone in patients with ASDs naturalistically treated in a routine clinical setting to determine whether the clinical effects were maintained and the side effects were tolerable. Methods : This retrospective study assessed children and adolescents with ASD, who were on risperidone monotherapy from July 2010 to July 2011 at the Child and Adolescent ASD Clinic at Seoul National Hospital. Outcome measures included the Clinical Global Impression-Severity of Illness (CGI-S) and the CGI-Improvement (CGI-I) scales along with other clinical indices: dosage, target symptoms, and side effects. Results : The mean dose of risperidone in 47 children and adolescents with ASD (40 males, 7 females; age range 5-19 years) who were on risperidone monotherapy was $1.6{\pm}0.8mg/day$, and the mean duration of the treatment period was $20.2{\pm}17.3months$. Aggressive behavior, stereotypic behavior, irritability, and self-injurious behavior were the most frequent target symptoms of risperidone. The most common side effects were weight gain followed by somnolence and extrapyramidal symptoms. In a mixed effects model analysis of CGI-I scores, the mean CGI-I score at the 1 month follow-up was significantly different from the mean CGI-I score of the 3-month follow-up (p=.046), and the CGI-I scores were equally maintained over 3 to 48 months [F(6, 28.9)=4.393, p=.003]. Of the 47 patients, 33 patients (70.2%) were identified as the response group, showing an end point CGI-I rating of 3 or under and having continued risperidone treatment for at least 6 months. The baseline CGI-S score showed significant association with clinical response to risperidone (p=.005), the mean baseline CGI-S was higher in the response group compared to the non-response group. Conclusion : In this study, clinical improvement of risperidone stabilized around 3 months and was equally maintained up to 48 months with tolerable side effects, supporting maintenance of risperidone treatment in children and adolescents with ASDs.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.61-87
• /
• 2016

With broad individual variability in social communication skills of children with autism spectrum disorders and increasing focus on interventions targeting social communication of this population, there is a need for systematic analysis of how social communication outcomes are measured. This study aimed to systematically analyze the measurement tools used in the music therapy interventions for improving social communication of children with ASD. Electronic databases and music therapy journals were searched for controlled studies published between 1980 and 2015. A total of 21 studies were included for the analysis. The results demonstrated that direct observation of behaviors was the most frequently used and the combination of targeted social communication areas and specific measurements used for a specific skill varied among the studies. In addition, 90.4% of studies reported interrater reliability. These results indicate that there has been a diversity in approaches to measure social communication skills despite increasing attempts for systematic measurements. In consideration of the nature of social communication development in children with ASD, multifaceted strategy to understand and assess the target skills in terms of specific behavior acquisition, social functioning in general, and social cognition was recommended.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.287-293
• /
• 2011

Objectives : The region of chromosome 5p14 is known to be associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The cadherin9 (CDH9) and cadherin10 (CDH10) genes are located in the region of chromosome 5p14 and reported to be associated with ASD in the Caucasian population. We performed an association study to identify if single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on the CDH9 and CDH10 genes are associated in the Korean population. Methods : Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of 214 patients with ASD and 258 controls. SNPs selected from two genes were genotyped using an Illumina Golden-Gate Genotyping assay with VeraCode technology. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS and Plink software. Results : All controls and ASD patients were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In the results of logistic regression analyses for the genotype model and the chi-square test for the allele model, we found that SNPs on the CDH9 and CDH10 genes were not associated with ASD. Conclusion : Our data suggests that the CDH9 and CDH10 genes are not associated with ASD in the Korean population.