• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• 제29권3호
• /
• pp.101-113
• /
• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the neural activity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients is different from that of normal individuals when performing aesthetic judgments. Methods: We recruited typical ASD patients without savant skills (ASD group, n=17) and healthy controls (HC group, n=19) for an functional magnetic resonance imaging study. All subjects were scanned while performing aesthetic judgment tasks on two kinds of artwork (magnificent landscape images and fractal images). Differences in brain activation between the two groups were assessed by contrasting neural activity during the tasks. Results: The aesthetic judgment score for all images was significantly lower in the ASD group than in the HC group. During the aesthetic judgment tasks, the ASD group showed less activation than the HC group in the anterior region of the superior frontal gyrus, and more activation in the temporoparietal area and insula, regardless of the type of images being judged. In addition, during the aesthetic judgment task for the fractal images, the ASD group exhibited greater neural activity in the amygdala and the posterior region of the middle/inferior temporal gyrus (Brodmann area 37) than the HC group. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the brain activation patterns associated with aesthetic experiences in ASD patients may differ from those of normal individuals.

• 감성과학
• /
• 제26권3호
• /
• pp.115-128
• /
• 2023

본 연구는 고기능 자폐 스펙트럼 장애아동을 대상으로 App-기반 청자 대화기술 훈련프로그램의 효과를 검증하고자 하였다. 연구대상은 26명의 자폐 스펙트럼 장애, 아스퍼거 증후군, 전반적 발달장애로 진단된 초등학생으로, 연령과 IQ, SCQ, ASSQ 점수를 사용하여 중재 집단과 통제 집단으로 짝지어 분배하였다. 중재 집단은 9주 동안 교사와의 비대면 학습을 주 1회 실시하고, 가정에서도 부모 또는 아동이 앱(App)을 활용하여 대화훈련을 실시하였다. 통제집단은 다른 특별한 프로그램에 참여하지 않았다. 그리고 훈련 전과 후에 평가자와 아동 간의 1:1 대화를 수행하여 대화 자료를 수집하고, 대화차례 주고받기와 주제 운용능력의 변화를 비교하였다. 연구 결과, 중재 집단에서 본 연구에서 개발한 청자 반응 대화훈련 프로그램의 긍정적 효과가 발견되었다. 구체적으로, 중재 집단은 청자 조건에서 적절한 청자 언어 반응이 유지되었고, 통제 집단은 적절한 청자 언어 반응이 감소하였다. 그리고 화자 조건의 대화 차례 주고받기에서는 개시율과 유지율이 증가하고, 주제 운용능력에서는 적절한 주제 개시율이 증가하고, 부적절한 주제 개시율은 감소하였다. 논의에서는 청자 반응 대화훈련 프로그램이 고기능 자폐 스펙트럼 장애아동의 대화 양상변화에 미치는 효과를 중점적으로 논의하였다.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• 제64권11호
• /
• pp.596-598
• /
• 2021

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
• /
• 제24권6호
• /
• pp.1221-1229
• /
• 2013

이 연구의 목적은 교사와 가족의 상호작용이 자폐성장애 아동의 문제행동과 사회성 기술에 미치는 영향을 알아보는 것이다. 초등부에 재학하고 있는 자폐성장애 아동의 담임교사와 아동의 부모 각각 147명을 대상으로 상호작용의 수준에 따라 상호작용이 모두 높은 집단, 교사와 가족 중 한 집단이라도 상호작용이 높은 중간 집단, 상호작용이 모두 낮은 집단으로 나누어 문제행동, 사회성 기술에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 연구결과는 교사의 상호작용이 자폐성장애 아동의 사회성 기술과 상관관계가 있으며 통계적으로 유의한 것으로 나타났고, 교사와 가족의 상호작용이 모두 높은 집단이 중간 및 낮은 집단보다 자폐성장애 아동의 사회성 기술이 높음을 보여준다.

• Genomics & Informatics
• /
• 제8권2호
• /
• pp.76-80
• /
• 2010

Although autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been thought to have a substantial genetic background, major contributing genes have yet to be identified or successfully replicated. Immunological dysfunction has been suggested to be associated with ASD, and T cell-mediated immunity was considered important for the development of ASD. In this study, we analyzed 163 ASD subjects and 97 normal controls by genomic quantitative PCR to evaluate the association between the copy number variation of the 7q34 locus, harboring the TCRB gene, and ASDs. As a result, there was no significant difference of the frequency distribution of TCRB copy numbers between ASD cases and normal controls. TCRB gene copy numbers ranged from 0 to 5 copies, and the frequency distribution of each copy number was similar between the two groups. The proportion of the individuals with <2 copies of TCRB was 52.8% (86/163) in ASD cases and 57.1% (52/91) in the control group (p=0.44). The proportion of individuals with >2 copies of TCRB was 11.7% (19/163) in ASD cases and 12.1% (11/91) in the control group (p=0.68). After the effects of sex were adjusted by logistic regression, ORs for individuals with <2 copies or >2 copies showed no significant difference compared with the diploid copy number as reference (n=2). Although we could not see the positive association, our results will be valuable information for mining ASD-associated genes and for exploring the role of T cell immunity further in the pathogenesis of ASD.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• 제30권3호
• /
• pp.232-237
• /
• 2022

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) having core characteristics of social interaction problems and repetitive behaviors and interests affects individuals at varying degrees and comorbidities, making it difficult to determine the precise etiology underlying the symptoms. Given its heterogeneity, ASD is difficult to treat and the development of therapeutics is slow due to the scarcity of animal models that are easy to produce and screen with. Based on the theory of excitation/inhibition imbalance in the brain with ASD which involves glutamatergic and/or GABAergic neurotransmission, a pharmacologic agent to modulate these receptors might be a good starting point for modeling. N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) is an amino acid derivative acting as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor and therefore imitates the action of the neurotransmitter glutamate on that receptor. In contrast to glutamate, NMDA selectively binds to and regulates the NMDA receptor, but not other glutamate receptors such as AMPA and kainite receptors. Given this role, we aimed to determine whether NMDA administration could result in autistic-like behavior in adolescent mice. Both male and female mice were treated with saline or NMDA (50 and 75 mg/kg) and were tested on various behavior experiments. Interestingly, acute NMDA-treated mice showed social deficits and repetitive behavior similar to ASD phenotypes. These results support the excitation/inhibition imbalance theory of ASD and that NMDA injection can be used as a pharmacologic model of ASD-like behaviors.

• 한국심리학회지 : 문화 및 사회문제
• /
• 제25권2호
• /
• pp.137-155
• /
• 2019

본 연구는 한국 성인을 대상으로 자폐 기질이 사회도덕적 판단과 어떠한 관련성을 가지고 있는지 탐색하였다. 연구 결과, 자폐 기질이 높을수록 타인의 행동의 도덕성을 평가할 때에 행동의 의도를 고려하는 것에 있어 어려움을 보였다. 특히, 자폐 기질이 높을수록 시나리오 속 주인공이 타인을 해하려는 의도는 있었지만, 결과적으로 실패한 행동에 대해 더 허용적으로 판단하였다. 또한, 자폐 기질이 높을수록 다수의 이익을 위해 소수를 적극적으로 희생시키는 공리주의적 선택의 적절성은 더 높게 판단하였다. 더불어, 도덕적 판단에서 어떠한 기본 원리를 얼마나 중요하게 여기는가에 관한 도덕적 기반 측정의 경우, 자폐 기질이 높을수록 위해 금지에 대한 민감성이 낮은 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 상관관계는 자폐 기질을 높은 집단(AQ >= 26)과 낮은 집단(AQ < 26)으로 나누었을 때, 집단 간 차이로도 확인되었다. 이러한 결과는 자폐 기질이 높을수록 사회도덕적 판단에서 타인의 의도를 고려하는 것에 더 어려움을 겪을 수 있으며, 또한 도덕적 판단에서 타인을 해하여서는 안된다는 위해 금지 원리에 대한 민감성을 더 낮게 보일 수 있음을 시사한다.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• 제28권4호
• /
• pp.192-196
• /
• 2017

Social (pragmatic) communication disorder (SCD) is a new diagnosis included under communication disorders in the neurodevelopmental disorders section of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5. SCD is defined as a primary deficit in the social use of nonverbal and verbal communication. SCD has very much in common with pragmatic language impairment, which is characterized by difficulties in understanding and using language in context and following the social rules of language, despite relative strengths in word knowledge and grammar. SCD and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are similar in that they both involve deficits in social communication skills, however individuals with SCD do not demonstrate restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, insistence on sameness, or sensory abnormalities. It is essential to rule out a diagnosis of ASD by verifying the lack of these additional symptoms, current or past. The criteria for SCD are qualitatively different from those of ASD and are not equivalent to those of mild ASD. It is clinically important that SCD should be differentiated from high-functioning ASD (such as Asperger syndrome) and nonverbal learning disabilities. The ultimate goals are the refinement of the conceptualization, development and validation of assessment tools and interventions, and obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the shared and unique etiologic factors for SCD in relation to those of other neurodevelopmental disorders.

• 생물정신의학
• /
• 제16권2호
• /
• pp.121-126
• /
• 2009

Objectives : The serotonin transporter gene(SLC6A4) is one of the most widely studied candidate genes in autism spectrum disorder(ASD), but there have been conflicting results from studies into the association between SLC6A4 and ASD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) in the SLC6A4 gene and ASD in the Korean population. Methods : We selected 12 SNPs in SLC6A4 and observed the genotype of 151 Korean ASD trios. We tested the family-based association for each individual polymorphism and haplotype by using the standard TDT method in Haploview(http://www.broad.mit.edu/mpg/haploview/). Results : Through transmission-disequilibrium testing and haplotype analysis, we could not find any statistically significant transmitted allele or haplotype. In addition, a case-control association test with Korean HapMap data did not reveal any statistical significance. Conclusion : Although serotonin-related genes must be considered candidate genes for ASD, we suggest that common SNPs of SLC6A4 are not important markers for associations with Korean ASD.

• 아동학회지
• /
• 제36권5호
• /
• pp.189-208
• /
• 2015

The purposes of this study were twofold. Firstly, we sought to examine the effects of the severity of behavior problems of children with autism spectrum disorders and maternal stress coping styles on maternal parenting stress. Secondly, we investigated whether maternal stress coping styles moderate the relationship between the severity of children's behavior problems on parenting stress. The participants of this study comprised 106 mothers of children with ASD who were aged 6 to 18. In order to measure the research variables, the Parenting Stress Scale(Hwang, 2002), the Korean version of Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18(Oh, Kim, Ha, Lee, & Hong, 2010), the Ways of Coping Checklist(Kim, 1987) were used. The data were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results indicated that both the severity of externalizing behavior problems and the emotion-focused stress coping styles had significant and positive effects on parenting stress. Second, the stress coping styles had no moderating effect on the relationship between the severity of behavior problems(externalizing behavior problems, internalizing behavior problems) and maternal parenting stress.