Alpha-amylase, cortisol, and pupillary responses to social and non-social dynamic scenes in young children with autism spectrum disorder
Issue Date
2010-04-27Author
Anderson, Christa J.
Publisher
University of Kansas
Format
188 pages
Type
Dissertation
Degree Level
Ph.D.
Discipline
Psychology
Rights
This item is protected by copyright and unless otherwise specified the copyright of this thesis/dissertation is held by the author.
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Show full item recordAbstract
The symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may manifest from deficits in attention/arousal; previous studies found altered autonomic and attentional responses in ASD. We found a larger tonic pupil size (Anderson & Colombo, 2009) and altered phasic pupillary responses to human faces (Anderson, Colombo, & Shaddy, 2006) in 2-5 year old children with ASD. Children (20 - 72 months of age) with ASD (n = 12), Down syndrome (DS; n = 9), and typical development (TD; n = 11) were presented with a social and a non-social video clip to examine pupil, salivary, and visual scanning measures. The ASD group had (a) a larger tonic pupil size, (b) lower tonic levels of AA, significantly related to tonic pupil size, and (c) increased phasic pupil responses to the social stimulus than controls. These findings provide replication and extension of our previous investigations; underlying pathology and early identification measures in ASD are discussed.
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