Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has traditionally been evaluated and diagnosed via behavioral assessments. However, increasing research suggests that neuroimaging as early as infancy can reliably identify structural and functional differences between autistic and non-autistic brains. The current review provides a systematic overview of imaging approaches used to identify differences between infants at familial risk and without risk and predictive biomarkers. Two primary themes emerged after reviewing the literature: (1) neuroimaging methods can be used to describe structural and functional differences between infants at risk and infants not at risk for ASD (descriptive), and (2) neuroimaging approaches can be used to predict ASD diagnosis among high-risk infants and developmental outcomes beyond infancy (predicting later diagnosis). Combined, the articles highlighted that several neuroimaging studies have identified a variety of neuroanatomical and neurological differences between infants at high and low risk for ASD, and among those who later receive an ASD diagnosis. Incorporating neuroimaging into ASD evaluations alongside traditional behavioral assessments can provide individuals with earlier diagnosis and earlier access to supportive resources.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have been faced with challenges in maintaining interdisciplinary research collaborations. The purpose of this article is to apply and expand a previously introduced model to sustaining new interdisciplinary research collaborations: Forging Alliances in Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research (FAIRR). FAIRR is a logic model that can be used as a guide to create interdisciplinary rehabilitation research teams. In this article, the authors propose expanding FAIRR by including strategies for sustaining interdisciplinary rehabilitation research collaborations: modifying inputs (resources needed to assemble a team and to conduct research activities), shifting activities (steps taken to move the interdisciplinary collaboration forward), and examining what impacts the fit between inputs and activities. Two examples are used to highlight the application of the FAIRR model to interdisciplinary collaborations during COVID-19.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between effort-based decision making and gross motor performance. Effort-based decision making was measured using a modified version of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT), in which participants pressed a button on a keyboard to fill a bar on a screen for monetary reward. Participants received monetary rewards that were commensurate with the level of effort that they were willing to expend. Gross motor performance was measured with a walking task, in which participants matched their steps to the beat of an audio metronome; they walked to metronome beats that were slower and also faster than their normal walking pace. We hypothesized that increased effort during the effort-based decision making task would be paired with an increase in steps taken per minute during the gross motor task. However, the results of this study indicated a lack of a statistically significant relationship between the effort-based decision making task and the gross motor task. Planning rather than decision-making may have been the cognitive construct that governed our gross motor task. These findings can be beneficial when thinking about potential interventions for populations who experience deficits in motor performance and cognition as well as for understanding the relationship between both cognitive and motor performance in healthy adults.
After bariatric surgery, individuals improve walking characteristics related to fall risk. However, little is known about psychosocial factors, such as gait self-efficacy and fear of falling, after surgery. Our objectives were to (1) examine how weight loss affects psychosocial factors and gait four and eight months after bariatric surgery, as well as (2) determine if there is a relationship between gait self-efficacy and fear of falling. Fourteen adults scheduled to undergo bariatric surgery completed three visits: before surgery, four and eight months after surgery. Gait self-efficacy was measured with the Modified Gait Efficacy Scale, and fear of falls was measured with the Tinetti Falls Efficacy Scale. Gait measures were collected during five conditions: initial baseline and final baseline on flat ground, and crossing obstacles of three heights. Gait self-efficacy or fear of falling did not change after surgery. However, both four and eight months after surgery, higher gait self-efficacy and lower fear of falling were correlated with longer and faster steps during all conditions (all ps < 0.05). Focusing interventions on psychosocial measures related to gait may yield longer lasting improvements in walking after surgery, ultimately resulting in a decreased fall risk and higher quality of life.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between effort-based decision making and gross motor performance. Effort-based decision making was measured using a modified version of the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task in which participants pressed a button on a keyboard to fill a bar on a screen for a monetary reward. Gross motor performance was measured with a walking task in which participants matched their steps to the beat of an audio metronome. We hypothesized that increased effort during the effort-based decision making task would be paired with an increase in steps taken per minute during the gross motor task.However, the results of this study indicated no relationship between the effort-based decision making task and the gross motor task. Planning rather than decision-making may have been the cognitive construct that governed our gross motor task. These findings can be beneficial when thinking about potential interventions for populations who experience deficits in motor performance and cognition as well as for understanding the relationship between both cognitive and motor performance in healthy adults.
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