دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی محتوا و عملکرد منافع در فنوتیپ گسترده اوتیسم - الزویر 2018

ABSTRACT

Background: The Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP) refers to mild characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that extend beyond the threshold of diagnosis into the general population. Individuals with BAP traits exhibit reduced social skill and social cognitive ability relative to individuals without these traits, but the degree to which non-social aspects of ASD extend to the BAP has received considerably less attention. The current study examined whether a prominent non-social characteristic of ASD, circumscribed interests (CIs), are qualitatively similar in the BAP. Method: Typically-developing adults (N = 174) categorized as either BAP positive (n = 49) or BAP negative (n = 125) on the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire rated their subjective emotional responses to images of common CIs and non-CIs (i.e., interests not commonly reported in ASD). Participants also completed the Interests Scale measuring the number of their current interests and the intensity with which they pursue their primary interest. Results: BAP positive adults rated CIs more arousing (i.e., more energizing) and non-CIs lower on valence (i.e., less pleasurable) compared to BAP negative adults. Additionally, BAP positive males but not females showed higher valence responses for CIs relative to their BAP negative counterparts. BAP positive adults also endorsed more CIs than BAP negative adults on the Interests Scale, and reported greater intensity and inflexibility when engaging with their primary interest. Conclusions: These findings suggest that many aspects of the content and function of CIs reported for autism extend to the BAP in the general population in a milder form.

4. Discussion

Many previous studies have demonstrated that social characteristics of ASD extend in milder but qualitatively similar forms to the Broad Autism Phenotype, but few have examined the ways in which the non-social aspects of ASD also characterize the BAP. Here, we assessed whether aspects of a highly prevalent non-social feature of ASD, circumscribed interests (CIs), extends to the BAP in the general population. Using a validated self-report measure (the Interests Scale) and a novel computer-based assessment (the Valence and Arousal of Interests task), adults classified as having the BAP demonstrated similar interests and behaviors surrounding these interests as CIs in ASD. Compared to participants without the BAP, those with the BAP reported more CIs and engaged with their primary interest with greater intensity and inflexibility. Higher level of BAP traits was also associated with fewer social interests and increased resistance and distress when their interest is interrupted. Additionally, BAP positive participants found images of CIs more energizing and those of non-CIs less pleasurable than participants without the BAP. Collectively, these findings highlight similarities between the content and function of CIs in ASD and the interests of individuals with the BAP in the general population, and suggest that the BAP is defined by certain non-social features of ASD along with its more heavily-studied social characteristics.