Autonomic Modulation and Facial Expression in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autonomic Modulation and Facial Expression in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Cross-sectional Study

Background: the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can be related with abnormalities in cortical structures and cause behavior imbalances. In addition, as soon as the diagnosis is done, the better will be the prognosis. In this context, heart rate variability (HRV) stands out, which is a non-invasive tool representing autonomic modulation, with potential prognostic value. The literature showed there are no changes in HRV at rest using linear methods of analysis, but changes can be identified during tasks. Nonlinear methods of HRV are more sensitive and provide additional information to the linear. Objective: to analyze autonomic modulation using nonlinear and linear indexes of HRV in children with ASD at rest and during tasks in comparison to typical children. In addition, to correlate HRV analysis between them, also between behavior and severity of the disease. Methods: this study involves both typical children and children with ASD. Autonomic modulation will be performed using nonlinear indices (extracted from Poincaré plot, detrended fluctuation of tendency analysis and recurrence plot) and linear indices of HRV in the time (RMSSD e SDNN) and frequency domain (LF, HF, VLF). The tasks consist in games to identify and recognize faces and facial expressions. Behavior and severity of the disease will be evaluated using the Autism Behavior Checklist and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale respectively. Statistical Analysis: to identify differences between moments and protocols two-way analysis of variance will be used along with the Bonferroni post-test or Dunn post-test according to the data distribution. Statistical significance will be set at 5%.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Autonomic evaluation

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 55

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Brazil
  • São Paulo
    • Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brazil, 19060900
      • Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 3 years to 14 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Children with autistic disorder or typical development.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children with autistic disorder or typical development.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants that do not participant of all evaluations.
• Participants with an error superior to 5% in the RR intervals series.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Autistic Disorder; Age: 3 to 14 years-old Gender: male and female Autism Spectrum Disorder	Other: Autonomic evaluation
Typical; Age: 3 to 14 years-old Gender: male and female Typical	Other: Autonomic evaluation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Autonomic evaluation	Heart rate variability at rest, during facial expression games and finish at rest.	June, 2017

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)	June, 2017
Autistic Behavior Checklist	June, 2017

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Luiz Carlos M Vanderlei, PhD, Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 15, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 19, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): December 20, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 4, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 2, 2020
• Last Verified: June 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Autonomic Nervous System; Sympathetic Nervous System; Heart Rate
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Disease; Autistic Disorder; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive
• Other Study ID Numbers: 57347916.5.0000.5402

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED