Brenda M. Stoesz

Roles for NF-κB and Gene Targets of NF-κB in Synaptic Plasticity, Memory, and Navigation

Although traditionally associated with immune function, the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) has garnered much attention in recent years as an important regulator of memory. Specifically, research has found that NF-κB, localized in both neurons and glia, is activated during the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP), a paradigm of synaptic plasticity and correlate of memory. Further, experimental manipulation of NF-κB activation or its blockade results in altered memory and spatial navigation abilities. Genetic knockout of specific NF-κB subunits in mice results in memory alterations. Collectively, such data suggest that NF-κB may be a requirement for memory, although the direction of the response (i.e., memory enhancement or deficit) is inconsistent. A limited number of gene targets of NF-κB have been recently identified in neurons, including neurotrophic factors, calcium-regulating proteins, other transcription factors, and molecules associated with neuronal outgrowth and remodeling. In turn, several key molecules are activators of NF-κB, including protein kinase C and [Ca++]i. Thus, NF-κB signaling is complex and under the regulation of numerous proteins involved in activity-dependent synaptic plasticity. The purpose of this review is to highlight the literature detailing a role for NF-κB in synaptic plasticity, memory, and spatial navigation. Secondly, this review will synthesize the research evaluating gene targets of NF-κB in synaptic plasticity and memory. Although there is ample evidence to suggest a critical role for NF-κB in memory, our understanding of its gene targets in neurons is limited and only beginning to be appreciated.

Emotional Intelligence, Theory of Mind, and Executive Functions as Predictors of Social Outcomes in Young Adults With Asperger Syndrome

Social difficulties are frequently cited as a core deficit of individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS). This deficit is particularly evident when processing of emotional information is required in social situations. Deficits in theory of mind and executive functions are the two explanatory hypotheses for social deficits in AS that are predominant in the literature; however, each of these explanations has limitations. Emotional intelligence (EI) has emerged as a relatively new explanation for social difficulties in typically developing individuals. Recently, researchers also have demonstrated that EI predicted important social outcomes for individuals with AS. In this study, we explored EI as an alternative or additive explanation for the social deficits observed in young adults with AS in light of the two predominant theories accounting for social difficulties. Implications for practice are discussed.

Review of Five Instruments for the Assessment of Asperger's Disorder in Adults

Due to the recent inclusion of Aspergers Disorder (AD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA, 1994) and the International Classification of Diseases (WHO, 1993), concerns regarding diagnosis of AD, particularly in adults, are emerging. Many existing instruments used to assess Pervasive Developmental Disorder are more appropriate for identifying Autistic Disorder (AU) in children, and their usefulness for assessing AD in adults is questionable. We describe and critically review five instruments created specifically for identifying AD in adults. Overall, the normative information provided is limited and evidence of the reliability and validity for each instrument is relatively poor. Further research and development is required before we would recommend one instrument over another for the assessment of AD in adults.

Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying affiliative social behavior: insights from comparative research.

Humans are intensely social animals, and healthy social relationships are vital for proper mental health (see Lim and Young, 2006). By using animal models, the behavior, mental, and physiological processes of humans can be understood at a level that cannot be attained by studying human behavior and the human brain alone. The goals of this review are threefold. First, we define affiliative social behavior and describe the primary relationship types in which affiliative relationships are most readily observed--the mother-infant bond and pair-bonding. Second, we summarize neurophysiological studies that have investigated the role of neurohypophyseal nanopeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin) and the catecholamine dopamine in regulating affiliative social behavior and the implications of said research for our understanding of human social behavior. Finally, we discuss the merits and limitations of the using a comparative approach to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying human affiliative social behavior.

A sex difference in interference between identity and expression judgments with static but not dynamic faces

Facial motion cues facilitate identity and expression processing (Pilz, Thornton, & Bülthoff, 2006). To explore this dynamic advantage, we used Garners speeded classification task (Garner, 1976) to investigate whether adding dynamic cues alters the interactions between the processing of identity and expression. We also examined whether facial motion affected women and men differently, given that women show an advantage for several aspects of static face processing (McClure, 2000). Participants made speeded identity or expression judgments while the irrelevant cue was held constant or varied. Significant interference occurred with both tasks when static stimuli were used (as in Ganel & Goshen-Gottstein, 2004), but interference was minimal with dynamic displays. This suggests that adult viewers are either better able to selectively attend to relevant cues, or better able to integrate multiple facial cues, when viewing moving as opposed to static faces. These gains, however, come with a cost in processing time. Only women showed asymmetrical interference with static faces, with variations in identity affecting expression judgments more than the opposite. This finding may reflect sex differences in global-local processing biases (Godard & Fiori, 2012). Our findings stress the importance of using dynamic displays and of considering sex distributions when characterizing typical face processing mechanisms.

Developmental changes in attention to faces and bodies in static and dynamic scenes

Typically developing individuals show a strong visual preference for faces and face-like stimuli; however, this may come at the expense of attending to bodies or to other aspects of a scene. The primary goal of the present study was to provide additional insight into the development of attentional mechanisms that underlie perception of real people in naturalistic scenes. We examined the looking behaviors of typical children, adolescents, and young adults as they viewed static and dynamic scenes depicting one or more people. Overall, participants showed a bias to attend to faces more than on other parts of the scenes. Adding motion cues led to a reduction in the number, but an increase in the average duration of face fixations in single-character scenes. When multiple characters appeared in a scene, motion-related effects were attenuated and participants shifted their gaze from faces to bodies, or made off-screen glances. Children showed the largest effects related to the introduction of motion cues or additional characters, suggesting that they find dynamic faces difficult to process, and are especially prone to look away from faces when viewing complex social scenes—a strategy that could reduce the cognitive and the affective load imposed by having to divide ones attention between multiple faces. Our findings provide new insights into the typical development of social attention during natural scene viewing, and lay the foundation for future work examining gaze behaviors in typical and atypical development.

Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder: Empathy and Face Processing in ASD

Many factors contribute to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of the present work was to determine whether atypicalities in how individuals with ASD process static, socially engaging faces persist when nonrigid facial motion cues are present. We also sought to explore the relationships between various face processing abilities and individual differences in autism symptom severity and traits such as empathy. Participants included 16 adults with ASD without intellectual impairment and 16 sex‐ and age‐matched controls. Mean Verbal IQ was comparable across groups [t(30) = 0.70, P = 0.49]. The two groups responded similarly to many of the experimental manipulations; however, relative to controls, participants with ASD responded more slowly to dynamic expressive faces, even when no judgment was required; were less accurate at identity matching with static and dynamic faces; and needed more time to make identity and expression judgments [F(1, 30) ≥ 6.37, P ≤ 0.017, ηp2 ≥ 0.175 in all cases], particularly when the faces were moving [F(1, 30) = 3.40, P = 0.072, ηp2 = 0.104]. In the full sample, as social autistic traits increased and empathic skills declined, participants needed more time to judge static identity, and static or dynamic expressions [0.43 < |rs| < 0.56]. The results suggest that adults with ASD show general impairments in face and motion processing and support the view that an examination of individual variation in particular personality traits and abilities is important for advancing our understanding of face perception. Autism Res 2018, 11: 942–955.

Aging with intellectual and developmental disabilities and dementia in Manitoba

Purpose Information on the risk of dementia in aging persons with intellectual and/or developmental disability (IDD) in Manitoba, Canada is lacking. The purpose of this paper is to estimate dementia prevalence in adults with IDD. Design/methodology/approach Anonymized population-level health and non-health administrative data (1979-2012) contained in the Population Health Research Data Repository of the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) were linked to identify adults with IDD, and estimate the prevalence of dementia based on the presence of ICD codes. Prevalence of dementia was estimated for persons aged 18-55 years and 55+ years, and was reported by sex, type of residence, region of residence, neighbourhood income quintiles, and IDD diagnostic category. Findings Of the 8,655 adults with IDD identified, 8.1 per cent had an indication of dementia in their medical records; an estimate three times greater than that found for those without IDD (2.6 per cent). More than 17 per cent of Manitobans with IDD aged 55+ years had an indication of dementia, which was nearly twice the rate reported previously. Of those with IDD and dementia, 34.7 per cent lived in long-term care facilities. Originality/value Health and social support services are typically available to individuals with dementia aged 65+ years; thus, younger adults with IDD and dementia may not be eligible for those supports. To promote equity in health and access to care, dementia screening and increased supports for aging individuals with IDD are recommended.

Reduced Interference Between Identity and Expression Processing With Dynamic Faces

We submitted corrected Garner interferences scores to an Age Group x Task x Mode mixed ANOVA. Task x Mode: F(2, 79) = 12.40, p = .001, ηp 2 = .14  The Task effect (i.e., more interference in the Expression Task than in the Identity Task) was larger with Static faces than with Dynamic faces [t(81) = 3.34, p = .001]. Indeed, with dynamic faces interference was negligible in both tasks (i.e., there was no asymmetry).