Motor Impairments in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Multimodal Approach
Overview
- Phase
- N/A
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Sponsor
- IRCCS Eugenio Medea
- Enrollment
- 106
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Exome sequencing
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 2 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The general goal of the present proposal, Progetto MOSAICO, is the identification of a multimodal panel of neuropsychological, kinematic, neurophysiological, and genetic markers associated with motor abnormalities present in ASD.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •having a clinical diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders (either ASD, ADHD, or intellectual disability) according to DSM-5 criteria;
- •children with typical development are also recruited from the general population by local pediatricians or from kindergartens/schools sited near our institute
Exclusion Criteria
- •using any stimulant or non-stimulant medication affecting the central nervous system
- •having an identified genetic disorder
- •having vision or hearing problems
- •suffering from chronic or acute medical illness.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Exome sequencing
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Exome libraries will be sequenced using the Illumina NextSeq 500 in 100 bp paired end reads. Postsequencing reads will be aligned using BWA Enrichment application on BaseSpace. VCF file will be then marked using wANNOVAR (Wang Genomics Lab).
Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ)
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
The DCDQ (Wilson et al., 2007) is a parent questionnaire originally developed for estimating gross and fine motor skill difficulties in children. The questionnaire consists of 15 items investigating different subdomains of motor abilities, such as ball skills, complex motor coordination, fine and general motor skills. For each item, parents rate the children's degree of motor coordination on a 5-point scale comparing it to same-age peers.
kinematic analysis of a reach-to-drop task
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
3D kinematic data of a reach-to-drop movement are collected by a motion-capture system (The SMART D from BTS Bioengineering® - Garbagnate Milanese, Italy). The reach-to-drop task consists in reaching and grasping a ball placed over a support and dropping it in a hole (Fig. 1; Forti et al., 2011; Crippa et al., 2015). The task is simple enough to warrant compliance by all children across groups. Each participant is asked to complete at least five trials of the task with their dominant hand. Kinematic data are recorded by eight infrared-motion analysis cameras at 60 Hz with a spatial accuracy of 0.2 mm.
Magnetic Resonance (MRI)
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Magnetic Resonance (MRI) of the Brain - MRI signal allowing tridimensional multiplanar reconstruction of the brain's structures. Anatomical images obtained with high definition T1 weighted sequences of radio frequencies - the measure is a "signal (in Hz) to noise ratio" which is obtained from each voxel (tiny 3D portions of the brain)
Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2 (MABC2)
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
The MABC2 (Henderson et al., 2007) is one of the most commonly used tests for the identification of motor difficulties in children aged 3-16 years. The MABC2 includes eight subtests grouped into three areas related to different components of motor domain: manual dexterity, ball skills (such as aiming and catching), and static and dynamic balance.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)
Time Frame: immediately after the intervention
Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) measures of the brain microstructure and connectivity - as in all MRI techniques, the measure is a "signal (in Hz) to noise ratio" which is obtained from each voxel