Neurocognitive predictors of social and communicative developmental trajectories in preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders
Open accessAbstract
Currently, the heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is poorly understood. Preschool children with ASD participating in a longitudinal study received a battery of neurocognitive tasks that measured the learning of reward associations (Lrn-Rew), spatial working memory (SpatWM), and imitation from memory and novelty preference (Mem/Nov), as well as a measure of nonverbal problem-solving ability (NVDQ). Growth curve analyses via HLM were used to predict the variability in growth rates between age 4 to age 6.5 in Vineland Socialization and Communication scores. Individual differences in both Lrn-Rew and Mem/Nov were significantly related to Socialization and Communication growth rates above and beyond NVDQ, whereas SpatWM was not. Thus, specific aspects of neurocognitive functioning appear to be important predictors of developmental variability during the preschool years in children with ASD. We speculate that these findings support the combined role of ventromedial prefrontal and medial temporal lobe systems in the early pathogenesis of ASD and may be useful in predicting developmental trajectory. The benefits and challenges of assessing specific neurocognitive functions in children with autism is discussed with regard to general cognitive/developmental ability and the behavioral requirements of most assessment settings. (JINS, 2008, 14, 956–966.)
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Variability in reward-learning skills is an important predictor of social-communication abilities.
“and variability in reward-learning skills has been identified as an important predictor of social-communication abilities [36].”
From Social “wanting” dysfunction in autism: neurobiological underpinnings and treatment implications (2012) · cites this paper as [36]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- MUNSON, J., FAJA, S., MELTZOFF, A., ABBOTT, R., & DAWSON, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- MUNSON, JEFFREY
- Venue
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2008-10-27
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 956-966
- ISSN
- 1355-6177 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7661
- PMC
- PMC2978065
- OpenAlex
- W2115594763
- Cited by
- 65
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 1.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Washington
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (U54MH066399)
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U19HD34565, P50HD066782)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD055782, U19HD34565, U19HD035465, P50HD066782)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, preschool children, developmental trajectories, neurocognitive predictors, spatial working memory, novelty preference, developmental heterogeneity, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, medial temporal lobe, Vineland
- MeSH terms
- Association Learning, Autistic Disorder, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Communication, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Models, Psychological, Neuropsychological Tests, Photic Stimulation, Predictive Value of Tests, Social Behavior, Space Perception
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