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Objective: Theory suggests that impaired executive functioning (EF) might explain several symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. However, only a few studies have examined the efficacy of EF training for the children using randomized control trial designs, and only two of them found significant benefits of the training.
Method: We designed Comprehensive Attention Training System (CATS), and tested this new EF intervention for children with ASD in a small-sampled randomized controlled trial. Twenty-five children with ASD aged six to twelve were randomly assigned to either the CATS or the control training and were assessed pre- and post-training.
Results: Relative to the control group, the CATS group improved on EF as measured by the trail-making test, avoiding perseverative errors, and forming conceptual responses in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task. There were also indications that CATS contributed to long-term communication skills as measured by the Vineland adaptive behavior scales.
Conclusions: We report preliminary evidence that the CATS intervention may improve the EF of school-aged children with ASD compared to a control intervention. We discuss the results in terms of their generalizability to other developmental disorders.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2020.1827673 | DOI Listing |
Biol Psychiatry
September 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029 USA; Center for Computational Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10027 USA; The Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029 USA; Nash Fami
Background: As we navigate changing social landscapes, maintaining maps of interpersonal dynamics can help guide our choices. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with social challenges that may affect the accumulation or application of social information. However, little is known about social cognitive mapping in autistic adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSleep Med
September 2025
Regional Epilepsy Center, Operative Unit of Childhood and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
Background: Sleep disturbances are highly prevalent in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), yet few studies have combined objective and subjective measures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate sleep patterns and sleep hygiene in children with ADHD and ASD compared age-matched typically developing children, using both parent-reported questionnaires and actigraphy, to assess the concordance between these measures, and to determine the clinical applicability of actigraphy in this population.
Methods: Sixty children with NDD (30 ASD, 30 ADHD) and 40 typically developing controls, matched for age, underwent seven nights of actigraphic recording.
J Trace Elem Med Biol
September 2025
Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China. Electronic address:
Objective: We previously documented that exposure to a spectrum of elements is associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is a lack of mechanistic understanding as to how elemental mixtures contribute to the ASD development.
Materials And Methods: Serum and urinary concentrations of 26 elements and six biomarkers of ASD-relevant pathophysiologic pathways including serum HIPK 2, serum p53 protein, urine malondialdehyde (MDA), urine 8-OHdG, serum melatonin, and urine carnitine, were measured in 21 ASD cases and 21 age-matched healthy controls of children aged 6-12 years.
Alpha Psychiatry
August 2025
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China.
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted neurodevelopmental disorder marked by impaired interactions and restricted interests, the pathophysiology of which is not fully understood. The current study explored the potential therapeutic effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the neurophysiological aspects of ASD, specifically focusing on the brain's excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance and behavioral outcomes, providing scientific guidance for ASD intervention.
Methods: Forty-two children with ASD were randomly divided into either an active tDCS or sham tDCS group.
JMIR Res Protoc
September 2025
Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, School of Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social communication disorder (SCD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social communication that hinder social adaptation, with limited pharmacological options for therapy owing to the absence of identified biomarkers. Individuals with ASD or SCD require lifelong interventions tailored to their development stages. However, most existing interventions primarily focus on early childhood, leaving adolescents relatively underserved.
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