Further evidence of complex motor dysfunction in drug naïve children with autism using automatic motion analysis of gait

In order to increase the knowledge of locomotor disturbances in children with autism, and of the mechanism underlying them, the objective of this exploratory study was to reliably and quantitatively evaluate linear gait parameters (spatio-temporal and kinematic parameters), upper body kinematic parameters, walk orientation and smoothness using an automatic motion analyser (ELITE systems) in drug naïve children with Autistic Disorder (AD) and healthy controls. The children with AD showed a stiffer gait in which the usual fluidity of walking was lost, trunk postural abnormalities, highly significant difficulties to maintain a straight line and a marked loss of smoothness (increase of jerk index), compared to the healthy controls. As a whole, these data suggest a complex motor dysfunction involving both the cortical and the subcortical area or, maybe, a possible deficit in the integration of sensory-motor information within motor networks (i.e., anomalous connections within the fronto-cerebello-thalamo-frontal network). Although the underlying neural structures involved remain to be better defined, these data may contribute to highlighting the central role of motor impairment in autism and suggest the usefulness of taking into account motor difficulties when developing new diagnostic and rehabilitation programs.

[1]  Sally J. Rogers,et al.  Gross Motor Development, Movement Abnormalities, and Early Identification of Autism , 2008, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[2]  A. Couteur,et al.  Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders , 1994, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[3]  N. Spencer,et al.  Systematic review of randomized controlled trials of atypical antipsychotics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for behavioural problems associated with pervasive developmental disorders , 2005, Journal of psychopharmacology.

[4]  J. Massion,et al.  Goal Directed Locomotion and Balance Control in Autistic Children , 2005, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[5]  H. Roeyers,et al.  Nature of motor imitation problems in school-aged boys with autism , 2007, Autism : the international journal of research and practice.

[6]  L. Kanner.  Autistic disturbances of affective contact. , 1968, Acta paedopsychiatrica.

[7]  Stewart H. Mostofsky,et al.  Motor Signs Distinguish Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome from Controls , 2006, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[8]  Michael I. Jordan,et al.  Are arm trajectories planned in kinematic or dynamic coordinates? An adaptation study , 1995, Experimental Brain Research.

[9]  Falk Minow,et al.  Evaluation of neuromotor deficits in children with autism and children with a specific speech and language disorder , 2002, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

[10]  S. Hepburn,et al.  Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. , 2003, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[11]  L. Buxbaum,et al.  The Role of the Dynamic Body Schema in Praxis: Evidence from Primary Progressive Apraxia , 2000, Brain and Cognition.

[12]  John L Bradshaw,et al.  Gait function in newly diagnosed children with autism: Cerebellar and basal ganglia related motor disorder. , 2006, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[13]  J. Pekar,et al.  Decreased connectivity and cerebellar activity in autism during motor task performance. , 2009, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[14]  C. Schmitz,et al.  Motor control and children with autism: deficit of anticipatory function? , 2003, Neuroscience Letters.

[15]  S. Mostofsky,et al.  Dyspraxia in autism: association with motor, social, and communicative deficits , 2007, Developmental medicine and child neurology.

[16]  John McDonald,et al.  Sensory Integration and the Perceptual Experience of Persons with Autism , 2006, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[17]  Hermann Schwameder,et al.  DETERMINATION OF OPTIMAL FILTER PARAMETERS FOR FILTERING KINEMATIC WALKING DATA USING BUTTERWORTH LOW PASS FILTER , 2000 .

[18]  M. Prior,et al.  The reach-to-grasp movement in children with autism spectrum disorder. , 2003, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[19]  P. Teitelbaum,et al.  Movement analysis in infancy may be useful for early diagnosis of autism. , 1998, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[20]  R. B. Davis,et al.  A gait analysis data collection and reduction technique , 1991 .

[21]  S. Thomas,et al.  Locomotion of autistic adults. , 1993, Archives of neurology.

[22]  S. Rogers,et al.  Deferred and immediate imitation in regressive and early onset autism. , 2008, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[23]  John L. Bradshaw,et al.  Autism and Asperger's disorder: Are they movement disorders involving the cerebellum and/or basal ganglia? , 2005, Brain Research Bulletin.

[24]  A R Damasio,et al.  Gait disturbances in patients with autistic behavior: a preliminary study. , 1981, Archives of neurology.

[25]  B. Provost,et al.  A Comparison of Motor Delays in Young Children: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delay, and Developmental Concerns , 2007, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[26]  Gianluca Esposito,et al.  Analysis of Toddlers' Gait after Six Months of Independent Walking to Identify Autism: A Preliminary Study , 2008, Perceptual and motor skills.

[27]  Motohide Miyahara,et al.  Brief Report: Motor Incoordination in Children with Asperger Syndrome and Learning Disabilities , 1997, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[28]  Reuven Kohen-Raz,et al.  Postural control in children with autism , 1992, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[29]  M. Ghaziuddin,et al.  Clumsiness in autism and Asperger syndrome: a further report. , 1998, Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR.

[30]  D. A. Hill,et al.  Moving on: autism and movement disturbance. , 1996, Mental retardation.

[31]  G. Stelmach,et al.  Parkinsonism Reduces Coordination of Fingers, Wrist, and Arm in Fine Motor Control , 1997, Experimental Neurology.

[32]  Harold Bekkering,et al.  Altered aiming movements in Parkinson's disease patients and elderly adults as a function of delays in movement onset , 2003, Experimental Brain Research.

[33]  Robert Iansek,et al.  Gait function in high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder , 2006, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

[34]  John E. Cooper,et al.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn, text revision) (DSM-IV-TR) , 2001, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[35]  K. Christoulas,et al.  Measurement of Range of Motion in Individuals with Mental Retardation and with or without down Syndrome , 1999, Perceptual and motor skills.

[36]  A R Damasio,et al.  A neurological model for childhood autism. , 1978, Archives of neurology.

[37]  Ethan R. Buch,et al.  Effects of Parkinson's disease on visuomotor adaptation , 2003, Experimental Brain Research.

[38]  G. Stelmach,et al.  Developmental Features of Rapid Aiming Arm Movements Across the Lifespan , 2000, Journal of motor behavior.

[39]  N. Hogan.  An organizing principle for a class of voluntary movements , 1984, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[40]  N. Minshew,et al.  Underdevelopment of the postural control system in autism , 2004, Neurology.

[41]  Janet B W Williams,et al.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , 2013 .

[42]  G. Baird,et al.  The severity and nature of motor impairment in Asperger's syndrome: a comparison with specific developmental disorder of motor function. , 2002, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.