• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.77-90
• /
• 2018

Behavioral studies of emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have yielded mixed results. Most of the studies focused on emotion recognition abilities with regard to ASD using stimuli with unisensory modality, making it difficult to determine difficulties in real life emotion perception in ASD. Herein, we review the recent behavioral and cognitive neuroscience studies on emotion recognition functions in ASD, including both unisensory and multisensory emotional information, to elucidate the possible difficulties in emotion recognition in ASD. In our study, we discovered that people with ASD have problems in the process of integrating emotional information during emotion recognition tasks. The following four points are discussed: (1) The restrictions of previous studies, (2) deficits in emotion recognition in ASD especially in recognizing multisensory information, (3) possible compensation mechanisms for emotion recognition in ASD, and (4) the possible roles of attention and language functions in emotion recognition in ASD. The compensatory mechanisms proposed herein for ASD with regard to emotion recognition abilities could contribute to a therapeutic approach for improving emotion recognition functions in ASD.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.62 no.5
• /
• pp.603-609
• /
• 2019

Objective : The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine which of the proximal adjacent segment disease (ASD) and distal ASD was more prevalent and what parameters is more related to ASD in proximal levels and distal levels after more than 2 levels fusions. Methods : The medical records were reviewed retrospectively for 856 cases. A total of 66 cases of ASD were enrolled. On preop magnetic resonance imaging, disc degeneration was measured at the upper and lower parts of surgically treated levels and confirmed by the commonly used Pfirrmann grade. Segmental flexibility in sagittal plane was embodied in segment range of motion (ROM) obtained through flexion and extension X-ray before surgery. Coronal angle was recorded as methods Cobb's angle including fusion levels preoperatively. For the comparison of categorical variables between two independent groups, the chi-square test and Fisher exact test were performed. Results : Proximal ASD and distal ASD were 37/856 (4.32%) and 29/856 (3.39%), respectively. The incidence of proximal ASD was relatively high but insignificant differences. In comparison between ASD group and non ASD group, proximal Pfirmman was higher in proximal ASD and distal Pfirmman was higher in distal ASD group (p=0.005, p<0.008, respectively). However, in the ROM, proximal ROM was higher in proximal ASD, but distal ROM was not different between the two groups (p<0.0001, p=0.995, respectively). Coronal angle was not quite different in both groups (p=0.846). Conclusion : In spite of higher frequency in ASD in proximal level in spinal fusion, it is not clear that incidence of ASD in proximal level is not higher than that of distal ASD group in more than 2 level thoracolumbar fusions. Not only Pfirrmann grade but also proximal segmental ROM is risk factor for predicting the occurrence of ASD in patients more than 2 level of thoracolumbar spine fusion operation excluding L5S1.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.129-135
• /
• 2015

Objectives : In children and adolescents, the prevalence of overweight has increased in the last 20 years. little research is available on the prevalence of obesity in children with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence of overweight among a clinical population of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders(ASD). Methods : Retrospective chart review of children ages 3-18 years seen between 2012 and 2015 at a Konyang University hospital psychiatric clinic. Diagnostic, medical, and demographic information was extracted from the charts. Body mass index(BMI) was calculated from measures of height and weight recorded in the child's chart. The Center for Disease Control's BMI growth reference was used to determine an age and gender-specific BMI z-score for the children. Results : In our study, children with ASD compared to non ASD group had significantly higher BMI percentiles (p=0.032). The prevalence of overweight($BMI{\geq}85th$ to 95th percentiles) and obesity($BMI{\geq}95th$ percentiles) was 35% and 19% respectively in children with ASD and without ASD. Conclusions : Despite noted limitations, our data suggest that overweight and obesity in children with ASD are more prevalent than without ASD. Longitudinal and further study is needed to examine the factors associated with obesity in this population.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.112-116
• /
• 2023

Numerous films and TV series worldwide have depicted characters with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and savant skills. This study describes the portrayal of ASD and savant skills in Korean films and dramas. Starting with the 2005 film Marathon, characters with ASD have been featured in five films and four dramas. Most portrayals were based on the diagnostic criteria and pathogenesis of ASD, as outlined in the DSM-5. Of the 10 characters with ASD in these films and dramas, seven were male and three were female, with seven of them possessing savant skills. In the future, caution and guidance on the general characteristics of ASD from experts should be provided with the release of ASD-based films and TV dramas in Korea; in addition, critiques and social discourse pertinent to the reality of ASD should be provided by people with ASD, their families, and relevant experts.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.125-136
• /
• 2018

Although atypical sensory processing is a core feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is considerable heterogeneity among ASD individuals in the modality and symptoms of atypical sensory processing. The present study examined visual processing of children with ASD, focusing on the complexity and orientation of visual information. Age- and -IQ-matched Korean children (14 ASD and 14 typically-developing (TD) children) received an orientation discrimination task involving static spatial gratings varied in complexity (simple versus complex) and orientation (horizontal versus vertical). The results revealed that ASD children had difficulty perceiving complex information regardless of orientation, whereas TD children had more difficulty with vertical gratings than horizontal gratings. Thus, group-level differences between ASD and TD children appeared greater when gratings were presented horizontally. Unlike ASD adult literature, however, ASD children did not show superior performance on simple gratings. Our findings on typical and atypical processing of ASD children have implications for both understanding the characteristics of ASD children and developing diagnostic tools for ASD.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.45 no.2
• /
• pp.81-84
• /
• 2009

Objective : Many biomechanical and clinical studies on adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) have addressed cranial segment. No study has been conducted on caudal segment degeneration after upper segment multiple lumbar fusions. This is a retrospective investigation of the L5-S1 segment after spinal fusion at and above L4-5, which was undertaken to analyze the rate of caudal ASD at L5-S1 after spinal fusion on and above L4-5 and to determine that factors that might have influenced it. Methods : The authors included 67 patients with L4-5, L3-5, or L2-5 posterior fusions. Among these patients, 28 underwent L4-5 fusion, 23 L3-5, and 16 L2-5 fusions. Pre- and postoperative radiographs were analyzed to assess degenerative changes at L5-S1. Also, clinical results after fusion surgery were analyzed. Results : Among the 67 patients, 3 had pseudoarthrosis, and 35 had no evidence of ASD, cranially and caudally. Thirteen patients (19.4%) showed caudal ASD, 23 (34.3%) cranial ASD, and 4 (6.0%) both cranial and caudal ASD. Correlation analysis for caudal ASD at L5-S1 showed that pre-existing L5-S1 degeneration was most strongly correlated. In addition, numbers of fusion segments and age were also found to be correlated. Clinical outcome was not correlated with caudal ASD at L5-S1. Conclusion : If caudal and cranial ASD are considered, the overall occurrence rate of ASD increases to 50%. The incidence rate of caudal ASD at L5-S1 was significantly lower than that of cranial ASD. Furthermore, the occurrence of caudal ASD was found to be significantly correlated with pre-existing disc degeneration.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.13-17
• /
• 1999

Shigella sonnez is important causes of human enleric infcctions. S. sonnei KNIH104S was isolated from patient of shigellosis in Korea and previously reported. We cloned 1.7 kb BamHI fragment containing the asd gene encoding an aspartate $\beta$-semialdehyde dehydrogenase from chromosomal DNA of S. sonnei KNIH104S. This recombinant plasmid was named as pSAB17. E. coli $\chi$6097, an a d mutant, cannol grow on the LB medium without DL-$\alpha$, $\varepsilon$-diaminopimclic acid (50 pgiml) but E. coli x 6097(pSAB17) can grow on the same medium. We sequenccd the asd gene ol Shigella for the first time. The asd gcne was composed of 1,104 base pairs with ATG initiation codon and TAA termination codon. Sequence comparison of the asd gene exhibited 99.9% nucleolide sequence hornology with that of E. coli. Also, We constructed the balanced-lethal vector using pBluescrip SK(+) and asd gene of S. sonnei KNIH104S.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.153-158
• /
• 2004

Paecilomyces tenuipes is one of the famous Chinese medicinal entomopathogenic fungi that parasite in the lavae of silkworm. A cytotoxic compound, 4$\beta$-acetoxyscirpendiol (ASD) was isolated from a methanolic extracts of Paecilomyces tenuipes. The ASD compound belongs to scirpenol subfamily of trichothecene mycotoxin. In a continuation of the elucidation of the mechanism of ASD, we report here the evidences of induction of apoptosis by ASD in human Jurkat T cell line. In MTT reduction assay for monitoring cell viability, ASD showed strong toxicity. The 50 percent inhibitory concentrations of ASD against human T lymphoid Jurkat cell was 59.5 ng/$m\ell$. Phosphatidylserine externalization was increased by ASD at 3 and 6 hrs when compared with that of 6 hrs in the cell line showing in a time-dependent manner. When whole lysates of cells treated with ASD were subjected to western blot assay, 113 kDa poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) was significantly cleaved to 89 kDa fragment. Time-dependent DNA fragmentation was also observed when Jurkat T cells were treated with ASD at 100 ng/$m\ell$ for 6 hrs and 18 hrs at the ratios of 8.5% and 15.0%, respectively. From these data, Jurkat T lymphocytes treated with ASD from Paecilomyces tenuipes underwent typical cascades of apoptotic cell death.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.76-92
• /
• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze research trends in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and savant syndrome and their cognitive characteristics through a systematic literature review. The objectives of this study were to establish an overview of research trends in ASD and savant syndrome, analyze the overall characteristics of individuals with ASD and savant syndrome, and examine their cognitive characteristics. Methods: For the systematic literature review, three criteria were used to select review articles: 1) literature from peer-reviewed journals, published in the past 15 years, from 2008 to 2022; 2) subjects with ASD and savant syndrome; 3) study objectives focused on the basic phenomenon and cognitive characteristics of ASD and savant syndrome. Finally, based on the selection criteria, a total of 40 articles were included. Results: Five themes and nine subthemes were derived from the analysis of 40 studies. The five main themes were as follows: 1) What is savant syndrome? 2) Demographic characteristics of savant syndrome; 3) Spectra of savant syndrome; 4) Savant syndrome and ASD; and 5) Cognitive characteristics of ASD with savant syndrome. The subthemes of the cognitive characteristics were weak central coherence, detail-focused cognitive processing, enhanced perceptual functioning, and hyper-systemizing. Conclusion: Several studies have been conducted to understand ASD and savant syndrome; however, no single theory can specify the cognitive characteristics of people with ASD and savant syndrome. Therefore, further systematic and multi-layered research on ASD and savant syndrome are required for more comprehensive results.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.79-102
• /
• 2023

Objective : Autistic Spectrum Disorders(ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized by atypical sensory adaptation, communication problem, stereotyped behavior, and feeding disorders. The reasons for ASD feeding disorders are oral sensory motor, cognitive, behavioral, and social problems. Major symptoms include picky eating, selective eating, food refusal, food neophobia, limited food variety, and food aversion. ASD feeding disorders could be accompanied by various problems such as health and nutrition intake problems, feeding development, eating-related sociability, and family and caregiver stress. Feeding problems and disorders in ASD can present from birth. However, ASD is diagnosed by the age of 3, and there might be an appropriate treatment gap. Usually, symptoms of feeding disorders tend to decrease with age. However, the symptoms often remain, so early evaluation, intervention, and periodic checking are necessary. In this study, the general information about the feeding disorder characteristics of ASD, influencing factors, and intervention were described through a literature review. Conclusion : Sensory-based therapy and behavior-based therapies are generally used for feeding disorders in ASD. Sensory-based therapy is effective for food sensitivity and behavior-based therapy for food selection. As the symptoms of feeding disorders in ASD are diverse, a comprehensive approach includes play and participation, oral motor exercise, diet, and daily life. However, appropriate evaluation, intervention protocol, and guidelines for the treatment of feeding disorders in ASD are limited. Therefore, a complex approach based on a more systematic understanding is needed. Feeding rehabilitation specialists, such as occupational therapists, should provide appropriate evaluation and intervention.