Projects
The DC-IDDRC Research Project a fundamental question for research in intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD): how do children with IDD learn and generalize what they learn to new settings. The project uses an established cognitive-behavioral intervention for promoting flexible behavior and neuroimaging methods to assess whether individual variability in learning mechanisms is associated with behavioral flexibility and generalization of treatment outcomes to new settings.
Intervention-induced plasticity of flexibility and learning mechanisms in ASD
Principal Investigators: Lauren Kenworthy, Ph.D., Director, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Chief, Division of Pediatric Neuropsychology (Children’s National Hospital). Professor, Pediatrics, Neurology, Psychiatry, George Washington University Medical School.Chandan Vaidya, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Faculty and Psychology, Professor, Department of Psychology (Georgetown University).
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) do not readily transfer learned knowledge to novel settings. One reason for this could be their cognitive and behavioral inflexibility, which is reflected in preferences for sameness and adherence to familiar routines. The proposed project uses our well-established cognitive behavioral intervention for promoting flexible behavior and neuroimaging methods to assess whether individual variability in learning mechanisms is associated with behavioral flexibility and generalization of treatment outcomes to new settings. Findings from the study will inform the development of personalized behavioral treatments for promoting adaptive behavior in autistic youth.
We employ a longitudinal case-controlled design in 54 14-18 years old youth with ASD at 3 time-points 8 months apart, each including computational model based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during category learning and behavioral measurement of executive and adaptive function. Aim 1 tests the hypothesis that individual variation in learning biases (prototype/exemplar) and their neural correlates predicts behavioral flexibility (Time1) and is stable over time (Time2). Aim 2 tests plasticity of learning mechanisms induced by a cognitive-behavioral intervention for flexibility (Unstuck-and-On-Target) that targets development of prototypical knowledge. Intervention will strengthen prototype learning, and associated ventromedial prefrontal cortical involvement will be associated with better behavioral response to intervention. Aim 3 tests hypothesis about intervention-induced plasticity of intrinsic functional connectivity. Stronger resting-state functional connectivity between medial temporal lobe and ventromedial prefrontal cortex specifically and network connectivity of the medial temporal lobe subsystem of the default mode network will be associated with prototype learning and intervention response.
Our approach is novel, methodologically in the use of individualized characterization of learning mechanisms, and theoretically in unifying learning and executive function to explain mechanisms of treatment response and heterogeneity in treatment outcome in ASD. Findings will inform larger investigations of personalized treatments for promoting adaptive behavior in ASD.