Research Areas
At PBS Labs we conduct research in a number of different areas specifically targeted to investigate the etiology, course, and treatment of developmental disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Click through the slider to find out more and learn about the studies in these areas you can participate in the Current Studies page.
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Early Development
Early identification of developmental disorders such as ASD is central to providing
effective early intensive intervention. To address this need, we are working to identify
markers in the infancy period that may indicate a child’s risk for developing ASD.
Potential candidates include temporal processing of social stimuli, functional neural
connectivity, and the development of attention and learning.
Characterizing the early developmental trajectory of both brain and behavior in ASD
is critical to understanding the process of interactive specialization that leads to the
pattern of symptoms observed in mature individuals. As a child’s behavior contributes
to the environment he or she experiences, conducting longitudinal studies as well as
using modeling techniques to explore developmental relationships will aid our efforts
to identify delays or risk markers which will help us target core symptoms in
interventions and improve outcome for children. -
Our research approach involves the characterization of neural processing in the brain.
We use psychophysiological and cognitive neuroscience methods, such as
electrophysiology, which can provide insight into the functioning of populations with
limited verbal ability, such as preverbal infants, or children with language difficulties.
Further, this provides a means to characterize the interaction between physiology,
cognition, and observed behavior. Our investigations of emotion, attention, and social
learning include the use of event-related potentials to characterize the temporal profile
of neural responses to visual stimuli and electrophysiology to characterize the cortical
dynamics of brain function. Event-related potentials, electrophysiology, and
neuropsychological measures can then be combined to explore the neural correlates of
key social skills. This research has characterized patterns of atypical neural processing
in ASD distinct from those observed in individuals with global developmental delays.Neural Processes
Our research approach involves the characterization of neural processing in the brain, through the use of
psychophysiological and cognitive neuroscience methods. Psychophysiological methods such as electrophysiology
can provide insight into the functioning of populations with limited verbal
ability, such as preverbal infants, or children with language difficulties. Further, they provide a means to characterize the interaction between
physiology, cognition, and observed behavior. This is central to our understanding of emotion, attention, and social learning.
Our current work focuses on several areas of investigation, which we are examining across the developmental
spectrum. For example, we use event-related potentials to characterize
the temporal profile of neural responses to visual stimuli. We also use electrophysiology to characterize the cortical dynamics
of brain function, including analyses of spectral power and functional connectivity. Event-related
potentials, electrophysiology, and neuropsychological measures can then be combined to explore the neural correlates of key social skills such as face recognition or imitation
. Together, this research has characterized patterns of atypical neural processing in ASD that are distinct from those observed
in individuals with global developmental delays. We are currently exploring whether these patterns can also be
observed in family members of individuals with ASD, or whether these patterns may provide early risk markers for ASD in the infancy period. -
Phenotyping & Endophenotyping
Examining the correlation between traits (phenotype) and genes (genotype) can provide a more precise
strategy for characterizing genes that may be involved in the development
of ASD. However, it is critical to move beyond
evaluating clinically diagnostic symptoms of ASD, which are typically behavioral ‘macros’ that can be comprised of
many underlying processes. Phenotypic (or trait) evaluations use multidisciplinary methods to characterize the complex traits of individuals with ASD
, providing more precise data for calculating genotype-phenotype correlations. We use electrophysiology, cognitive neuroscience and the
assessment of developmental trajectories to provide more detailed information about the behaviors that contribute to ASD.
This requires identifying patterns of performance that are heritable. To address this question, we are examining neural processing in first degree
relatives of individuals with ASD. In collaboration with labs specializing in genetic analysis, we use this data to evaluate phenotype-genotype correlations in ASD.Examining the correlation between traits (phenotype) and genes (genotype) can
provide a more precise strategy for characterizing genes that may be involved in
the development of ASD. However, it is critical to move beyond evaluating
clinically diagnostic symptoms of ASD, which are typically behavioral ‘macros’
that can be comprised of many underlying processes. Phenotypic evaluations use
multidisciplinary methods to characterize the complex traits of individuals with
ASD, providing more precise data for calculating genotype-phenotype correlations.
We use electrophysiology, cognitive neuroscience, and the assessment of
developmental trajectories to provide more detailed information about the behaviors
that contribute to ASD. This requires identifying heritable patterns of performance. In
collaboration with labs specializing in genetic analysis, we are using our examination
of neural processing in first degree relatives of individuals with ASD to
evaluate phenotype-genotype correlations. -
Clinical Applications
Developing clinical applications for our research is a key element of our mission
statement. Our work in this area ranges from developing methods of assessing
understanding and progress in children with limited skills, to direct design
and testing of interventions for developmental disabilities such as ASD. For
example, we are currently using electrophysiological and cognitive neuroscience
methods to test children with ASD who are involved in clinical trials of early
intensive intervention programs.
This ongoing work will reveal whether early intervention can alter the trajectory
of cognitive and neural development in children with ASD. We are also involved
in the design and evaluation of a number of more specifically targeted interventions
for children with ASD. For example, in work directed by Dr. Susan Faja, we designed
and tested an intervention targeted at improving face recognition skills in a group of
adults with ASD. In ongoing work, we are evaluating the effects of a face recognition
intervention for young children with ASD and different types of early interventions.