TY - JOUR
T1 - Monitoring of autonomic response to sociocognitive tasks during treatment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders by wearable technologies: A feasibility study
AU - Di Palma, Simone
AU - Tonacci, Alessandro
AU - Narzisi, Antonio
AU - Domenici, Claudio
AU - Pioggia, Giovanni
AU - Muratori, Filippo
AU - Billeci, Lucia
AU - Bonfiglio, Silvio
AU - Baldus, Giovanni
AU - Corda, Daniele
AU - Tartarisco, Gennaro
AU - Cruciani, Federico
AU - Paggetti, Cristiano
AU - Bono, Valentina
AU - Maharatna, Koushik
AU - Maryrose, Francisa
AU - Giuliano, Angele
AU - Donnelly, Mark
AU - Galway, Leo
AU - Apicella, Fabio
AU - Lucentini, Chiara
AU - Anzalone, Salvatore
AU - Chetouani, Mohamed
AU - Cohen, David
AU - Xavier, Jean
PY - 2017/6/1
Y1 - 2017/6/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) represent a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social domain, where the autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays an important role. Several researchers have studied the ANS in ASD, during specific cognitive or sensory stimuli while few studies have examined response during social interactions. Wearable technologies can be very helpful in monitoring autonomic response in children with ASD in semi-naturalistic setting. The novelty of this study is to use such technologies to acquire physiological signals during therapeutic sessions supported by interactive "serious games" and to correlate the ANS response to the engagement of the child during sociocognitive tasks for an evaluation of the treatment effect and for the personalization of the therapy.METHOD:A wearable chest belt for electrocardiographic (ECG) signal recording was used and specific algorithms for the extraction of clinically relevant features (Heart Rate - HR, Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences - RMSSD and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia - RSA) were developed. Sociocognitive tasks were mediated by "serious games" implemented on two tablets, which allowed a precise coding of the behaviors of the children. A longitudinal assessment of the physiological response of the children during six months of treatment was performed.RESULTS:A link between physiological response, i.e. decrease in RMSSD and RSA, and engagement of the children during sociocognitive tasks was found. Longitudinal changes in the children's autonomic response, including a decrease of RSA during the engagement throughout the therapeutic sessions, were found.CONCLUSIONS:These results foster the feasibility of this methodology to be applied in a clinical setting for the monitoring of the ANS response of children with ASD during treatment. A larger sample of patients is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
AB - BACKGROUND: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) represent a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social domain, where the autonomic nervous system (ANS) plays an important role. Several researchers have studied the ANS in ASD, during specific cognitive or sensory stimuli while few studies have examined response during social interactions. Wearable technologies can be very helpful in monitoring autonomic response in children with ASD in semi-naturalistic setting. The novelty of this study is to use such technologies to acquire physiological signals during therapeutic sessions supported by interactive "serious games" and to correlate the ANS response to the engagement of the child during sociocognitive tasks for an evaluation of the treatment effect and for the personalization of the therapy.METHOD:A wearable chest belt for electrocardiographic (ECG) signal recording was used and specific algorithms for the extraction of clinically relevant features (Heart Rate - HR, Root Mean Square of the Successive Differences - RMSSD and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia - RSA) were developed. Sociocognitive tasks were mediated by "serious games" implemented on two tablets, which allowed a precise coding of the behaviors of the children. A longitudinal assessment of the physiological response of the children during six months of treatment was performed.RESULTS:A link between physiological response, i.e. decrease in RMSSD and RSA, and engagement of the children during sociocognitive tasks was found. Longitudinal changes in the children's autonomic response, including a decrease of RSA during the engagement throughout the therapeutic sessions, were found.CONCLUSIONS:These results foster the feasibility of this methodology to be applied in a clinical setting for the monitoring of the ANS response of children with ASD during treatment. A larger sample of patients is needed to confirm these preliminary findings.
KW - Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
KW - Electrocardiogram (ECG)
KW - Heart Rate
KW - Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
KW - Monitoring
KW - Personalization
KW - Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA)
KW - Wearable platform
U2 - 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2016.04.001
DO - 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2016.04.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 27080078
SN - 1879-0534
VL - 85
SP - 143
EP - 152
JO - Computers in Biology and Medicine
JF - Computers in Biology and Medicine
ER -