Trial lecture: Behavior Analysis and Neuroscience Measures: Past and Future Perspectives.
The ordinary opponents are:
- First opponent: Professor Edson Massayuki Huziwara, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Second opponent: Research Assistant Professor Daniele Ortu, University of North Texas, USA
- Chair of the committee: Associate Professor Katerina Monlux, Norway
Leader of the public defense is Head of Studies Christoffer Eilifsen, OsloMet.
The main supervisor is postdoctoral researcher Torbjørn Elvsåshagen, Oslo University Hospital.
The co-supervisors are Professor Erik Arntzen, OsloMet and Associate Professor Eva Albertsen Malt, Akershus University Hospital and University of Oslo.
Thesis summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. A core problem in ASD can be categorization and use of symbols in language. The word "dog" is a symbol for many different dogs, differing in size and color. We also have pictures of dogs and the sound of a dog.
Despite differences in topography, we don't need to be taught that every dog in the world is a dog, independent if we see it in real life, on a picture or hear it. We can learn that some stimuli (for example words and objects) "belongs together" and thereafter we get the rest of the learning for free.
In ASD it's shown that the ability to identify similarities is reduced, but the ability to detect differences is enhanced. This could make categorization and symbolic learning harder.
Three articles
In the current thesis, with its three articles, we wanted to see if training some relations between stimuli would lead to the establishment of never directly trained relations.
Further, it was investigated if there were differences in the brains electrical activity when the participants were presented with unrelated and related pictures that was not directly trained and related and unrelated words.
Article one had only participants without ASD. In article two participated both participants with and without ASD (without intellectual disabilities). In the studies we wanted to see if the responding on the problem solving tests and the brains electrical activity differed between the two groups.
In the first article, we also tested how differences in experimental parameters effected the measure of the brain's electrical activity.
In the third article, we used the method of problem solving behavior in a clinical setting together with
- measure of synaptic plasticity (ability of the brain to change)
- MRI (structure of the brain)
- neuropsychological testing (processing speed, attending behavior, and executive function, among others).
The participants here were one participant with ASD and three relatives.
Results
The results show that all the participants met the mastery criterion for the problem solving tasks in article one. In article two, 78 percent of the participants with ASD and 75 percent of the participants without ASD did the same.
A difference in the brains electrical activity was observed when the participants were presented with related or unrelated pairs. There was no difference in the brain's electrical activity if the pairs consisted of pictures or words, or between participants with and without ASD.
In the third article, differences in problem solving, neuropsychological testing, changes in the activity of the visual cortex, and the size and the surface area of the brain was demonstrated in the participant with ASD.
All together these results can contribute to a better understanding of categorization and symbolic learning, and with more research contribute to effective evaluation of interventions and diagnosis.
