BACKGROUND:This study aimed to investigate the associations between preconception and prenatal smoking and alcohol consumption and the risk of autism-like behaviour in preschool children, with the aim of providing evidence for early prevention strategies. METHODS:This cross-sectional study included 19,089 children aged 3-6 years from 111 kindergartens in Huicheng District, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, China, between June 2022 and June 2023. Logistic regression was used to analyse the associations between parental smoking, drinking and autism-like behaviour in children. Multiplicative and additive interaction models were applied to evaluate the interaction between smoking and drinking on autism-like behaviour in children. RESULTS:Compared with the unexposed group, children with maternal prenatal passive smoking exposure (OR = 1.327, 95% CI: 1.042 to 1.690) and those with a paternal history of smoking (OR = 1.643, 95% CI: 1.036 to 2.605) exhibited significantly higher odds of autism-like behaviour. Among mothers with a prepregnancy smoking history, a significant negative additive interaction was observed between smoking cessation during pregnancy and concurrent alcohol consumption (RERI = -2.170, 95% CI: -4.035 to -0.304). CONCLUSIONS:This study identifies prenatal exposure to parental smoking-both maternal passive smoking and paternal smoking history-as a significant risk factor for autism-like behaviour in preschoolers. The finding of a negative additive interaction between maternal smoking cessation and concurrent alcohol consumption underscores the complexity of modifying health behaviours. These findings emphasise the key role of reducing parental tobacco and alcohol exposure in the primary prevention of autism spectrum disorder.

Background Imbalances in metal elements have been identified as a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and shortened telomere length (TL) is commonly observed in children with ASD. Metal elements may influence telomere homeostasis through oxidative stress, which could contribute to the pathogenesis of autism. However, studies examining the combined effects of metal elements on TL in children with ASD are limited. To fill the gaps in the current literature, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between six metallic elements: manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe), and TL in the whole blood of children with ASD. Methods A total of 83 children with ASD and 95 typically developing children were recruited. TL was measured using digital PCR, while metal concentrations were assessed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Linear regression analysis was first conducted to explore the correlations between metal elements and TL in both groups. Additionally, Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) was used to further examine the combined effects and potential interactions of these metals on TL in the ASD group. Results In the ASD group, Ca was found to have a protective effect on TL (β = 0.07, 95% CI [0.01–0.13], P = 0.027). In contrast, Mg showed a protective effect on TL in the control group (β = 0.10, 95% CI [0.01–0.18], P = 0.027). The BKMR model revealed a significant positive combined effect of the metal mixtures on TL in the ASD group, with Ca having the largest individual effect (PIP = 0.45). Further analysis indicated that increases in Zn and Mn concentrations from the 25th to the 75th percentile were negatively correlated with TL, while higher concentrations of Cu, Ca, Mg, and Fe were positively associated with TL. No significant interactions among the metals were observed. Conclusions This study suggests a potential link between metallic elements and TL in children with ASD, with Ca having the greatest effect. Our findings highlight the potential benefits of appropriate calcium supplementation as a protective strategy for lengthening telomeres in children with ASD, emphasizing the importance of early nutritional interventions to improve their overall health.

In this study, we aimed to examine whether parental major life events before or during pregnancy were associated with autistic behaviors in preschoolers, and whether alcohol use or smoking modified these associations. This study included 18,664 children aged 3–6 years in southern China. Parents reported seven types of major life events before or during pregnancy. Autistic behaviors were assessed by the Clancy Autism Behavior Scale. Logistic regression was applied to evaluate the associations of parental major life events with the risk of autistic behaviors, along with the modifying effects of alcohol consumption and smoking. This study found that paternal exposure to major life events before or during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of autistic behaviors. Maternal exposure to major life events during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of autistic behaviors. The associations between paternal pre-pregnancy major life events and autistic behaviors were stronger when either parent consumed alcohol before pregnancy. No modifying effect was shown for smoking. Findings from this study highlighted the importance of monitoring parental stress and alcohol use before and during pregnancy to improve children’s neurodevelopmental outcomes.

IntroductionInterest is growing in investigating the ability of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to process social information under conflicting and complex environments. However, few studies have employed objective behavioral measures to directly explore the underlying profile of social–emotional interference control.MethodsIn the current study, 53 children with ASD and 53 typically developing (TD) control, aged 6–12 years, completed a set of modified flanker tasks involving arrows, schematic faces, same real faces (with facial interference by the same person), and different real faces (with facial interference by different people), respectively. Response time in incongruent (RTInc) and congruent conditions (RTCon), percentage of errors in incongruent (%ErrorInc) and congruent conditions (%ErrorCon), and flanker effect calculated by ΔRT = (RTInc − RTCon)/RTCon and Δ%Error = %ErrorInc − %ErrorCon were used as outcome metrics.ResultsWe obtained three major results: (1) the ASD group had longer RTInc and RTCon compared to the TD group in the arrow, schematic face, and same real-face tasks; (2) compared with the performance in the arrow flanker task, both groups exhibited longer RTs and reduced ΔRTs in the same real-face task; however, in the schematic-face task, longer RT and reduced ΔRT were exhibited in the TD group, but not in the ASD group; and (3) in the different real-face task, ASD group had higher %Error than the TD group, and %Error was negatively correlated with RT only in the ASD group.ConclusionThe current study delineates the inefficient processing of social–emotional interference in school-aged children with ASD and further suggests that these children might adopt a relatively optimized strategy like symbolization when dealing with emotional conflict. However, such compensatory cognitive strategies may be exhausted along with the increase in information load. These findings provide new perspectives of considering the difference more than difficulty in the cognitive profile of ASD, which will benefit the development of targeted behavioral interventions.

BackgroundTelomere length (TL), a potential biomarker for psychiatric disorders such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), is strongly associated with health and longevity. Increased paternal age at conception (PAC) has previously been found to potentially increase the risk of autism in offspring; however, the relationship between PAC and TL in children with ASD remains unclear. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between PAC and TL in peripheral blood leukocytes of children with ASD firstly, which may help to reveal the etiology of ASD.Methods The questionnaires and peripheral venous blood were collected from 83 children with ASD, TL was measured by dPCR, and analyzed using linear regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS).ResultsPAC was significantly correlated with TL in offspring with ASD (β=0.07, p=0.003). Subgroup analysis showed that the PAC between 35 and 39 years old, as well as in both groups of ≥40 years old, were significantly. (35-39 years old group: β=0.67, p=0.044; ≥40 years old group: β =0.96, p=0.033). And PAC was significantly associated with TL in the mild-moderate ASD group (adjusted β = 0.17, p=0.001). RCS analysis also showed that the nonlinear relationship between PAC and TL did not hold and that PAC greater than 32 was protective.ConclusionThis study reveals for the first time the potential protective role of PAC on TL in children with ASD, with practical implications for public health policy.

目的探索孤独症谱系障碍 （ASD） 儿童日常执行功能与其核心症状及注意缺陷多动 （ADHD）症状的关联，以及心理理论等其他认知能力对关联的调节作用。方法招募6~12岁ASD儿童，并根据纳入排除标准确定了86名儿童。采用儿童韦氏智力测试 （WISC-Ⅳ）、新异故事测试 （SST）、执行功能行为评定量表 （BRIEF） 评估儿童的认知能力；注意缺陷多动障碍评定量表 （SNAP-Ⅳ）、社交反应量表 （SRS）、重复刻板行为检查表-修订版 （RBS-R） 分别评估儿童的注意缺陷多动症状、社交障碍及重复刻板行为的严重程度。统计方法使用多元线性回归，在控制新异故事分数、言语理解智商等因素的条件下，探索日常执行功能与注意缺陷多动症状、社交损害、重复刻板行为的关联。结果控制新异故事分数、言语理解指数 （VCI） 及其他因素后，ASD儿童的BRIEF总分及各指数与SNAP总分 （b = 0.619~ 0.741，b’ = 0.637~ 0.755）、SRS总分 （b = 0.928~ 1.200，b’ = 0.417~ 0.513） 及RBS-R总分 （b = 0.326~ 0.525，b’ = 0.339~ 0.520） 均存在明显的正向关联 （P< 0.05），并且与SNAP总分的关联更强 （b’ = 0.637~ 0.755，P< 0.01）。除了日常执行功能，新异故事分数 （b = -2.218~ -1.839） 和年龄 （b = 3.181~ 4.037） 也是影响ASD儿童社交功能的重要因素 （P< 0.01）。未发现新异故事分数、年龄对BRIEF分数与SNAP总分、SRS总分及RBS-R总分的关联存在调节效应 （P> 0.05）。结论学龄期ASD儿童的日常执行功能缺陷与ASD症状、ADHD症状显著相关，关联独立于其他领域的认知能力，如心理理论、言语理解智商。

目的:探索孤独症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童的冲突控制特征,及其与焦虑症状的关系.方法:招募并纳入6～12岁ASD儿童23例和正常发育(TD)儿童22例.通过箭头朝向和简笔画面孔 Flanker试验评估被试儿童的冲突控制特征,采用重复测量方差法分析反应正确率和平均反应时的差异.使用儿童焦虑情绪障碍筛查量表(SCARED)评估被试儿童的焦虑症状,并应用Spearman偏相关分析其与行为学指标的关联性.结果:ASD儿童在两组Flanker试验冲突条件下的反应时均较TD儿童长(均P＜0.05),在两组Flanker试验冲突条件下的反应时均大于一致性条件(均P＜0.05);TD儿童仅在箭头Flanker试验冲突条件下的反应时大于一致性条件(P＜0.05).同时,ASD儿童在简笔画面孔 Flanker试验冲突条件下的反应正确率与SCARED总分及广泛性焦虑、分离性焦虑因子呈负相关(r=-0.43,-0.49,-0.59,均P＜0.05).结论:ASD儿童可能存在冲突控制缺陷,受社会性信息的影响,并与焦虑症状相关.

The bidirectional associations between parenting styles and conduct problems in Chinese children attending preschools were rarely discussed. A study covering 171 preschools in Longhua District of Shenzhen, China was conducted among children when they first attended preschools. Parents of children reported the self-perceived parenting styles and their children's conduct problems using validated questionnaires. The bidirectional associations between parenting styles and conduct problems in children were assessed using multivariate linear or logistic regressions in both cross-sectional and cohort settings. In cross-sectional settings, the bidirectional associations were present in all dimensions of parenting styles with children's conduct problems. After 1.01 years of follow-up, increases in parenting dimensions of rejection, control attempts, and favoring subject were significantly associated with children's conduct problems at follow-up, while increases in emotional warmth of parents significantly reduced such risk. In addition, parents of children who had conduct problems at baseline but regressed to normal at follow-up showed decreased scores in negative parenting dimensions. In contrast, among children who developed conduct problems during the study period, the scores of rejection and favoring subject in their parents have increased significantly, while the scores of emotional warmth have decreased. Parent-to-child effect was similar between fathers and mothers, while child-to-parent effect was stronger in fathers than that in mothers. In order to stop the negative feedback loop between poor parenting styles and children's conduct problems, our study underscored the importance of intervention not only in parents but also in their children.

[目的]分析高龄经产妇剖宫产术中出血风险因素,为防治剖宫产术中出血提供理论依据.[方法]回顾分析2015年1月至2019年12月在中山大学附属第一医院高龄经产妇剖宫产1838例临床资料.根据产妇术中出血量是否≥500 mL,分为出血组与常规出血组,分析产妇基本资料、术中因素、胎盘因素等各类因素与术中出血相关性,通过多因素二分类Logistic回归分析得出独立风险因素.[结果]Logistic回归分析显示,手术时间[OR=1.069,95％CI为(1.050,1.089),P<0.001]、胎盘娩出方式[OR=3.131,95％CI为(1.259,7.782),P=0.014]、胎儿窘迫[OR=4.727,95％CI为(1.191,18.763),P=0.027]、手术级别[OR=21.494,95％CI为(6.031,76.611),P<0.001]、麻醉方式[OR=2.904,95％CI为(1.158,7.281),P=0.023]和宫缩乏力[OR=7.255,95％CI为(4.413,11.927),P<0.001]为术中出血独立风险因素.[结论]手术时间、胎儿窘迫、手术级别、麻醉方式、宫缩乏力、胎盘娩出方式是高龄经产妇剖宫产术中出血主要影响因素,临床应针对以上风险因素,制定相应措施,以减低剖宫产术中出血风险.

In light of the novel coronavirus’s (COVID-19’s) threat to public health worldwide, we sought to elucidate COVID-19’s impacts on the mental health of children and adolescents in China. Through online self-report questionnaires, we aimed to discover the psychological effects of the pandemic and its associated risk factors for developing mental health symptoms in young people. We disseminated a mental health survey through online social media, WeChat, and QQ in the five Chinese provinces with the most confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the late stage of the country-wide lockdown. We used a self-made questionnaire that queried children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 on demographic information, psychological status, and other lifestyle and COVID-related variables. A total of 17,740 children and adolescents with valid survey data participated in the study. 10,022 (56.5%), 11,611 (65.5%), 10,697 (60.3%), 6868 (38.7%), and 6225 (35.1%) participants presented, respectively, more depressive, anxious, compulsive, inattentive, and sleep-related problems compared to before the outbreak of COVID-19. High school students reported a greater change in depression and anxiety than did middle school and primary school students. Despite the fact that very few children (0.1%) or their family members (0.1%) contracted the virus in this study, the psychological impact of the pandemic was clearly profound. Fathers’ anxiety appeared to have the strongest influence on a children’s psychological symptoms, explaining about 33% of variation in the child’s overall symptoms. Other factors only explained less than 2% of the variance in symptoms once parents’ anxiety was accounted for. The spread of COVID-19 significantly influenced the psychological state of children and adolescents in participants’ view. It is clear that children and adolescents, particularly older adolescents, need mental health support during the pandemic. The risk factors we uncovered suggest that reducing fathers’ anxiety is particularly critical to addressing young people’s mental health disorders in this time.

Face memory impairments are common but heterogeneous in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may be influenced by co-occurrence with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Here, we aimed to investigate the phenotype change of face memory in children with ASD comorbid ADHD symptoms, and discuss the potential role of executive function (EF). Ninety-eight children were analyzed in the present study, including ASD− (ASD-only, n = 24), ADHD (n = 23), ASD+ (with ADHD symptoms, n = 23) and neurotypical controls (NTC, n = 28). All participants completed two tests: face encoding and retrieving task and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) for measuring face memory and EF, respectively. Results revealed that: compared with the NTC group, children with ASD− exhibited lower accuracy in both face encoding and retrieving, and participants with ASD+ showed lower accuracy only in the retrieving, whereas no differences were found among participants with ADHD. Moreover, in the ASD+ group, face encoding performance was correlated with response perseverative errors (RPE) and failure to maintain sets (FMS) of WCST; significantly, there were no group differences between ASD+ and NTC in these two indices. The transdiagnostic profiles indicated that comorbid ADHD symptoms could modulate the face encoding deficiency of ASD, which may be partially compensated by EF. Shared and distinct intervention strategies to improve social cognition are recommended for children undergoing treatment for each condition.

Cooking is one of the main sources of indoor air pollution in China. Given emerging evidence of a link between air pollutants and neurodevelopmental delays, we examined whether maternal experiences with cooking during gestation might increase their child's hyperactivity at 3 years of age. The participants involved 45 518 mothers of children who were newly enrolled at kindergarten in the Longhua District of Shenzhen from 2015 to 2017. The results show that maternal exposure to cooking fumes during pregnancy was related to an increased risk of their offspring having hyperactivity behaviors at the age of 3 years. Compared with pregnant mothers who never cooked, pregnant mothers who cooked sometimes, often, or always had children who showed a significantly higher hyperactivity risk. Households using cooking fuels such as coal, gas during the mothers' pregnancy, exhibited more hyperactivity behaviors in the young child when compared to those using electricity for cooking. In addition, poor ventilation during cooking, while mothers were pregnant, was found to be a significant risk factor for clinical levels of the offspring's hyperactive behaviors. Furthermore, the positive association with maternal cooking during pregnancy and their offsprings' hyperactivity was relatively consistent across strata defined by social class, education, and other covariates.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) present with a high co‐occurrence of anxiety and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, it remains unclear how the co‐occurrence of anxiety and ADHD in children with ASD alters whole‐brain functional networks. Here, we aimed to examine anxiety‐ and ADHD‐related brain network centrality in children with ASD separately and their relationships with ASD symptoms. Clinical anxiety and ADHD levels in children with ASD, aged 6–13 years old, were assessed. Participants were categorized into four groups: ASD only (n = 28), ASD + anxiety (n = 19), ASD + ADHD (n = 25), and ASD + both anxiety and ADHD (n = 28). Subsequently, we compared voxel‐wise network degree centrality (DC) among the four groups. We found that: (a) compared with ASD only, children with ASD + anxiety showed higher DC in the left middle temporal gyrus, right lingual gyrus, and left cuneus, and lower DC in the right precuneus; (b) children with ASD + ADHD presented higher DC in the right calcarine and left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) compared with ASD only; (c) children with ASD + both displayed higher DC in the right calcarine and lower centrality in the right middle occipital gyrus compared with ASD only; and (d) across all children with ASD, there was a positive correlation between DC of the right calcarine with nonverbal behavior scores, and DC of the left SFG was negatively correlated with social scores. Our findings suggest that the right calcarine, left SFG, and default mode network nodes play important roles in the co‐occurrence of anxiety and ADHD among children with ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1057–1068. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay SummaryThe co‐occurrence of anxiety and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been shown to influence the brain function of children with ASD. In order to gain a better understanding of this, the present study compared degree centrality, the amount of effective brain functional connectivity that reflects the characteristics of brain networks, among four groups: ASD only, ASD + anxiety, ASD + ADHD, and ASD + both anxiety and ADHD. We found that some areas located in the language processing network and primary visual cortex were associated with the co‐occurrence of ADHD, and some other areas located in the default mode network were associated with the co‐occurrence of both anxiety and ADHD. These findings provide more knowledge about the neural basis underlying behavioral changes related to the co‐occurrence of anxiety and ADHD in children with ASD.

Child unintentional injuries are one of the most prominent global health threats and parents may play a vital role in these injuries. This study thus aims to explore the associations of parents teaching safety rules with preschool children's safety behaviors and unintentional injuries. A total of 62,922 children registered at 182 kindergartens in Longhua District of Shenzhen, China during the fall semester of 2016, were included in this cross-sectional study. Their parents were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire covering information about socio-demographics, parents teaching safety rules to children, child safety behaviors and unintentional injuries. Logistic and linear regression models were carried out to test the associations among parents teaching safety rules, child safety behaviors, and child unintentional injuries. Whether child safety behaviors mediated the relationship between parents teaching safety rules and child unintentional injuries was assessed using Hayes' PROCESS macros for SPSS. Regression analyses revealed that the higher scores of both mothers' and fathers' teaching safety rules to children were significantly associated with the reduced risks of child unintentional injuries and the modest improvements in child safety behaviors, after adjusting for potential confounders. Furthermore, mediation analysis illustrated that child safety behaviors mediated 18.1% of the association between mothers teaching safety rules and child unintentional injuries and 30.3% of the association between fathers teaching safety rules and child unintentional injuries, respectively. These findings suggest that parents teaching safety rules to children is beneficial for mitigating unintentional injury risks among Chinese preschool children through improving child safety behaviors.

Background: Prenatal exposure to air pollutants has been suggested as a possible etiologic factor for the occurrence of ADHD or ADHD-like behaviors. But we still lack a comprehensive assessment of household air pollutants exposure on the development of ADHD-like behaviors during childhood. Object: We aimed to assess whether prenatal household inhalants exposure is associated with preschoolers' ADHD-like behaviors in a nonclinical population. Methods: This study used the baseline data of the Longhua Child Cohort Study. During 2015-2017, we recruited 42,983 mothers and their kindergarten-aged children who enrolled at kindergarten in the Longhua district of Shenzhen, to obtain the demographic data and relevant exposure information through self-administrated questionnaire survey. The source of prenatal household inhalants exposure include cooking fumes, environmental tobacco smoke, mosqutio coils, home renovated and indoor burning incense. Logistic and censored least absolute deviations (CLAD) models were used to reveal the association between prenatal exposure to household air pollutants and hyperactive behaviors in child. Results: We found that exposure to five types of household inhalants during pregnancy were independently associated with an increased risk of child hyperactive behaviors. Moreover, we observed a significant interaction between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and cooking fumes during gestation on child hyperactive behaviors in CLAD models. We also found a significant joint effect between burning mosquito coils and incense during gestation for child hyperactive behaviors risk both in CLAD and Logistic models. Furthermore, a household inhalants exposure index was used to demonstrate a dose-response relationship between the cumulative effect of exposure to the five household air pollutants and child hyperactivity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to different household inhalants might increase the risk of children's hyperactive behaviors at around 3 years of age with the presence of interaction effects between some inhalants.

This study aimed to explore the association between teacher’s type D personality (TDP) and children’s hyperactive behaviors, along with the moderation effect of parental TDP and the mediation effect of the teacher–student relationship. In this prospective study, a total of 25,852 children were surveyed from 2014 to 2016 in Longhua District of Shenzhen, China, and followed up 1 year later. At baseline, parents provided data on parental TDP and children’s hyperactive behaviors, while teachers reported on their TDP. At follow-up, parents provided data on children’s hyperactive behaviors again, and teachers described their relationship with each student. Two-level multilevel logistic models were conducted to assess the influence of a teacher’s TDP, parental TDP, and their interaction on children’s hyperactive behaviors. Mediation analysis was used to examine the mediating role of the teacher–student relationship. Results indicated that teachers’ TDP was not a significant predictor of children’s hyperactive behaviors after 1 year in kindergarten. Conversely, maternal and paternal TDP were prospectively and positively associated with children’s subsequent hyperactive behaviors. However, the children with a TDP teacher, a TDP mother, and/or a TDP father had higher risk of hyperactive behaviors than those with either a TDP teacher or a TDP mother or a TDP father. In addition, the teacher–student relationship was not a significant mediator between teacher’s TDP and children’s hyperactive behaviors. Further, researchers may consider the effect of the combination of teacher’s TDP, maternal TDP, and paternal TDP on hyperactive behaviors in children in further studies.

This study explored the associations between parental Type D personality (TDP), parent–child interactive activities, and children’s hyperactive behaviors. Moreover, the study examined whether parent–child interactive activities mediated the associations between parental TDP and children’s hyperactive behaviors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among children from all kindergartens in a district of a southern city in China. Data on parental TDP, the frequency of parent–child interactive activities, children’s hyperactive behaviors, and socio-demographic characteristics were provided by 47,648 parent–child dyads. Multiple regression analysis was employed to assess the associations between parental TDP, parent–child interactive activities, and children’s hyperactive behaviors. Mediation analysis was applied to explore the mediating role of parent–child interactive activities on the associations between parental TDP and children’s hyperactive behaviors. Parental TDP was negatively associated with the frequency of parent–child interactive activities and positively associated with children’s hyperactive behaviors. The frequencies of parent–child interactive activities were negatively associated with children’s hyperactive behaviors. The frequency of parent–child interactive activities partially mediated the associations between parental TDP and children’s hyperactive behaviors. Future research may consider parental TDP and parent–child interactive activities as potential important predictors of hyperactive behaviors in children. Such research will help identify further targets for intervention to reduce hyperactive behaviors in children.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) always show working memory deficits. However, research findings on the factors that affected the working memory in ASD and ADHD were inconsistent. Thus, we developed the present study to investigate the association of executive function (EF) with the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in ASD and ADHD. Three groups of participants were examined: 21 children with ASD, 28 children with ADHD and 28 typically developing (TD) children as the controls. All participants completed two tests: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the Corsi Block Tapping Test for measuring EF and VSWM, respectively. The WCST included four domains: categories achieved (CA), perseverative errors (PE), failures to maintain set (FMS), and total errors (TE). The findings indicated that (1) the ASD group showed poorer performance in VSWM than the ADHD and TD groups; (2) for the ASD group, VSWM was positively correlated with CA, and was negatively correlated with PE and TE; (3) for the ADHD group, FMS showed a negative relationship with VSWM; and (4) TE predicted the performance of VSWM in ASD group, while FMS predicted VSWM in ADHD group. The study results suggested that VSWM was impaired in ASD but not in ADHD. Also, the EF domains were differently correlated with the VSWM performance in ASD and ADHD. Our study suggests that we should consider different intervention targets of working memory and EF contributions in improving the cognitive capacity of ASD and ADHD. Autism Res 2018, 11: 1148–1156. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Lay summaryThe present study compared the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) in three groups of children: autism (ASD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and typically developed children (TD). The ASD group showed poorer VSWM than the ADHD and TD groups. The total error of executive function predicted the performance of VSWM in ASD, while failures to maintain set predicted VSWM in ADHD . These findings suggested that we should consider the different working memory and executive function training targets to increase cognitive capacity of ASD and ADHD.

Background The prevention of cognitive impairment is a crucial public health issue, and leisure activities have been studied as the strategy of the cognitive preservation. The aim of the study was to explore the possible relationship between social activity and cognitive function among community-dwelling Chinese elderly in two big cities of Southern China. Participants and methods Altogether, 557 nondemented older adults aged 60 years and older (73.4±6.5 years) were recruited in the social centers in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. A leisure activity questionnaire was used to measure the social activity participation. Cognitive function was examined using a neuropsychological battery. The association between social activity and cognitive function was analyzed using the multiple linear regression analysis. Results Social activities had a weak relationship with cognitive performance when measured in terms of overall participation. Attending an interest class had significant association with the Cantonese version of Mini Mental State Examination, the word list learning test, the delayed recall test, and the trail making test. Religious activity showed significant association with the word list learning test and the digit vigilance test. Singing had significant association with the Category Verbal Fluency Test (CVFT) and the trail making test. Conclusion Some individual social activity items may be associated with better cognitive function among the community Chinese elderly independently of other factors.

OBJECTIVE:To explore the recognition ability and abnormal processing characteristics to basic emotional faces in the early phase in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).METHODS:Photos of Chinese static faces with four basic emotions (fearful, happy, angry and sad) were used as stimulus. Twenty-five ASD children and twenty-two age- and gender-matched typical developed children (normal controls) were asked to match the emotional faces with words. Event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded concurrently.RESULTS:N170 latencies for total emotion and fearful face in the left temporal region were faster than in the right one in normal controls (P<0.05), but the results were not noted in ASD children. Further, N170 latencies in the left temporal region of ASD children were slower than normal controls for total emotion, fearful and happy faces (P<0.05), and their N170 latencies in the right temporal region were prone to slower than normal controls for angry and fearful faces.CONCLUSIONS:The holistic perception speed of emotional faces in the early cognitive processing phase in ASD children is slower than normal controls. The lateralized response in the early phase of recognizing emotional faces may be aberrant in children with ASD.