Unsupervised data-driven stratification of mentalizing heterogeneity in autism

Lombardo, M. V., Lai, M.-C., Auyeung, B., Holt, R. J., Allison, C., Smith, P., Chakrabarti, B., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Suckling, J., Bullmore, E. T., Bailey, A. J., Baron-Cohen, S., Bolton, P. F., Bullmore, E. T., Carrington, S., Catani, M., Chakrabarti, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-7895, Craig, M. C., Daly, E. M., Deoni, S. C. L., Ecker, C., Happé, F., Henty, J., Jezzard, P., Johnston, P., Jones, D. K., Lai, M.-C., Lombardo, M. V., Madden, A., Mullins, D., Murphy, C. M., Murphy, D. G. M., Pasco, G., Ruigrok, A. N. V., Sadek, S. A., Spain, D., Stewart, R., Suckling, J., Wheelwright, S. J., Williams, S. C., Ellie Wilson, C., Ecker, C., Craig, M. C., Murphy, D. G. M., Happé, F. and Baron-Cohen, S. (2016) Unsupervised data-driven stratification of mentalizing heterogeneity in autism. Scientific Reports, 6. p. 35333. ISSN 2045-2322 doi: 10.1038/srep35333

Abstract/Summary

Individuals affected by autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are considerably heterogeneous. Novel approaches are needed to parse this heterogeneity to enhance precision in clinical and translational research. Applying a clustering approach taken from genomics and systems biology on two large independent cognitive datasets of adults with and without ASC (n = 694; n = 249), we find replicable evidence for 5 discrete ASC subgroups that are highly differentiated in item-level performance on an explicit mentalizing task tapping ability to read complex emotion and mental states from the eye region of the face (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test; RMET). Three subgroups comprising 45–62% of ASC adults show evidence for large impairments (Cohen’s d = −1.03 to −11.21), while other subgroups are effectively unimpaired. These findings delineate robust natural subdivisions within the ASC population that may allow for more individualized inferences and accelerate research towards precision medicine goals.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/67642
Identification Number/DOI	10.1038/srep35333
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN) Interdisciplinary centres and themes > ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Research Network Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Neuroscience Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher	Nature Publishing Group
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item