- I am interested in understanding human behaviour under naturalistic conditions.edit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Brain Imaging, Autism, Graph Theory, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and 15 moreCognitive Neuroscience, Diffusion MRI, Connectivity in the Brain, Brain, Caudate Nucleus, Connectomics, Diffusion MRI Tractography, Brain Networks, Brain Connectivity, Connectivity, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Betweenness Centrality, Asperger Syndrome, Connectome, and Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging
Asperger syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which belongs to autism spectrum disorders. Its main symptoms are deficits in social interactions, and restricted and stereotyped behavior. There is accumulating evidence that the... more
Asperger syndrome (AS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which belongs to autism spectrum disorders. Its main symptoms are deficits in social interactions, and restricted and stereotyped behavior. There is accumulating evidence that the white matter tracts connecting brain areas are atypical in AS (for a review, see Schipul et al. 2011). Here, we characterized white matter tracts with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in AS and neurotypical controls. In addition, we used classification methods to find out how well DTI data predict that a subject belongs to the AS or control group.
Research Interests: Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Biology, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and 15 moreMedicine, Anisotropy, Diffusion MRI, Brain Mapping, Brain, Humans, Diffusion MRI Tractography, Male, Clinical Sciences, Aspergers and High Functioning Autism, Adult, Fractional Anisotropy, Asperger Syndrome, Neural pathways, and Neurosciences
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Neuropsychology, Neurology, Medical Imaging, Autism, and 15 moreNeuroimaging, Cognition, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Medical Image Processing, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Medical Image Analysis, Cognitive Neuroscience, Diffusion MRI, Diffusion MRI Tractography, Deconvolution, High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging, Clinical Sciences, Aspergers and High Functioning Autism, Neurology and Psychiatry, and Neurosciences
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Magnetoencephalography, Visual perception, and 14 moreMagnetic Resonance Imaging, Electroencephalography, Face, Medicine, Visual Cortex, Brain Mapping, Humans, Female, Face processing, Male, Human Interaction, Time Factors, Neurosciences, and photic stimulation
Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from... more
Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from psychodynamic therapy sessions, 24 sessions from 5 dyads, from which 694 therapist's interventions were coded. Heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA) of the participants were used to index emotional arousal. Facial muscle activity (electromyography) was used to index positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Electrophysiological data were analyzed in two time frames: (a) during the therapists' interventions and (b) across the whole psychotherapy session. Both empathy and challenge had an effect on psychophysiological responses in the participants. Therapists' empathy decreased clients' and increased their own EDA across the session. Therapists' challenge increased their own EDA in response to the interventions, but not across ...
Research Interests:
Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from... more
Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from psychodynamic therapy sessions, 24 sessions from 5 dyads, from which 694 therapist's interventions were coded. Heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA) of the participants were used to index emotional arousal. Facial muscle activity (electromyography) was used to index positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Electrophysiological data were analyzed in two time frames: (a) during the therapists' interventions and (b) across the whole psychotherapy session. Both empathy and challenge had an effect on psychophysiological responses in the participants. Therapists' empathy decreased clients' and increased their own EDA across the session. Therapists' challenge increased their own EDA in response to the interventions, but not across ...
Research Interests:
In conversational storytelling, the recipients are expected to show affiliation with the emotional stance displayed by the storytellers. We investigated emotional arousal-related autonomic nervous system responses in tellers and... more
In conversational storytelling, the recipients are expected to show affiliation with the emotional stance displayed by the storytellers. We investigated emotional arousal-related autonomic nervous system responses in tellers and recipients of conversational stories. The data consist of 20 recordings of 45- to 60-minute dyadic conversations between female university and polytechnic students. Conversations were videotaped and analyzed by means of conversation analysis (CA), with a special emphasis on the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation in storytelling. Electrodermal activity in both participants was measured to estimate their arousal level. The results show that the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation decrease the storyteller’s but increase the recipient’s level of arousal. This means that the monitoring of the recipient actions in storytelling, shown by earlier CA studies, has a physiological correlate. We suggest that storytelling involves an emotional load, wh...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
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Background: The aim of this study was to investigate potential differences in neural structure in individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS), high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The main symptoms of AS are... more
Background: The aim of this study was to investigate potential differences in neural structure in individuals with
Asperger syndrome (AS), high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The main symptoms
of AS are severe impairments in social interactions and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests or
activities.
Methods: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired for 14 adult males with AS and 19
age, sex and IQ-matched controls. Voxelwise group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) were studied with
tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Based on the results of TBSS, a tract-level comparison was performed with
constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD)-based tractography, which is able to detect complex (for example,
crossing) fiber configurations. In addition, to investigate the relationship between the microstructural changes and
the severity of symptoms, we looked for correlations between FA and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Empathy
Quotient and Systemizing Quotient.
Results: TBSS revealed widely distributed local increases in FA bilaterally in individuals with AS, most prominent in
the temporal part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, corticospinal tract, splenium of corpus callosum, anterior
thalamic radiation, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), posterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus and
inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). CSD-based tractography also showed increases in the FA in multiple tracts.
However, only the difference in the left ILF was significant after a Bonferroni correction. These results were not
explained by the complexity of microstructural organization, measured using the planar diffusion coefficient.
In addition, we found a correlation between AQ and FA in the right IFO in the whole group.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that there are local and tract-level abnormalities in white matter (WM) microstructure
in our homogenous and carefully characterized group of adults with AS, most prominent in the left ILF.
Asperger syndrome (AS), high-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The main symptoms
of AS are severe impairments in social interactions and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests or
activities.
Methods: Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired for 14 adult males with AS and 19
age, sex and IQ-matched controls. Voxelwise group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) were studied with
tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Based on the results of TBSS, a tract-level comparison was performed with
constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD)-based tractography, which is able to detect complex (for example,
crossing) fiber configurations. In addition, to investigate the relationship between the microstructural changes and
the severity of symptoms, we looked for correlations between FA and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Empathy
Quotient and Systemizing Quotient.
Results: TBSS revealed widely distributed local increases in FA bilaterally in individuals with AS, most prominent in
the temporal part of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, corticospinal tract, splenium of corpus callosum, anterior
thalamic radiation, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), posterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus and
inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF). CSD-based tractography also showed increases in the FA in multiple tracts.
However, only the difference in the left ILF was significant after a Bonferroni correction. These results were not
explained by the complexity of microstructural organization, measured using the planar diffusion coefficient.
In addition, we found a correlation between AQ and FA in the right IFO in the whole group.
Conclusions: Our results suggest that there are local and tract-level abnormalities in white matter (WM) microstructure
in our homogenous and carefully characterized group of adults with AS, most prominent in the left ILF.
Research Interests: Neuroscience, Neuropsychology, Neurology, Radiology, Medical Imaging, and 18 moreAutism, Neuroimaging, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Medical Image Processing, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Medical Image Analysis, Cognitive Neuroscience, DTI - Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Asperger's Syndrome, Diffusion MRI, Diffusion MRI Tractography, Uncinate Fasciculus, Asperger's Syndrome and Disruptive Behavior Disorders, High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging, Aspergers and High Functioning Autism, Probabilistic Tractography, White matter, and Neurology and Psychiatry
In conversational storytelling, the recipients are expected to show affiliation with the emo- tional stance displayed by the storytellers. We investigated emotional arousal-related auto- nomic nervous system responses in tellers and... more
In conversational storytelling, the recipients are expected to show affiliation with the emo- tional stance displayed by the storytellers. We investigated emotional arousal-related auto- nomic nervous system responses in tellers and recipients of conversational stories. The data consist of 20 recordings of 45- to 60-minute dyadic conversations between female university and polytechnic students. Conversations were videotaped and analyzed by means of conversa- tion analysis (CA), with a special emphasis on the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation in storytelling. Electrodermal activity in both participants was measured to estimate their arousal level. The results show that the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation decrease the storyteller’s but increase the recipient’s level of arousal. This means that the monitoring of the recipient actions in storytelling, shown by earlier CA studies, has a physiological correlate. We suggest that storytelling involves an emotional load, which the participants share physi- ologically in affiliative responses.