When it comes to measuring our emotional responses to food items, medical treatment, or works of art, our behavior does not always paint the whole picture. Sometimes it is difficult to put our emotional experience into words, for example, when looking at a painting in a museum. In other, more experimental situations, a test participant may be too young to verbally comment on the test situation or the participant is reluctant to show a behavioral response. That is why behavioral researchers increasingly combine behavioral observations with psychophysiological measures, including heart rate and skin conductance.
A good example of this is the “eMotion. Mapping museum experience” project of the University of Friedrichshaven in Germany [1]. The researchers measured the response of 500 visitors to different works of modern art in the museum of Sankt Gallen. They measured how long visitors looked at each work of art and, during the visit, they monitored physiological measures such as heart rate and skin conductance. They found by combining the results of interviews, behavioral observations and the physiological measurements, that the physiological measures were significantly related to the aesthetic-emotional experience of an artwork. The researchers say that they could not have found this by only looking at the behavior of the visitors.
Another example is consumer testing of new food products [2]. Researchers state that consumer acceptance of new food products are not only affected by conscious processes but may also be based on unconscious processes, which may be measured by implicit physiological and behavioral measures. In their study, they measured facial expressions, heart rate, skin conductance, and finger temperature in response to the presentation of liked and disliked food items. They found that the physiological measures provide detailed information on food preferences in relation to specific food properties that may not have been provided by behavioral measures only.
The Observer XT is a very useful tool to integrate behavioral and physiological data. As such, it can be used in large variety of research areas, ranging from consumer sciences to the study of the perception of art.
Please read more in the White Paper “Psychophysiology and The Observer XT - how The Observer XT can be used to combine behavioral, video, and physiological data in your research". Also watch the video clips on Psychophysiology.
[1] http://www.mapping-museum-experience.com/en
[2] Wijk, R. de; Kooijman, V.; Verhoeven, R.; Holthuyzen, N.; Graaf, C. de. (article in press) Autonomic nervous system responses on and facial expressions to the sight, smell, and taste of liked and disliked foods. Food Quality and Preference. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.04.015
Nowadays there are many different methods to train a horse. Looking at equitation sciences, it seems you can distinguish al least two different training strategies applied and investigated. First, there is the ‘natural’ way of horsemanship that allows the horse to evaluate action and reaction. This is often claimed to be the “new” way, but it actually seems based on very ancient methods. The other extreme is horsemanship that is based on desensitizing or ‘overruling’ of the animal.
Scientific research on different training methods
Baragli et al. (2012, in press) wrote an article comparing two different methods of training young horses, providing a scientific approach to evaluate the success of these methods by closely looking at the behavior of the horses. Twelve young ponies were used, and split up into two groups. Both were trained using a similar basis of learning theory, but provided the horses with different opportunities to control their environment.
Group A was housed in a paddock and received training in a small circular enclosure. During training, the horse was not restrained and chased-away until it showed interest in the trainer. The trainer approached the horse while paying attention to its behavior. The horse was allowed to retreat, and if this occurred, this was followed by repeating the same strategy to approach the horse once again. When the horse followed the trainer voluntarily, physical contact was initiated. The last phase included saddling the horse. All the while, the horse was allowed to retreat and all movements were performed slowly, giving the horse time to evaluate each stimulus.
In group B the training began in the horse’s stable where it was kept individually, isolated from the group. The horse was driven into a corner and the halter was put on. Physical contact and saddling of the horse were continued until the animal accepted, giving it no time to evaluate the stimuli.
Evaluation of training success: a behavioral approach
After training was completed, two tests were performed to evaluate the behavior of each horse. Behavioral monitoring and evaluation were performed with The Observer XT. Additionally, the subjects’ heart rate was monitored. In the person test, the horse was let loose in a familiar arena. An unfamiliar person was introduced and the attention and exploratory behavior directed towards that person was recorded. In the grooming test, the horse was groomed and saddled by a familiar person (the trainer) in the familiar training location (round pen or stall).
Behaviors scored included:
- Exploration of the person
- Attention paid to the person
- Head lowered
- Kinetic behaviors
- Defensive behaviors
- Avoidance behaviors
Of all behaviors, latency, frequency, and duration were scored with The Observer XT.
Group A took more time to train, but showed more signs of relaxation during both tests, according to the authors. Their heart rate was lower during both tests and all of them approached the unfamiliar human as opposed to horses from group B, where only one horse approached the unfamiliar human. They also spent more time in close proximity to that person. In the grooming test, it was easier to lift the hoofs of the horses in group A. The total time it took to perform the whole grooming ritual did not differ between groups.
Differences between training methods
The authors explain that the high amount of exploratory behavior shown in both tests by group A can be associated with a positive emotional state. They also showed lowering of the head during grooming, a sign of relaxation. Group B showed attention to the humans, but also more defensive and avoidance behavior instead of exploration.
The main difference in these two methods is that in group A, the time taken to evaluate a stimulus was determined by the horse, with trainers taking into consideration attentive behavior and the individuality of responses in their actions. Essentially, the trainer’s actions were modulated according to the horse’s response.
Further research
This article provides some clear and straight-forward results. It is a nice addition to research on training methods and well-being of horses, and provides a good basis for further research. While many different training methods exist, and many will have components of both methods described in this publication of Baragli et al., the clear difference in approach described here gives us insight into the effects on horse behavior and the value of a detailed behavioral study in the evaluation of different strategies.
Read more: Baragli, P.; Mariti, C.; Petri, L.; De Giorgio, F.; Sighieri, C. (2011). Does attention make the difference? Horses’ response to human stimulus after 2 different training strategies. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 6, 31-38.
For many years, questionnaires and interviews were used to assess needs, motives, and preferences of consumers. But, non-verbal responses can also provide important information. Repeatedly, behavioral research has demonstrated that people often don’t do what they say they will do. Recently, innovative research methods and techniques found their way into the field of marketing studies. Neuromarketing has become increasingly more popular.
Neuromarketing
Neuromarketing (Smidts, 2002) is a field of marketing that studies consumers' sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective response to marketing stimuli. It is an interesting mix of companies and universities that invest in neuromarketing to gather more information about consumer behavior. Recently, neuromarketing professionals from all over the world have united themselves in the NMSBA, the Neuromarketing Science & Business Association.
Techniques
In the field of neuromarketing several different technologies are used to measure changes in activity in parts of the brain, outward expressions such as facial expressions, and changes in one's physiological state. All techniques are aimed at learning more about why consumers make the decisions the way they do, and if a part of the brain is telling them to make these decisions. Techniques such as EEG are used, as well as MRI tools.
Emotions
Basic emotions, represented by facial expressions, are not conscious and can thus deliver great information about subconscious processes. The added value of measuring facial expressions, detecting small changes in emotions, in neuromarketing is that it tells a lot about appreciation towards brands or products. A positive emotion towards a product can determine a positive decision. It’s all about the connections that are made unconsciously. Immediately after a product or visual is introduced to the consumer, he or she feels positive or negative emotions. Researchers worldwide measure these emotions by using FaceReader, software that automatically classifies facial expressions.
Eye tracking
Often eye tracking technology is combined with facial expression analysis techniques to provide insight in preferences, desire, appreciation, and more. Both eye tracking and expression analysis can add substantial power to your research by providing information about attention and emotion. Scan paths indicate for example how people look at websites and advertisements: which parts of an advertisement they actually look at and for how long they look at various items. And when a participant has previous experience with an application, the scan path of the eyes will have fewer fixations. Modern eye trackers can easily generate this information, which makes them increasingly popular in neuromarketing studies. Combining research tools such as an eye tracker, FaceReader, and The Observer XT (coding and analysis software), can add substantial power to your research.
Sub-consciousness
Our own subconscious has a lot more influence on our behavior then we could ever imagine. What do we really see, notice, and what is registered in our memory? How do we make decisions? By making use of new research methods and techniques, marketers try to understand these processes. The better we know how the brain functions, the better we know how to influence decision making processes. Of course, advertisement placement and government campaigns can then be adjusted and made more effective. In tools such as The Observer XT, facial expressions, physiological data, eye tracking data, and video can be integrated. To provide a good overview of stimulus-response, such a tool can be of real value to your research.
Smidts, A. (2002) Kijken in Het Brein: Over De Mogelijkheden Van Neuromarketing. ERIM Report Series Reference No. EIA-2002-012-MKT.
The usefulness of gait is well established in research on spinal cord injury, ataxia, and arthritis. But in fact, research on all disorders that influence gait in any way, can benefit from gait and footfall analysis. Gait is an important part of the behavioral repertoire of animals, and detailed gait analysis is a logical endpoint to take into account.
The cause of gait disturbances
Numerous diseases and disorders affect gait and four categories of origin can be described. First, the central nervous system can be affected, resulting in lack of coordination, ataxia, paralysis, etc. Examples include Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, cerebellar ataxia, and ALS. Second, disorders that originate from the peripheral nervous system can cause similar symptoms. Examples include ischemia and sciatic nerve injury.
Third, if skeletal systems are affected, as is the case with arthritis or knee and ankle injury, symptoms include less use of a paw or limb, compensation by other limbs, irregular step sequences, etc. Fourth and final, the musculature can be affected, for instance by dystrophy.
The benefits of automation
Until recently, gait performance in rodents was not only difficult to quantify, it was also labor intensive. Everybody remembers the old bottle of ink. But you can leave that in the cabinet from now on – modern technology, like CatWalk XT, offers you a better (and less messy) way to do it.
Don’t miss them!
In the coming weeks we will highlight some of the parameters that CatWalk XT gait analysis automatically calculates and its relevance to your research, from ‘simple’ footprints to sophisticated regularity and coordination indexes. So don’t miss them - sign up to be notified when the blog posts are online!
In Rhesus monkeys the optimal sexual strategy is different for Alpha males, other males and females. Alpha males want females to mate exclusively with them, whereas other males and females benefit from promiscuity. With secret sex, females and bystander males counteract the strategies of alpha males to dominate the group.
Conflicting mating strategies
Did you know that in social groups of monkeys, the optimal mating strategy of alpha males conflicts with the optimal strategy of females and the other males? A dominant male wants females to mate exclusively with him to ensure that the offspring is his. To ensure this, the alpha male guards females and interrupts mating by other males [1,2]. On the other hand, bystander males of course also want to mate and produce offspring. But how do they achieve this?
The benefits of promiscuity
While alpha males want females to be monogamous, females benefit from promiscuity. Having more mating partners decreases the chance that offspring is attacked or killed, since males do not attack offspring of their mating partners [3]. Also, by mating with different partners, females increase the amount of goods they get from males and increase the number of males that guard the group [4,5]. Females will therefore try to escape from the exclusive right of the alpha males to copulate with them. But how?
Do monkeys have secret sex?
In a recent article in the American Journal of Primatology, Overduin-de Vries et al. [6] hypothesize that females and bystander males copulate secretly out of sight of the alpha male. They investigated whether mating between females and bystander males occurs more often in absence than in presence of the alpha male. In addition to this, they looked whether the male’s rank is of importance for the effect of their presence on mating behavior of females with other males. The researchers used The Observer XT for their ethological research and used an ethogram with different phases of the mating behavior. For both males and females they coded:
- Inviting to copulate
- Accepting or rejecting such an invitation
- Attempting to copulate
- Mounting
- Thrusting
- Copulating
Counteracting the alpha male with secret sex
Indeed, the presence of males affected the mating behavior of females with other males. This effect was the largest for the absence or presence of the alpha male. The females copulated more frequently with bystander males and spent more time copulating when they were out of sight of other males. This way, females avoid aggressive interruptions of copulations with other males. Hence, while alpha males do their best to monopolize the group and keep the females for themselves, females counteract this strategy with secret sex and promiscuity. This raises the question who is really in charge of the group, the alpha male or his females?
References
- Chapais B. (1983). Reproductive activity in relation to male dominance and the likelihood of ovulation in rhesus mon-keys. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2, 215–228.
- Manson J.H. (1996). Male dominance and mount series duration in Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques. Animal Behavior, 51,1219–1231.
- Hausfater G.; Hrdy S.B. (1984). Infanticide: comparative and evolutionary perspectives. New York: Aldine. 598 p.
- Engelhardt A. (2004). The significance of male and female re-productive strategies for male reproductive success in wild longtailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). Göttingen, Germany: Cuvillier verlag. 109 p.
- Wolff J.O.; Macdonald, D. W. (2004). Promiscuous females protect their offspring. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 19,127–134.
- Overduin-de Vries, A.M.; Massen, J.J.M.; Spruijt, B.M.; Sterck, E.H.M. (2012). Sneaky Monkeys: An Audience Effect of Male Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) on Sexual Behavior. American Journal of Primatology, 74, 217–228
To find out more about human and animal learning and memory, we might just have to go to sleep. Ahem – research on sleep, I mean.
Sleep to learn
At the institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology at Heidelberg University (Germany), they study REM sleep. REM is an important phase in our sleep, not just for humans, but for other mammals as well. We need REM sleep to process recent events, to learn skills, and regulate our emotions. It is thought that predators ‘relive’ catching their prey during sleep, improving their skills for the next hunt.
Brain waves
Late 2010, Scheffzük et al. published a paper on brain waves that were recorded with EEG in mice during active wakefulness and REM sleep.
This study investigates the cross-frequency coupling between two different ‘brain waves’: theta and gamma waves. Theta waves are slow waves; in rodents they originate from the hippocampal network and are conducted to the neocortex. Gamma waves are faster, local waves, and can be divided into slow and fast gamma waves.
Inside and outside the brain
Scheffzük et al. recorded brainwaves (EEG) from 19 freely moving mice during a 24- hour home cage assessment in a PhenoTyper home cage. Additionally, movement and behavior was automatically recorded with EthoVision XT to determine different states such as active wakefulness, quiet wakefulness, slow wave sleep, and REM sleep.
EEG and data on exploration behavior was also collected in a selection of the mice during a novel open field test and a plus maze test. This combination of tests was used to get robust data: while in the plus maze exploration behavior is more induced by the artificial environment, in the open field behaviors are more spontaneous and less induced. Both tests represented active wakefulness and brain waves were clearly visible during both tests.
Waves working together
The coupling of theta and gamma brain waves is believed to be important in memory processing and synaptic plasticity. In this study, prominent theta waves were found in active awake animals and during REM sleep, and not during immobile awake states or during slow wave sleep.
Both gamma and theta waves had a much higher power during the active awake state. However, EEG recordings revealed a coupling between theta and gamma waves that became much more pronounced during REM sleep: The coupling between theta and slow gamma waves increased 1.5 times, the coupling between theta and fast gamma waves increased 9 times.
The future of sleep study
Scheffzük et al.’s paper revealed that these local gamma waves seem to be modulated by the global theta waves, especially during REM sleep. This is an interesting fact, since we know REM sleep is important for learning and memory, and other studies have indicated that coupling between different brain waves is found in many behavioral and cognitive processes. For example: theta-gamma coupling is enhanced during working-memory dependent tasks.
This research provides a new physiological marker of REM sleep and distinguishes fast and slow gamma waves. Up to now, little was known about the characteristics of REM sleep, so these findings might be of great importance in understanding memory formation and – in the long run – might even shed a different light on learning disabilities.
Read more
Scheffzük, C.; Kukushka, V.I.; Vyssotski, A.L.; Draguhn, A.; Tort, A.B.L.; Brankačk, J. (2011). Selective coupling between theta phase and neocortical fast gamma oscillations during rem-sleep in mice. PLoS ONE, 6(12), e28489, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028489
Learn more about the behavioral tools: EthoVision XT and PhenoTyper .
Do you know of any more interesting publications on sleep in animals? Let us know in the comments section below!
In daily practice, it can be difficult to establish a long-term change in behavior. Most of the time, people are not aware of their behavior; according to a large number of scientists, at least 95% of our behavior is unconscious whereas only 5% is conscious.
New assessment tools (one for example developed by Tricom, training agency Wageningen, The Netherlands, www.tricom-bv.nl) give sales representatives and managers more insight into their own behavior. As a result, they learn to communicate more efficiently.
Understanding your own behavior is essential when you want to create a meaningful, long-term relationship with customers or employees. Companies invest in training courses and coaching sessions to empower employees. As behavioral change plays a big role in these training courses, assessment tools, with which cause and effect of behavior can be pinpointed exactly, are of great value.
A conversation between the trainee and the employee or customers can be easily recorded on video ensuring that the trainer can give clear and concise examples of behaviors and behavioral patterns afterwards. Furthermore, the best feedback can be given when the recordings take place in a natural work environment.
Case study
Tricom, a training agency, collects data by observing trainees, preferably in their own work environment. After data collection and analysis, Tricom delivers an objective and concrete report with a description of the observations and the results. This report enables the trainees to be aware of their unconscious behaviors. With this practical approach, trainees can work on their attitude in order to reach their personal targets or goals.
See for yourself how systematic observation and The Observer® XT software would work for your research.
Download our white paper that will show you how The Observer XT can be used for behavior analysis in the training of a manager or sales employee. This software facilitates the study of behavior, and provides you with accurate results which help to increase the awareness of behavior amongst managers, sales representatives, and other employees.
T
he power of temporal behavioral pattern analysis and video tracking
We all show some form of compulsive behavior. I triple check to make sure I locked my car, knowing that it’s locked but still feeling the need. But what if compulsions, rituals, and repetition rule your everyday live?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a complex psychiatric disease that can have a profound impact on the lives of those affected by it. Typical single-drug treatment (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) fails to help a large percentage of patients, so researchers are trying to come up with more effective therapies.
In search of the next top-model
Figuring out the biomechanical basis of OCD and finding more successful methods of treatment depends largely on research with animal models. However, finding an adequate model remains difficult.
In 2010 de Haas et al. published a paper on an OCD model using quinpirole on rats. They aimed to quantify the dimensions of ritualistic ‘compulsive-like’ behavior induced by quinpirole with the use of EthoVision automatic video tracking and with Theme, a software program that detects temporal patterns in behavior.
Finding patterns of behavior
Rats were studied in an open field with four objects. The total distance moved, number of returns to the home base, number of different behavioral patterns, and the duration, length, and complexity of behavioral patterns were of main interest.
In comparison to saline-treated rats (control group) the quinpirole-treated rats showed a significantly smaller behavioral repertoire. Their behavioral patterns were also less complex and shorter in duration and number of behaviors, and showed a two-fold higher occurrence than the patterns of the control group. Furthermore, quinpirole rats showed an excessive number of home base visits.
Model versus patient
The repetition shown in this rodent OCD model matches the repetitive behavior (increased performance of the same behavior) seen in OCD patients. However, the smaller and shorter behavioral repertoire of the quinpirole rats does not, as OCD patients tend to have complex ritualistic behavioral patterns. Detailed behavioral pattern analysis led to the conclusion that this rat model is not entirely accurate, and researchers continue their search for a better one.
What’s in the genes?
In a second publication, de Haas et al. (2012) investigated whether genetic background has anything to do with this. And indeed, it does. This time they used two different strains of mice: A/J mice, which have shown to be more sensitive to develop compulsive-like behavior, and C57BL/6J mice. The same behavioral tests were performed.
One mouse vs the other
Left untreated (saline control groups), the C57BL/6J mice showed a greater behavioral repertoire and more motor activity than A/J mice, while the rate of repetition in behavioral patterns was the same.
Treated with quinpirole, A/J mice became more active and visited more zones of the open field, while this effect was not seem within the C57BL/6J groups. The C57BL/6J mice did however seem to focus more on specific parts of the open field.
The rate of repetition was increased by quinpirole in both strains with a similar effect. Interestingly, the number of patterns showed a dose dependent increase in A/J mice, and a dose dependent decrease in C57BL/6J mice.
And the winner is…
With this study de Haas et al. showed the importance of a genetic background. Compared to the quinpirole rat model used in the 2010 study (and to the C57BL/6J mice), the quinpirole A/J mice model in this study showed more similarity to actual OCD patient behavior, with a more complex behavioral repertoire and high rates of repetition.
What do you think?
These papers show the power of discovering temporal behavioral patterns, as does the paper described in this recent blog. What do you think? Are behavioral patterns important? Do you know of research on other disorders that could benefit from the detailed analysis of temporal behavioral patterns? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
Further reading:
De Haas, R.; Nijdam, A.; Westra, T.A.; Kas, M.J.H.; Westenberg, H.G.M. (2010) Behavioral pattern analysis and dopamine release in quinpirole-induced repetitive behavior in rats. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(12), 1712–1719.
De Haas, R.; Seddik, A; Oppelaar, H.; Westenberg, H.G.M.; Kas, M.J.H. (2012). Marked inbred mouse strain difference in the expression of quinpirole induced compulsive like behavior based on behavioral pattern analysis. European Neuropsychopharmacology, article in press, doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2012.01.003
More product information: Theme and EthoVision.
Autism-like behavior studied in rats treated with propionic acid
In honor of World Autism Awareness Day, this post will focus on autism research. In particular, I want to share this interesting and very readable publication of MacFabe et al. (2011) with you.
Environmental factors in autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a strong genetic component – a well-known fact. However, recent studies suggest that environmental factors, such as dietary ingredients, can cause exacerbation of the symptoms. Propionic acid (PPA) is a good example, as MacFabe et al. explain to us in their article. They investigated the effects of PPA on several behavioral and physiological measurements as part of the autistic phenotype of rats.
PPA is a fatty acid used as a food preservative, and studies have shown that eating food containing this additive exacerbates the symptoms in children with autism. PPA is also a product of gut bacteria, thus produced in our own body. A subset of ASD patients are reported to have high levels of PPA producing bacteria.
Why young rats?
In this study not just any rats are used – the researchers specifically chose adolescent rats. The reason? Adolescence is a significant period in lives of rats, normally characterized by the increased interest in social contact and novelty seeking behavior. Additionally, this period shows a higher vulnerability to psychopathology. Therefor a perfect phase to test the autistic-like effects of substances that influence the brain, such as PPA.
Restricted interests
Because autism often causes repetitive behavior and restricted interests, such as towards a specific object, rats are tested in a three-piece novel object test. EthoVision was used to automatically track approaching behavior and the proximity of the rat to the objects. In addition locomotion was measured. As hypothesized, rats treated with PPA did seem to have one favorite object while the control group did not limit their interest towards one specific piece as much. However, locomotion was not affected, ruling that out as a possible cause for the difference in interest.
Reduced social interest is another typical symptom of ASD. In the second experiment the rats are faced with an unfamiliar rat (social stimulus) or a novel object. Again, proximity and interaction was measured with EthoVision automatic video tracking. Rats treated with PPA showed less approach and interaction to the novel rat than the control group did.
Learn and unlearn
In a third test, the T-maze was used for reversal learning. First the animals were taught to choose one specific arm by baiting it with a food reward, and then the opposite arm was baited. Like the authors predicted, PPA-treated rats showed impaired reversal learning.
What goes on in the brain?
In this experiment a number of PPA-treated rats showed convulsive behavior. Interestingly, this is also a prominent symptom in a large group of ASD patients. Also, the neuropathological findings in this study were consistent with findings in brain tissue of ASD patients.
The answer is yes
So, to answer the title of this post: yes, food preservatives can increase symptoms of autism. Ok, that might be a little blunt. But at least MacFabe et al. have shown that PPA, something that is present our food and even produced by the bacteria that live in our own body, induces autistic-like behavior and neuropathology in rats.
Read more in the original publication: MacFabe, D.F.; Cain, N.E.; Boon, F.; Ossenkopp, K.-P.; Cain, D.P. (2011). Effects of the enteric bacterial metabolic product propionic acid on object-directed behavior, social behavior, cognition, and neuroinflammation in adolescent rats: Relevance to autism spectrum disorder. Behavioural Brain Research, 217, 47-54.
Or look for more autism related research using automatic video tracking with this google scholar search.
Adequate measurements and markers
Recent scientific research provides more and more understanding of behavioral challenges children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) face. Studies also offer more insight into adequate measurements and markers which help evaluate behavior of children with ASD. In this Behavioral Blog post, one study is presented to give an example of what is happening in autism research.
Improve positive social functioning
Patriquin et al. (2011) investigated whether a higher basal respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) would correlate with more positive functioning in children with ASD (one of their hypotheses). They explain: "a higher RSA reflects greater myelinated vagal control of the heart, which in turn suggests a soothed autonomic state that is theorized to promote social communication”.
Research methods
A number of research methods and techniques were used to collect data. In short, a play task and an attention task were observed, coded and analyzed; primary caregiver(s) were asked to complete questionnaires (SSP, Dunn, 1999; SRS, Constantino & Gruber, 2007); receptive language was studied using a vocabulary test (PPVT, Dunn, 1997); and the Life-Shirt (Vivometrics, Ventura, CA) was used for physiological data acquisition. The RSA amplitude was later defined.
Observing behavior more powerful
Considering the methods and techniques used in this study, Patriquin et al. describe that perhaps the experimenter-observed measures were more powerful compared to a parent questionnaire (SRS) in that observations reflect actual performed behavior, as opposed to parent perceptions. Let’s zoom in on the experimenter-observed measures: By setting up a play task (SICS, Bazhenova, 2006) and an attention task (listening to music or an audiobook), Patriquin et al. studied the relationship between basal RSA and social functioning. During the play task and after the attention task, social behaviors were coded with The Observer XT. Researchers coded sharing behaviors and conventional gestures for all videos and named joint attention and conventional gestures as particularly interesting because of the interactional nature of these social behaviors. Conventional gestures are meant to convey a message and were defined in this particular study as for example pointing or shaking head.
RSA as marker
Great news is that Patriquin et al. named RSA as a marker of positive social functioning in children with an ASD. They conclude that RSA positively correlates with experimenter–observed joint attention and conventional gestures, and receptive language ability. The importance of RSA in future research studying the biobehavioral features of ASD cannot be denied, according to Patriquin et al. Furthermore, they explain that RSA provides important insights into the ASD, where it concerns effective social behavior.
- Patriquin, M. A.; Scarpa, A.; Friedman, B.H.; Porges, S.W. (2011). Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: a marker for positive social functioning and receptive language skills in children with autism spectrum disorders, Developmental Psychobiology, doi: 10.1002/dev.21002.