title: Identification of neuromotor deficits common to autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and imitation deficits specific to autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Deficits in motor and imitation abilities are a core finding in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but impaired motor functions are also found in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Given recent theorising about potential aetiological overlap between the two disorders, the present study aimed to assess difficulties in motor performance and imitation of facial movements and meaningless gestures in a sample of 24 ADHD patients, 22 patients with ASD, and 20 typically developing children, matched for age (6-13 years) and similar in IQ (>80). Furthermore, we explored the impact of comorbid ADHD symptoms on motor and imitation performance in the ASD sample and the interrelationships between the two groups of variables in the clinical groups separately. The results show motor dysfunction was common to both disorders, but imitation deficits were specific to ASD. Together with the pattern of interrelated motor and imitation abilities, which we found exclusively in the ASD group, our findings suggest complex phenotypic, and possibly aetiological, relationships between the two neurodevelopmental conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany. monica.biscaldi-schaefer@uniklinik-freiburg.de.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biscaldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rauh
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Cora
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Irion
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher W N
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Saville
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, University of Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.|School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor, UK.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Klein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000235:genetics*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D005868:Gestures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder; Autism spectrum disorder; Imitation; Meaningless gestures; Motor; Zurich Neuromotor Assessment