title: Effect of Social Stimuli on Postural Responses in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: This study was aimed to investigate the effects of social versus non-social stimuli on postural responses in 21 boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (mean age of 11.6 ± 1.5) compared with 30 typically developing (TD) boys (mean age of 11.7 ± 1.8). Postural control of children was examined while they were standing on a force plate and viewing images of an object, male face, or female face in sequence. Each image was shown in two trials and each trial lasted for 20 s. Results indicated a significant interaction between group and task (p < 0.05), meaning that children with ASD but not TD children showed an increased postural sway during face tasks than during object task. Furthermore children with higher autism severity compared to those with lower severity showed an increased change in response to social stimuli (p < 0.01). It seems that the postural control of children with ASD was more affected by the social stimuli than TD children.
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, No. 7, Al-e-Ahmad Highway, P.O. Box 14395-578, Tehran, Iran.|Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Parisa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghanouni
authors.affiliation: Sports Medicine Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, No. 7, Al-e-Ahmad Highway, P.O. Box 14395-578, Tehran, Iran. amirmemari@farabi.tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Amir-Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Memari
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.|The Institute for Brain and Cognitive Science, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahriar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gharibzadeh
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Jandark
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eghlidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Pouria
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moshayedi
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005145:Face; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Autism quotient; Non-social stimuli; Postural sway; Social stimuli