Biology subjects

Michelini, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Michelini, G..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Sleep disturbance is associated with increased repetitive sensorimotor behaviour in autism but not in learning/intellectual disabilities or ADHD: A comparative study

The interplay of sleep and sensorimotor processing is a fundamental neurobiological process crucial for well-being. Individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions like autism, ADHD, and learning disabilities frequently experience both significant sleep disturbance and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours. Although a link between these domains is established, it is unclear whether this relationship and its functional impact are consistent across different neurodevelopmental conditions. In a cross-sectional dataset of individuals aged 5-21 (n = 212), we investigated whether the interplay between sleep disturbance and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours differs between individuals diagnosed with autism (IQ>70), ADHD, a learning disability (IQ<70), as well as typically developed controls. We also examined whether interactions between sleep and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours predicts distinct functional outcomes between neurodevelopmental groups. We found that individuals with autism (IQ>70) were most strongly affected by both sleep disturbance and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours. Crucially, we show that while a robust bidirectional link between sleep and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours exists across the entire sample, sleep problems amplify repetitive sensorimotor behaviours more strongly only in autistic people than in typical controls. Contrary to previous work, we found that learning disabled children and adolescents engaged in more repetitive sensorimotor behaviour but did not experience more sleep disturbance. Although the interaction between sleep problems and repetitive sensorimotor behaviours did not determine functional outcomes in autistic people, the interplay of sleep problems and repetitive sensorimotor behaviour impaired social awareness in people with ADHD. These findings challenge a transdiagnostic view that treats the reinforcement between sleep and sensorimotor problems as a general marker of neurodevelopmental conditions. Understanding the distinct pathways between sleep and waking behaviours is a critical step toward developing personalized, mechanistic interventions targeting specific sleep and sensory impairment profiles in different neurodevelopmental conditions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Associations Between Resting State Functional Connectivity and a Hierarchical Dimensional Structure of Psychopathology in Middle Childhood

BackgroundPrevious research from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study delineated and validated a hierarchical 5-factor structure with a general psychopathology ( p) factor at the apex and five specific factors (internalizing, somatoform, detachment, neurodevelopmental, externalizing) using parent-reported child symptoms. The current study is the first examining associations between dimensions from a hierarchical structure and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) networks. MethodsUsing 9-11-year-old children from the ABCD baseline sample, we compared the variance explained by each hierarchy level (p-factor, 2-factor, 3-factor, 4-factor, and 5-factor models) in RSFC. Analyses were first conducted in a discovery dataset (n=3790) with significant associations examined in a replication dataset (n=3791). ResultsThe current study found associations between p-factor and lower connectivity within default mode network (DMN), although stronger effects emerged for the neurodevelopmental factor. Neurodevelopmental impairments were related to variation in RSFC networks associated with attention to internal states and external stimuli. These networks included within DMN, DMN with cingulo-opercular (CON) and Other (Unassigned) networks, CON with ventral attention and Other network, and dorsal attention with Other network. Results held when accounting for parental psychopathology. ConclusionThe hierarchical structure of psychopathology showed replicable links to RSFC alterations in middle childhood. The p-factor had minimal association with altered connectivity, while the specific neurodevelopmental dimension showed robust associations with multiple RSFC impairments. Results show the utility of examining associations between intrinsic brain architecture and specific dimensions of psychopathology, revealing associations specifically with neurodevelopmental impairments.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Delineating and validating higher-order dimensions of psychopathology in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study

Hierarchical dimensional systems of psychopathology promise more informative descriptions for understanding risk and predicting outcome than traditional diagnostic systems, but it is unclear how many major dimensions they should include. We delineated the hierarchy of childhood and adult psychopathology and validated it against clinically-relevant measures. Participants were 4,524 9- and 10-year-old children and their parents from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Factor analyses on items from the Child Behavior Checklist and Adult Self-Report characterized a dimensional hierarchy. We examined the familial aggregation of the psychopathology dimensions, and the ability of different factor solutions to account for risks factors, social, educational and cognitive functioning, and physical and mental health service utilization. A hierarchical structure with a general psychopathology ( p) factor at the apex and five specific factors (internalizing, somatoform, detachment, neurodevelopmental, and externalizing) emerged in children. Adult factors were similar, but externalizing behaviors separated into disinhibited and antagonistic factors. Child and parent p-factors correlated highly (r=.61, P<.001), and smaller but significant correlations emerged for convergent dimensions between parents and children after controlling for p-factors (r=.10-20, P<.001). A model with childhood p-factor alone explained mental health service utilization (R2=.13, P<.001), but up to five dimensions provided incremental validity to account for developmental risk and current functioning (R2=.03-.20, P<.001). In this first investigation comprehensively mapping the psychopathology hierarchy in children and adults, we delineated a hierarchy of higher-order dimensions associated with a range of clinically-relevant validators. These findings hold important implications for psychiatric nosology and future research in this sample.

epidemiology↗

bioRxiv2017

Atypical functional connectivity in adolescents and adults with persistent and remitted ADHD

We previously provided initial evidence for cognitive and event-related potential markers of persistence/remission of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from childhood to adolescence and adulthood. In this follow-up study, using a novel brain-network connectivity approach, we aimed to examine whether functional connectivity reflects a marker of ADHD remission, or an enduring deficit unrelated to ADHD outcome. High-density EEG was recorded in 110 adolescents and young adults with childhood ADHD (87 persisters, 23 remitters) and 169 typically-developing individuals during an arrow-flanker task, eliciting cognitive control. Functional connectivity was quantified with network-based graph-theory metrics before target onset (pre-stimulus), during target processing (post-stimulus) and in the degree of change between pre-stimulus/post-stimulus. ADHD outcome was examined with parent-reported symptoms and impairment using both a categorical (DSM-IV) and a dimensional approach. Graph-theory measures converged in indicating that, compared to controls, ADHD persisters showed increased connectivity in pre-stimulus theta, alpha and beta and in post-stimulus beta (all p<.01), and reduced pre-stimulus/post-stimulus change in theta connectivity (p<.01). In the majority of indices showing ADHD persister-control differences, ADHD remitters differed from controls (all p<.05), but not from persisters. Similarly, connectivity measures were not associated with continuous outcome measures of ADHD symptoms and impairment in participants with childhood ADHD. These findings indicate that adolescents and young adults with persistent and remitted ADHD share atypical over-connectivity profiles and reduced ability to modulate connectivity patterns with task demands, compared to controls. Brain connectivity impairments may represent enduring deficits in individuals with childhood ADHD irrespective of diagnostic status in adolescence/young adulthood.

neuroscience↗