Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Restricted Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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dc.contributor.authorCondy, Emma Elizabethen
dc.contributor.committeechairFriedman, Bruce H.en
dc.contributor.committeememberBell, Martha Annen
dc.contributor.committeememberScarpa, Angelaen
dc.contributor.departmentPsychologyen
dc.date.accessioned2017-06-13T19:44:07Zen
dc.date.adate2016-06-16en
dc.date.available2017-06-13T19:44:07Zen
dc.date.issued2016-05-03en
dc.date.rdate2016-06-16en
dc.date.sdate2016-05-17en
dc.description.abstractIn addition to social communication deficits, restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs) are a key diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two theories regarding the etiology of RRBs in ASD have been proposed: the hyper-arousal theory, and the hypo-arousal theory. Both of these theories posit the autonomic nervous system (ANS) as being dysfunctional in ASD, resulting in the occurrence of RRBs. Many studies investigating ANS activity in ASD have focused solely on its relation to social functioning. The few that have addressed RRBs have had inconclusive findings. Not only do the current theories and studies simplify ANS activity to a measure of baseline arousal levels through vague measures such as heart rate (HR) and skin conductance response (SCR), but the literature has also framed the theories as mutually exclusive. This study used respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) patterns in children with and without an ASD diagnosis as an indicator of ANS functioning to analyze its relationship to the manifestation of RRBs. Baseline RSA and RSA reactivity were found to predict RRB severity and exploratory analyses revealed that these measures were associated with specific subgroups of RRBs. These results are discussed in regards to the current behavioral literature on RRBs and the benefits of finding biomarkers for these behaviors.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05172016-231343en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05172016-231343/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/78124en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectautism spectrum disorderen
dc.subjectrespiratory sinus arrhythmiaen
dc.subjectrepetitive behaviorsen
dc.titleRespiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Restricted Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorderen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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