Attention deficit as a neurobehavioral dysfunction in ASD: A review article

Background and Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurobehavioral disorder in children. ASD is estimated to affect up to ۳% of children in the United States. In this study we have considered former researches among factors causing ASD and specifically considering attention as a core deficit among these children. Methods: We studied ۱۵ researches related to brain dysfunctions causing attention deficit in autism spectrum disorder, and investigating different factors effecting inattention in ASD. Results Autism spectrum disorder has many different symptoms, including attention deficit. Attention deficit is an underlying but important problem causing all of the other deficits in autism. There are many factor effecting on attention that may vary in different children. During this research we are trying to detect factors that cause attention problems.: Conclusion ASD children had significantly reduced activation in bilateral striato-thalamic regions, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and superior parietal cortex. They also displayed significantly increased precuneus activation; and increased activation in cerebellum and occipital regions with increasing attention load. Also a severe disorder-specific fronto-striato cerebellar dysregulation in ASD was seen. The results of this study confirmed that there are underlying brain dysfunctions causing inattention for children with ASD. This study demonstrates that it's necessary considering this neurobehavioral abnormality as a burden to reach higher intervention goals, so it's useful to apply methods that can improve regulation of these brain functions as a pathway to have a better outcome in rehabilitation of children with ASD.

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Disorders , neurobehavioral dysfunction , Attention deficit , Brain Dysfunction