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Longitudinal Resting State Heart Rate Variability in Young Children With Autism
Jenni Lauttia1, Terhi M Helminen1, Pasi Kauppinen1
1Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
Insights
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show lower resting state heart rate variability, measured as respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), compared to typically developing peers and those with intellectual disability. This finding may indicate autism-specific developmental differences.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Resting state heart rate variability, specifically respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), is a potential indicator of social competence.
- Previous research indicates lower RSA in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typically developing (TD) children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally examine resting state RSA in young children with ASD, intellectual disability (ID) without ASD, and TD children.
- To determine if lower RSA is specific to ASD compared to ID.
- To explore the relationship between RSA and restricted, repetitive behaviors in children with ASD and ID.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design with two time points.
- Participants included 29- to 81-month-old children in three groups: ASD, ID (without ASD), and TD.
- Resting state heart rate variability measured as RSA.
Main Results:
- Children with ASD exhibited significantly lower resting state RSA compared to TD children, replicating prior findings.
- Children with ASD also showed lower resting state RSA compared to children with ID.
- In children with ASD and ID, resting state RSA correlated with restricted, repetitive behaviors, with a reversed direction of correlation between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Lowered resting state heart rate variability (RSA) may be a characteristic specific to autism spectrum disorder in early development.
- RSA differences observed in ASD are distinct from those in intellectual disability.
- The association between RSA and repetitive behaviors suggests a potential link between physiological regulation and core autism symptoms.
Abstract:
As a potential indicator of social competence, the present study longitudinally examined resting state heart rate variability, measured as respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA), at two time points in young children with autism (AU), children with intellectual disability without AU (ID), and typically developing children (TD). Participants were 29- to 81-month-old children. We replicated previous findings of lower resting state RSA in children with AU as compared to TD children. We further advanced the current knowledge by demonstrating that children with AU also exhibited lower resting state RSA compared to I children with ID. In children with AU and ID, the resting state RSA correlated with restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behavior, but the direction of the correlation was reversed between the groups. These findings indicate that lowered variability in resting state heart rate could be specific to autism in early development.
