To help prepare children with developmental disabilities for her research studies, professor Margaret Semrud-Clikeman uses a mock scanner to work with kids and get them comfortable for what can be a difficult situation. Courtesy photo

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EAST LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan State University researcher is analyzing brain images of children with autistic spectrum disorders and nonverbal learning disabilities in hopes of understanding why they often struggle with social interaction.

By understanding how a child’s brain processes social information differently, researchers can learn how to intervene at younger ages most effectively, said Margaret Semrud-Clikeman, a professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Psychology and also director of MSU’s Center for Neurodevelopmental Study.

“In recent years, social perception has been understood to be an important factor in learning and long-term mental health outcomes,” she said. “Kids with autistic spectrum disorders or a nonverbal learning disability don’t understand their social world the same way. They may not understand facial expressions or social cues, or they may be awkward in social situations.”

As part of the study, children undergo a morning of testing, including problem solving, vocabulary and visual complex measurements. After a break, children practice on a mock MRI scanner to ensure they are comfortable with the procedure.

They then go to MSU’s Radiology Department, and an image of the child’s brain is obtained while the child views pictures of human faces and videos of social situations often encountered among children. Semrud-Clikeman’s group compares the brain activation that is generated in the children with autistic spectrum disorders or nonverbal learning disabilities compared to a control group.

Families are compensated for their involvement as are members of a control group. The research is funded by a private foundation’s $320,000 gift.

“Things that most kids take for granted, many of these children crave: social acceptance and interaction,” Semrud-Clikeman said. “There are so few resources for parents, and they are often told that no help is available. That’s simply not true.”

In a separate clinical trial, Semund-Clikeman and her group are starting to analyze preliminary results from research looking at why children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder respond differently to positive and negative feedback.

“Children with ADHD take more risks,” Semrud-Clikeman said. “What we are seeing from preliminary analysis of brain scans is that children with ADHD are not using their frontal lobes when assessing situations.

“Regardless whether they are being rewarded or being told they were not successful at a task, they are not associating consequences with their actions.”

Semrud-Clikeman hopes the ADHD trial will help drive the interventions that physicians use when working with children with the disability.

“A lot of people may say that these children aren’t motivated, but I don’t believe that,” she said. “It sets up an unfair expectation.”

For details on either study, including how to enroll a child, visit the Center for Neurodevelopmental Study’s Web site at www.psychology.msu.edu/cns.

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