Improvements in Processing Speed, Reaction Time Performance and Primitive Reflexes Following Neurological Rehabilitation for a 16-year-old Male Patient with Autism

Presentation: A 16-year-old male patient presented to Plasticity Brain Centers for evaluation and treatment of persistent symptoms of Autism and Asperger’s syndrome. His symptoms included anxiety, impulsivity, and difficulty with social awareness.

Findings: During neurocognitive testing on the C3 Logix program, upon intake, his Trails B time was 36.8 seconds. His simple reaction time was 321 milliseconds and his choice reaction time was 455 milliseconds. When testing on the Dynavision D2 (Wells 2014), upon intake, he had an average reaction time of 0.56 milliseconds.

Methods: A 5-day, multi-modal program of neurological exercises was administered in 10 one-hour treatment sessions (Carrick 2017). Each session consisted of repetitive peripheral somatosensory stimuli, cognitive exercises, neuromuscular reeducation exercises, vestibular rehabilitation exercises, orthoptic exercises, and off-vertical axis rotation (Gdowski 1999) utilizing a multi-axis rotational chair (MARC).

Outcome: Upon exit, Trails A time stayed the same, but Trails B time decreased to 28.3 seconds (-23.10%). His simple and choice reaction times improved decreasing the simple reaction time to 305 (-4.98%) milliseconds and the choice reaction time to 405 (-10.99%) milliseconds. The Dynavision D2 average reaction time decreased to 0.46 milliseconds (-17.86%). Upon exit, improvements in optokinetic response was shown in the horizontal plane from left to right.

Conclusion: The authors suggest further investigation into multi-modal, intensive approaches to improve processing speed, reaction time performance and primitive reflexes in patients on the autism spectrum.

References:
Carrick FR, Clark JF, Pagnacco G, Antonucci MM, Hankir A, Zaman R and Oggero E (2017) Head–Eye Vestibular Motion Therapy Affects the Mental and Physical Health of Severe Chronic Postconcussion Patients. Front. Neurol. 8:414. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2017.00414
Gdowski GT, McCrea RA. Integration of vestibular and head movement signals in the vestibular nuclei during whole-body rotation. J Neurophysiol (1999) 82:436–49
Simon M, Maerlender A, Metzger K, Decoster L, Hollingworth A, McLeod TV. Reliability and Concurrent Validity of Select C3 Logix Test Components. Developmental
Neuropsychology (2017) Oct; 0: 1-14. Doi: 10.1080/87565641.2017.1383994. Epub 2017 Oct 25.
Wells A, Hoffman J, Beyer K, Jajtner A, Gonzalez A, Townsend J, Mangine G, Robinson E, McCormack W, Fragala M, Stout J. Reliability of the DynavisionTM D2 for Assesing Reaction Time Performance. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2014) 13, 145-150.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder, D2 Dynavision, C3 Logix, Impulsive Behavior, Anxiety

Conference: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience 2018, Orlando, Florida, United States, 24 May - 26 May, 2018.

Presentation Type: Poster

Topic: Clinical Applications in health, disease, and injury to the nervous system

Citation: Antonucci MM, Kalambaheti ER, Cozart MD and Barton DA (2018). Improvements in Processing Speed, Reaction Time Performance and Primitive Reflexes Following Neurological Rehabilitation for a 16-year-old Male Patient with Autism. Front. Neurol. Conference Abstract: International Symposium on Clinical Neuroscience 2018.doi: 10.3389/conf.fneur.2018.60.00136

Received: 14 Apr 2018; Published Online: 21 Apr 2018.

Correspondence:Dr. Derek A Barton, Plasticity Brain Centers, Orlando, United States, derekabarton@gmail.com