Psychophysiology studies of heart rate and heart rate variability can be employed to study regulatory processes in children with autism. The objective of this study was to test for differences in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; a measure of heart rate variability) and to examine the relationship between physiologic responses and measures of social behavior. Participants included 2- to 6-year-old children with Autistic Disorder and children without autism. Heart rate and RSA were derived from ECG recordings made during a baseline period and then a stranger approach paradigm. Social and adaptive behavior was assessed by parent report. Groups did not differ in mean heart rate or RSA at baseline or in response to social challenge. However, children with autism were more likely to show a physiologic response to intrusive portions of the stranger approach than to less intrusive portions of this procedure. Nonautistic children were equally likely to respond to intrusive and less intrusive social events. Within the autistic group, physiologic response to the intrusive stranger approach corresponded to higher ratings of social adaptive behaviors. These results suggest that physiologic responses to social challenge may help understand differences in social behavioral outcomes in children with autism. 1. Introduction Past research has suggested that children with autism show disruptions in autonomic responses to environmental stressors [1–5]. However, research has varied in terms of the ages of children included in studies, the nature of stimuli that constituted the observational protocols, and the resulting findings of physiologic responses in comparison to nonautistic individuals. Moreover, while some studies have examined relations between autonomic measures and measures of social and behavioral functioning (e.g., [5]), relatively little research has compared individual differences in physiologic and behavioral characteristics. Examinations of responses in relation to behavioral markers of symptom presentation, syndrome severity, and other aspects of behavioral functioning may help to reconcile some of the inconsistencies found in prior research and has potential implications for developing and refining assessments and treatments of autism. Cardiorespiratory measures, including heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and more general measures of heart rate variability (HRV), have been widely used in studies of child psychopathology, including some research on autism. RSA, a phenomenon defined as periodic variation in heart rate due to respiratory
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