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Arousal Modulation in Females with Fragile X or Turner Syndrome

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Abstract

The present study was carried out to examine physiological arousal modulation (heart activity and skin conductance, across baseline and cognitive tasks, in females with fragile X or Turner syndrome and a comparison group of females with neither syndrome. Relative to the comparison group, for whom a greater increase in skin conductance was associated with poor arithmetic performance and less risk taking behavior, females with fragile X displayed a minimal increase in heart activity that was nevertheless associated with poor performance on mental arithmetic. In contrast, no arousal–cognitive performance relationship emerged for the group with Turner syndrome. Taken together, our findings suggest that distinct profiles of arousal modulation might be associated with cognitive deficits in these syndrome populations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIH grants P30-HD003110-38S1, P30-HD40602-01, P50 NS35359 and RØ1 HD034061. Note that this manuscript is a report that extends and expands upon an earlier publication (Keysor, Mazzocco, McLeod, & Hoehn-Saric, 2002; Developmental Psychobiology) in which we first reported atypical indices of arousal in females with fragile X or Turner syndrome at discrete time points that coincided or preceded cognitive tasks. In collaboration with Dr. Jane Roberts, we pursued additional meaningful information by examining modulation of arousal over time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Jane Roberts

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michèle M. M. Mazzocco, Melissa M. Murphy & Rudolf Hoehn-Saric

  3. Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michèle M. M. Mazzocco

  4. Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21211, USA

    Michèle M. M. Mazzocco & Melissa M. Murphy

  5. MSDP, 3825 Greenspring Avenue, Painter Bldg, Top Floor, Baltimore, MD, 21211, USA

    Michèle M. M. Mazzocco

Authors
  1. Jane Roberts
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  2. Michèle M. M. Mazzocco
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  3. Melissa M. Murphy
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  4. Rudolf Hoehn-Saric
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Correspondence to Michèle M. M. Mazzocco.

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Roberts, J., Mazzocco, M.M.M., Murphy, M.M. et al. Arousal Modulation in Females with Fragile X or Turner Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 20–27 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0356-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0356-6

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