A Neurological study of relationship between empathy in mothers and sociality in their children with autism spectrum disorder.

• Project/Area Number: 15K19717
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Kanazawa University
• Principal Investigator: Hasegawa Chiaki 金沢大学, 子どものこころの発達研究センター, 博士研究員 (40644034)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 自閉スペクトラム症 / 母子インタラクション / 脳磁図 / Mu suppression / 社会性 / 脳磁図（MEG） / 脳磁図（MEG)

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation of the sociality of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and empathy in their mothers.
A longitudinal quotient study demonstrated a significant correlation between the changes in children's Social Responsiveness Scale(SRS) score and changes empathizing quotient in either the father or both parents. Autistic symptom mitigation in ASD children was associated with increased empathy levels in their parents.We measured MEG mu suppression during face-to-face spontaneous non-linguistic interactions between mothers and their children with ASD using the MEG hyperscanning system. The results demonstrated significant correlations between the index of mu suppression in the right precentral area and the traits (or severity) of ASD in 13 mothers and 8 children.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Mu rhythm suppression reflects mother-child face-to-face interactions: a pilot study with simultaneous MEG recording (2016)
  • Author(s): Hasegawa C, Ikeda T, Yoshimura Y, Hiraishi H, Takahashi T, Furutani N, Hayashi N, Minabe Y, Hirata M, Asada M, Kikuchi M
  • Journal Title: Scientific Reports Volume: 6 Issue: 1 Pages: 34977-34977
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep34977
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Changes in autistic trait indicators in parents and their children with ASD: A preliminary longitudinal study. (2015)
  • Author(s): Hasegawa C, Kikuchi M, Yoshimura Y, Hiraishi H, Munesue T, Takesaki N, Higashida H, Oi M, Minabe Y, Asada M.
  • Journal Title: Psychiatry Research Volume: 228 Issue: 3 Pages: 956-957
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.05.048
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Presentation] Mu rhythm suppression reflects mother-child face-to-face interactions: a MEG simultaneous recording pilot study (2017)
  • Author(s): Chiaki Hasegawa
  • Organizer: International Autism Conference Tokyo 2017
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] 母子インタラクション時の脳内ネットワーク活動の検討：脳磁図のグラフ解析を用いて (2015)
  • Author(s): 長谷川千秋・高橋哲也・池田尊司・吉村優子・平石博敏・菊知充
  • Organizer: 北陸心理学会第50回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 金沢
  • Year and Date: 2015-12-05
• [Presentation] 自閉症スペクトラム児の親におけるBroader autism phenotype (2015)
  • Author(s): 長谷川千秋
  • Organizer: 日本心理学会第79回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 名古屋
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-24
• [Presentation] 母子対面中の脳活動に反映される自閉症特性：母子同時MEG研究から (2015)
  • Author(s): 長谷川千秋, 池田尊司, 平田雅之, 吉村優子, 平石博敏, 高橋哲也, 三邉義雄, 浅田稔, 菊知充.
  • Organizer: 日本発達神経科学学会第4回学術集会
  • Place of Presentation: 大阪
  • Year and Date: 2015-09-06