Date of Award
12-2018
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology
Department
Human Services
First Advisor
Luis Aguerrevere, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Jillian Dawes, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Nina Ellis-Hervey, Ph.D.
Fourth Advisor
Frankie Clark, Ph.D.
Fifth Advisor
Robert Polewan, Ph.D.
Abstract
Abstract
This study examined brain activity in college students with the broad autism phenotype (BAP) while viewing facial expressions. Quantitative Electroencephalogram assessments were conducted in the temporal lobe area in the brains of 38 college students declared as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors. Participants were divided into BAP+ versus BAP- groups based on their scores on the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). Findings revealed that individuals categorized as BAP+ demonstrated a higher alpha relative power score and a higher T4 relative to T3 coherence Z score when looking at expressive faces than when looking at neutral faces when compared to the BAP- individuals. Also, participants classified as BAP+ had significantly lower social adjustment than those classified as BAP-. Findings discuss the possibility of using QEEG BAP+ brain markers as an objective measure of social impairments in at-risk college students.
Keywords: Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Electroencephalography (EEG), alpha activity, face processing
Repository Citation
Beaver, Amy Gaylord, "Brain Activity in College Students with the Broad Autism Phenotype" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 223.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/223
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
