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What makes us tick and what makes us stick?

What makes us tick and what makes us stick?. Timing and inertia in ASD. Neuroanatomy What makes us tick? Intervals Time and the (autistic) brain Time and autistic traits (break). What makes us stick? What is inertia? What isn’t inertia? Executive function Attention Catatonia

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What makes us tick and what makes us stick?

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  1. What makes us tick and what makes us stick? Timing and inertia in ASD

  2. Neuroanatomy What makes us tick? Intervals Time and the (autistic) brain Time and autistic traits (break) What makes us stick? What is inertia? What isn’t inertia? Executive function Attention Catatonia Strategies Outline

  3. Neuroanatomy • Pre-frontal cortex • Cerebellum • Basal ganglia

  4. Timing Introduction • Intervals • Circadian: about 24 hours • Interval: a few seconds to minutes • Millisecond: less than 2 seconds • Time and the brain • Time and autistic traits

  5. Circadian

  6. Interval

  7. Millisecond

  8. Time and the (autistic) brain • Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) • Basal ganglia • Cerebellum • Clock genes

  9. Time and autistic traits • Movement • Language • Change resistance • Social timing • Memory • Task switching

  10. Summary • Timing is important for many things from language perception to movements to changes • Time perception helps give the world structure and helps us interact with it effectively • Timing helps us to predict what is coming next and respond at the right time.

  11. Neuroanatomy What makes us tick? Intervals Time and the (autistic) brain Time and autistic traits (break) What makes us stick? What is inertia? What isn’t inertia? Executive function Attention Catatonia Strategies Outline

  12. Introduction • What is inertia? • What isn’t inertia? • Executive function • Attention • Catatonia • Strategies

  13. What is inertia • An object in motion tends to stay in motion and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. Starting, stopping & changing of activities and focus

  14. What isn’t inertia? • Lack of motivation • Depression • Fatigue (though it can cause sleep deprivation) • Procrastination or avoidance • Laziness!

  15. Executive function (EF) • The mind’s ‘boss’ or director • EF is what stops an automatic response when a non-automatic response is wanted • Includes: • planning, organising, sequencing, monitoring, inhibition, initiative • One sign of impaired EF is perseveration • Autistic people do not usually have a problem with inhibition, but ADHDers do. • Lacking initiative = what we call ‘inertia’

  16. Attention • Slow attention shifting (see timing) • Missing cues • Slower to orient and respond • Things that are easy to do and instant rewards (computers)

  17. Catatonia • Physically ‘stuck’ • May be related to or similar to Parkinson’s Disease • Caused or made worse by anti-psychotic medication? • Passive interaction style • Could inertia be a very mild version?

  18. Strategies • Reminders • Shock • The ‘do it now’ principle • Routines • Inertia applies to routine instead of task • Attaching new task before an automatic one • Perceptual patterns to follow - ‘flow’ • Make it as easy as possible

  19. Inertia summary • Inertia is the inability to start, stop or change what you’re doing • Inertia has a neurological basis and is not willful • Executive function and attention switching may play a part and catatonia may be related • Sometimes there are things we can do to make it easier.

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