Igelström Lab

Autism, ADHD, and motor coordination difficulties are described as separate diagnoses, but their traits overlap. We break the traits down into smaller parts and measure, in large groups, how the parts relate to each other. Strong and specific relationships are the ones worth following into the brain.

So far, we have shown that different senses relate to different traits, not to autistic traits in general, in both adults and children. Hearing showed the clearest relationships, but auditory experience is not one thing. Struggling to follow speech in noise, disliking loud sounds, and reacting to particular everyday sounds relate to different traits, and to different degrees. In children, sound sensitivity was linked to anxiety, and difficulties with movement and body awareness were linked to difficulties in social function. On the social side, we have shown that autistic social traits can be predicted from more basic abilities, such as recognising faces, wanting to be with others, and reading what others are thinking. These abilities contribute unequally to the social profile. Face recognition and the wish to be with others mattered most, and reading others’ minds less than expected.

Currently: how different types of sound sensitivity are distributed across autistic traits, ADHD traits, and motor coordination; repetitive behaviours and how people hide them; and movement tasks that measure precision and timing in adults with autism, ADHD, and coordination difficulties.

A diagnosis says little about quality of life, health, or working life. When we broke social traits down into six parts, only a few were linked to lower quality of life, above all difficulty putting words to one’s own emotions and little wish to be with others. Other social differences mattered less for quality of life. This says something about which support is worth offering. We also study how people value their own traits. A trait can be both hard to live with and valuable, and this affects what support people want. Through interview studies with other researchers, we have described how autistic adults experience healthcare and what makes working life sustainable with autism and ADHD.

Currently: whether sound sensitivity is linked to quality of life in children, how adults value their own traits, and support at work.

The cerebellum is connected to the senses, movement, and social interaction alike, and it often looks different in autism and ADHD. That makes it a candidate for explaining why traits in these areas go together. So far, we only know that the traits are linked, not why. With a new technique, temporal interference, we can influence the cerebellum from outside the head, and measure whether sensory experience and social interaction change. That lets us test cause, not just correlation.

Currently: studies of the technique’s safety and feasibility, together with Dr Mark Pinsk at Princeton University, TI Solutions, the IT’IS Foundation, and CMIV at Linköping University.

Take part in a study. We regularly recruit adults and children, with and without a diagnosis, for questionnaire studies, computer-based tests, and studies using brain imaging or brain stimulation. If you would like to receive a notification when a study is open to new participants, you can sign up here.

Do research with us. PhD students, postdocs, and students who want to work with large datasets, brain imaging, or brain stimulation are welcome to contact Kajsa Igelström. We collaborate with Princeton University, KIND at Karolinska Institutet, and TI Solutions/IT’IS Foundation in Zurich.

Journalist? See the list under In the media, or contact us directly.