Publications
40 results found
Haar S, Donchin O, Dinstein I, 2017, Individual movement variability magnitudes are predicted by cortical neural variability, The Journal of Neuroscience, Vol: 37, Pages: 9076-9085, ISSN: 0270-6474
Humans exhibit considerable motor variability even across trivial reaching movements. This variability can be separated into specific kinematic components such as extent and direction that are thought to be governed by distinct neural processes. Here, we report that individual subjects (males and females) exhibit different magnitudes of kinematic variability, which are consistent (within individual) across movements to different targets and regardless of which arm (right or left) was used to perform the movements. Simultaneous fMRI recordings revealed that the same subjects also exhibited different magnitudes of fMRI variability across movements in a variety of motor system areas. These fMRI variability magnitudes were also consistent across movements to different targets when performed with either arm. Cortical fMRI variability in the posterior–parietal cortex of individual subjects explained their movement–extent variability. This relationship was apparent only in posterior-parietal cortex and not in other motor system areas, thereby suggesting that individuals with more variable movement preparation exhibit larger kinematic variability. We therefore propose that neural and kinematic variability are reliable and interrelated individual characteristics that may predispose individual subjects to exhibit distinct motor capabilities.
Givon-Mayo R, Haar S, Aminov Y, et al., 2017, Long Pauses in Cerebellar Interneurons in Anesthetized Animals, CEREBELLUM, Vol: 16, Pages: 293-305, ISSN: 1473-4222
Dinstein I, Haar S, Atsmon S, et al., 2017, No evidence of early head circumference enlargements in children later diagnosed with autism in Israel, Molecular Autism, Vol: 8, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 2040-2392
BackgroundLarge controversy exists regarding the potential existence and clinical significance of larger brain volumes in toddlers who later develop autism. Assessing this relationship is important for determining the clinical utility of early head circumference (HC) measures and for assessing the validity of the early overgrowth hypothesis of autism, which suggests that early accelerated brain development may be a hallmark of the disorder.MethodsWe performed a retrospective comparison of HC, height, and weight measurements between 66 toddlers who were later diagnosed with autism and 66 matched controls. These toddlers represent an unbiased regional sample from a single health service provider in the southern district of Israel. On average, participating toddlers had >8 measurements between birth and the age of two, which enabled us to characterize individual HC, height, and weight development with high precision and fit a negative exponential growth model to the data of each toddler with exceptional accuracy.ResultsThe analyses revealed that HC sizes and growth rates were not significantly larger in toddlers with autism even when stratifying the autism group based on verbal capabilities at the time of diagnosis. In addition, there were no significant correlations between ADOS scores at the time of diagnosis and HC at any time-point during the first 2 years of life.ConclusionsThese negative results add to accumulating evidence, which suggest that brain volume is not necessarily larger in toddlers who develop autism. We believe that conflicting results reported in other studies are due to small sample sizes, use of misleading population norms, changes in the clinical definition of autism over time, and/or inclusion of individuals with syndromic autism. While abnormally large brains may be evident in some individuals with autism and more clearly visible in MRI scans, converging evidence from this and other studies suggests that enlarged HC is not a common etiology
Dinstein I, Haar S, Atsmon S, et al., 2017, No evidence of early head circumference enlargements in children later diagnosed with autism in Israel
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background</jats:title><jats:p>Large controversy exists regarding the potential existence and clinical significance of larger brain volumes in toddlers who later develop autism. Assessing this relationship is important for determining the clinical utility of early head circumference (HC) measures and for assessing the validity of the early overgrowth hypothesis of autism, which suggests that early accelerated brain development may be a hallmark of the disorder</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method</jats:title><jats:p>We performed a retrospective comparison of HC, height, and weight measurements between 66 toddlers who were later diagnosed with autism and 66 matched controls. These toddlers represent an unbiased regional sample from a single health service provider in the southern district of Israel. Using 4-12 measurements between birth and the age of two, we were able to characterize individual HC, height, and weight development with high precision and fit a negative exponential growth model to the data of each toddler with exceptional accuracy</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>The analyses revealed that HC sizes and growth rates were not significantly larger in toddlers with autism even when stratifying the autism group based on verbal capabilities at the time of diagnosis. In addition, there were no significant correlations between ADOS scores at the time of diagnosis and HC at any time-point during the first two years of life</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title><jats:p>These negative results add to accumulating evidence, which suggest that brain volume is not necessarily larger in toddlers who develop autism. While early brain overgrowth may characterize specific individuals with autism, it is
Gonen-Yaacovi G, Arazi A, Shahar N, et al., 2016, Increased ongoing neural variability in ADHD, CORTEX, Vol: 81, Pages: 50-63, ISSN: 0010-9452
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- Citations: 38
Haar S, Berman S, Behrmann M, et al., 2016, Anatomical Abnormalities in Autism?, CEREBRAL CORTEX, Vol: 26, Pages: 1440-1452, ISSN: 1047-3211
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- Citations: 155
Haar S, Donchin O, Dinstein I, 2015, Dissociating Visual and Motor Directional Selectivity Using Visuomotor Adaptation, JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Vol: 35, Pages: 6813-6821, ISSN: 0270-6474
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- Citations: 43
Haar S, Givon-Mayo R, Barmack NH, et al., 2015, Spontaneous Activity Does Not Predict Morphological Type in Cerebellar Interneurons, JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Vol: 35, Pages: 1432-1442, ISSN: 0270-6474
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- Citations: 6
Gonen-Yaacovi G, Haar S, Arazi A, et al., 2014, Neural variability in visual, auditory and somatosensory systems in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 22nd Annual Meeting of the Israel-Society-for-Neuroscience (ISFN) / 2nd Bi National Italy-Israel Neuroscience Meeting, Publisher: HUMANA PRESS INC, Pages: S55-S55, ISSN: 0895-8696
Haar S, Berman S, Behrmann M, et al., 2014, Anatomical MRI findings in autism are likely to be of low clinical and scientific significance, 22nd Annual Meeting of the Israel-Society-for-Neuroscience (ISFN) / 2nd Bi National Italy-Israel Neuroscience Meeting, Publisher: HUMANA PRESS INC, Pages: S59-S59, ISSN: 0895-8696
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