Ligia Antezana
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Psychology·Early-career
At least half of autistic adults report having hurt themselves on purpose without intending to die, known as nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Because NSSI is strongly linked to later suicide attempts, it matters to understand why it happens and who keeps doing it.
- Fields
Psychology
Neuroscience
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
autism
autistic adults
nonsuicidal self-injury
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2031
What they work on
- Test whether behavioral markers of compulsivity during decision-making are associated with nonsuicidal self-injury in 90 autistic adults, using self-reports, clinical interviews and a decision-making task.
- Test whether neural markers of compulsivity, measured with a decision-making task during functional MRI and computational analysis, relate to nonsuicidal self-injury in autistic adults.
- Identify year-long trajectories of nonsuicidal self-injury in autistic adults, and test whether compulsivity markers relate to a persistent pattern of self-injury.
More about the research
Yet very little research has examined NSSI in autism. Early evidence points to compulsivity, a tendency toward repetitive and often unhelpful thoughts or actions, marked by less goal-directed behavior.
Why it matters
Identifying behavioral and brain markers linked to self-injury, and knowing who is likely to keep self-injuring, could help design targeted prevention and intervention programs for autistic adults. Because NSSI is a strong precursor of suicide attempts, such programs could improve mental health and safety in this vulnerable population.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Erin Kaufman
University of Utah, UT·Psychology·Early-career
Compare an interpersonal skill (GIVE) with an intrapersonal skill (opposite-to-emotion action) for reducing emotion dysregulation in self-injuring adolescents, using a randomized crossover design with parent–teen conflict discussions.
Damian Stanley
Adelphi University, NY·Psychology
Identify social computational phenotypes associated with mental health spectra in an exploratory online sample of 1,000 adults, combining computational models of social and nonsocial learning tasks with HiTOP symptom assessment.
Zheng Wang
University of Florida, FL·Neuroscience
Quantify verbal memory retention and executive function impairments in autistic adults aged 40–65 compared with age- and sex-matched cognitively normal controls, as early signs of dementia.
The school
University of Pittsburgh: 83 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 403 research doctorates a year.
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