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IntroductionAutistic people face systemic barriers to fair employment. Informal learning may promote the self-determination transition-age autistic youth need to overcome and/or transform these barriers. This report focuses on the iterative process of developing video game design workshops guided by feedback from autistic students about instructional strategies they found engaging. This study is part of a three-year-long NSF-funded program of research that seeks to empower autistic youth to move toward successful careers by teaching educators how to more effectively guide them.MethodsIn the Summer of 2021, educators at an award-winning NYC-based, not-for-profit, education program, Tech Kids Unlimited (TKU) collaborated with researchers, including autistic students, to iteratively develop and assess two online game design workshops for transition-age autistic youth. Participants selected which workshop they were available for (Workshop 1: n = 18; M age = 16.72 years; Workshop 2: n = 16; M age = 16.56 years). Students in Workshop 2 had more varied support needs and were less motivated to learn video game design than students in Workshop 1. Students completed assessments before and after each workshop and rated their interest in specific workshop activities after each activity. Guided by data from Workshop 1, we revised instructional strategies before conducting Workshop 2.ResultsWe found little evidence for our hypothesis that attentional style would impact educational engagement. However, video game design self-efficacy and self-determination were often positively associated with engagement. Two industry speakers, one of whom was autistic, were among the highest-rated activities. As hypothesized, video game design self-efficacy and self-determination (and unexpectedly) spatial planning improved from pre- to post-test following Workshop 1. Despite our efforts to use what we learned in Workshop 1 to improve in Workshop 2, Workshop 2 did not lead to significant improvements in outcomes. However, students highlighted instructional strategies as a strength of Workshop 2 more often than they had for Workshop 1. Educators highlighted the importance of group “temperature checks,” individualized check-ins, social–emotional support for students and educators, and fostering a positive atmosphere.DiscussionFindings suggest that interactive multimodal activities, stimulating discussions, and opportunities to engage with neurodivergent industry professionals may engage and empower diverse autistic youth.

Brain dopamine is critical for normal motor control, as evidenced by its importance in Parkinson Disease and related disorders. Current hypotheses are that dopamine influences motor control by ‘invigorating’ movements and regulating motor learning. Most evidence for these aspects of dopamine function comes from simple tasks (e.g. lever pressing). Therefore, the influence of dopamine on motor skills requiring multi-joint coordination is unknown. To determine the effects of precisely timed dopamine manipulations on the performance of a complex, finely coordinated dexterous skill, we optogenetically stimulated or inhibited midbrain dopamine neurons as rats performed a skilled reaching task. We found that reach kinematics and coordination between gross and fine movements progressively changed with repeated manipulations. However, once established, rats transitioned abruptly between aberrant and baseline reach kinematics in a dopamine-dependent manner. These results suggest that precisely timed dopamine signals have immediate and long-term influences on motor skill performance, distinct from simply ‘invigorating’ movement.

Field potential (FP) oscillations are believed to coordinate brain activity over large spatiotemporal scales, with specific features (e.g., phase and power) in discrete frequency bands correlated with motor output. Furthermore, complex correlations between oscillations in distinct frequency bands (phase-amplitude, amplitude-amplitude, and phase-phase coupling) are commonly observed. However, the mechanisms underlying FP-behavior correlations and cross-frequency coupling remain unknown. The thalamus plays a central role in generating many circuit-level neural oscillations, and single-unit activity in motor thalamus (Mthal) is correlated with behavioral output. We, therefore, hypothesized that motor thalamic spiking coordinates motor system FPs and underlies FP-behavior correlations. To investigate this possibility, we recorded wideband motor thalamic (Mthal) electrophysiology as healthy rats performed a two-alternative forced-choice task. Delta (1–4 Hz), beta (13–30 Hz), low gamma (30–70 Hz), and high gamma (70–200 Hz) power were strongly modulated by task performance. As in the cortex, the delta phase was correlated with beta/low gamma power and reaction time. Most interestingly, subpopulations of Mthal neurons defined by their relationship to the behavior exhibited distinct relationships with FP features. Specifically, neurons whose activity was correlated with action selection and movement speed were entrained to delta oscillations. Furthermore, changes in their activity anticipated power fluctuations in beta/low gamma bands. These complex relationships suggest mechanisms for commonly observed FP-FP and spike-FP correlations, as well as subcortical influences on motor output.