Emily Kilroy PhD
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Aziz-Zadeh PhD
Research Lab: Center for the Neuroscience of Embodied Cognition

Emily Kilroy is a postdoctoral scholar at USC and is collaborating with UCLA on a study investigating the relationship between gut microbiota and social processing in ASD. Emily completed her undergraduate education at Purdue University where she earned bachelor’s degrees in Behavioral Neuroscience (with a concentration in Psychology). She received her Master of Science degree in Developmental Psychopathology from the University College London and Yale University with a focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder at the Yale Child Study Center. She continued her Autism research at UCLA at the Brain Mapping Center under the supervision of Dr. Danny Wang and Dr. Mirella Dapretto before entering a Ph.D. program in Occupational Science (with a concentration in Neuroscience) investigating, with her advisors Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh and Dr. Sharon Cermak, social and motor interactions in the motor system during action observation using neuroimaging and behavioral methods. Emily’s research interest is in advancing the understanding of typical development, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other related developmental disabilities (i.e., developmental coordination disorder). Her work focuses on identifying and clarifying how autism develops, how the brain is involved, and how social and motor skills interact in ASD. Emily collaborates with scientists across the country and employs approaches such as neuroimaging and behavioral assessment to better understand ASD and use this information for the service of families.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
in Occupational Science
2018 | University of Southern California
Master of Science (MS)
in Developmental Neuroscience and Psychopathology
2010 | University College London
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in Behavioral Neuroscience (Concentration in Psychology)
2008 | Purdue University
Journal Articles
Kilroy, E., Gerbella, M., Cao, L., Molfese, P., Butera, C., Harrison, L., Jayashankar, A., Rizzolatti, G., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2022). Specific tractography differences in autism compared to developmental coordination disorder. Scientific Reports, 12, 19246. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21538-0 Show abstract
About 85% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience comorbid motor impairments, making it unclear whether white matter abnormalities previously found in ASD are related to social communication deficits, the hallmark of ASD, or instead related to comorbid motor impairment. Here we aim to understand specific white matter signatures of ASD beyond those related to comorbid motor impairment by comparing youth (aged 8–18) with ASD (n = 22), developmental coordination disorder (DCD; n = 16), and typically developing youth (TD; n = 22). Diffusion weighted imaging was collected and quantitative anisotropy, radial diffusivity, mean diffusivity, and axial diffusivity were compared between the three groups and correlated with social and motor measures. Compared to DCD and TD groups, diffusivity differences were found in the ASD group in the mid-cingulum longitudinal and u-fibers, the corpus callosum forceps minor/anterior commissure, and the left middle cerebellar peduncle. Compared to the TD group, the ASD group had diffusivity differences in the right inferior frontal occipital/extreme capsule and genu of the corpus callosum. These diffusion differences correlated with emotional deficits and/or autism severity. By contrast, children with DCD showed unique abnormality in the left cortico-spinal and cortico-pontine tracts.
Trial Registration. All data are available on the National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive: https://nda.nih.gov/edit_collection.html?id=2254.
Kilroy, E., Ring, P., Hossain, A., Nalbach, A., Butera, C., Harrison, L., Jayashankar, A., Vigen, C., Aziz-Zadeh, L., & Cermak, S. A. (2022). Motor performance, praxis, and social skills in autism spectrum disorder and developmental coordination disorder. Autism Research, 15(9), 1649-1664. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2774 Show abstract
Previous research has shown that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) may have overlapping social and motor skill impairments. This study compares ASD, DCD, and typically developing (TD) youth on a range of social, praxis and motor skills, and investigates the relationship between these skills in each group. Data were collected on participants aged 8–17 (n = 33 ASD, n = 28 DCD, n = 35 TD). Overall, the clinical groups showed some similar patterns of social and motor impairments but diverged in praxis impairments, cognitive empathy, and Theory of Mind ability. When controlling for both social and motor performance impairments, the ASD group showed significantly lower accuracy on imitation of meaningful gestures and gesture to command, indicating a prominent deficit in these praxis skills in ASD.
Ringold, S. M., McGuire, R. W., Jayashankar, A., Kilroy, E., Butera, C. D., Harrison, L., Cermak, S. A., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2022). Sensory modulation in children with developmental coordination disorder compared to autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children. Brain Sciences, 12(9), 1171. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12091171 Show abstract
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) is one of the least studied and understood developmental disorders. One area that has been minimally investigated in DCD is potential issues with sensory modulation. Further, in other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorder (ASD)) sensory modulation is related to many other challenges (e.g., social issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety); however, such potential relationships in children with DCD have been largely unexplored. The purpose of this study is to explore sensory modulation differences in DCD and to understand the relationships between sensory modulation and social emotional measures, behavior, and motor skills in DCD in comparison to ASD and typically developing (TD) peers. Participants (aged 8–17) and their caregivers (DCD, N = 26; ASD, N = 57; and TD, N = 53) completed behavioral and clinical measures. The results indicated that 31% of the DCD group showed sensory modulation difficulties, with the DCD group falling between the ASD and TD groups. In the DCD group, sensory modulation was significantly associated with anxiety, empathic concern, repetitive behaviors, and motor skills. Data are compared to patterns seen in ASD and TD groups and implications for interventions are discussed.
Keywords. developmental coordination disorder; sensory processing; autism spectrum disorder; behavior; social emotional; motor skills; dyspraxia; empathy; sensory modulation; anxiety
Butera, C. D., Harrison, L., Jayashankar, A., Shipkova, M., Pruyser, A., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2022). Relationships between alexithymia, interoception, and emotional empathy in autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221111310 Show abstract
Some studies suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have reduced emotional empathy while others do not. The presence of co-occurring alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder and differences in interoception have been associated with reductions in empathic ability. To fully explore the relationships between interoception, alexithymia, and emotional empathy, we collected self-report and interview data in 35 youth with autism spectrum disorder and 40 typically developing controls (ages 8–17 years). The autism spectrum disorder sample had increased alexithymia and physiological hyperarousal compared to typically developing controls, but there were no group differences in interoception or emotional empathy. Alexithymia severity correlated with higher personal distress in both groups and with lower empathic concern in the autism spectrum disorder group. Within the autism spectrum disorder group, higher incidence of reports of bodily sensation when describing emotional experience correlated with lower personal distress and lower alexithymia. In addition, although empathic concern was negatively correlated with alexithymia in the autism spectrum disorder group, across groups, the alexithymia hypothesis was supported in only the personal distress domain of emotional empathy. These results suggest emotional empathy; personal distress, in particular, is not intrinsically impaired in autism spectrum disorder.
Chernikova, M. A., Flores, G. D., Kilroy, E., Labus, J. S., Mayer, E. A., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2021). The brain-gut-microbiome system: Pathways and implications for autism spectrum disorder. Nutrients, 13(12), 4497. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124497 Show abstract
Gastrointestinal dysfunction is one of the most prevalent physiological symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A growing body of largely preclinical research suggests that dysbiotic gut microbiota may modulate brain function and social behavior, yet little is known about the mechanisms that underlie these relationships and how they may influence the pathogenesis or severity of ASD. While various genetic and environmental risk factors have been implicated in ASD, this review aims to provide an overview of studies elucidating the mechanisms by which gut microbiota, associated metabolites, and the brain interact to influence behavior and ASD development, in at least a subgroup of individuals with gastrointestinal problems. Specifically, we review the brain-gut-microbiome system and discuss findings from current animal and human studies as they relate to social-behavioral and neurological impairments in ASD, microbiota-targeted therapies (i.e., probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation) in ASD, and how microbiota may influence the brain at molecular, structural, and functional levels, with a particular interest in social and emotion-related brain networks. A deeper understanding of microbiome-brain-behavior interactions has the potential to inform new therapies aimed at modulating this system and alleviating both behavioral and physiological symptomatology in individuals with ASD.
Keywords. autism spectrum disorder; brain-gut-microbiome system; gut-brain axis; microbiome; probiotics; tryptophan pathway
Kilroy, E., Harrison, L., Butera, C., Jayashankar, A., Cermak, S., Kaplan, J., Williams, M., Haranin, E., Bookheimer, S., Dapretto, M., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2021). Unique deficit in embodied simulation in autism: An fMRI study comparing autism and developmental coordination disorder. Human Brain Mapping, 42(5), 1532-1546. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.25312 Show abstract
A deficit in pre‐cognitively mirroring other people's actions and experiences may be related to the social impairments observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it is unclear whether such embodied simulation deficits are unique to ASD or instead are related to motor impairment, which is commonly comorbid with ASD. Here we aim to disentangle how, neurologically, motor impairments contribute to simulation deficits and identify unique neural signatures of ASD. We compare children with ASD (N = 30) to children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD; N = 23) as well as a typically developing group (N = 33) during fMRI tasks in which children observe, imitate, and mentalize about other people's actions. Results indicate a unique neural signature in ASD: during action observation, only the ASD group shows hypoactivity in a region important for simulation (inferior frontal gyrus, pars opercularis, IFGop). However, during a motor production task (imitation), the IFGop is hypoactive for both ASD and DCD groups. For all tasks, we find correlations across groups with motor ability, even after controlling for age, IQ, and social impairment. Conversely, across groups, mentalizing ability is correlated with activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex when controlling for motor ability. These findings help identify the unique neurobiological basis of ASD for aspects of social processing. Furthermore, as no previous fMRI studies correlated brain activity with motor impairment in ASD, these findings help explain prior conflicting reports in these simulation networks.
Butera, C., Ring, P., Sideris, J., Jayashankar, A., Kilroy, E., Harrison, L., Cermak, S., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2020). Impact of sensory processing on school performance outcomes in high functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Mind, Brain, and Education, 14(3), 243-254. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12242 Show abstract
Difficulty processing sensory information may impede progress in school for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We explore the relationship between sensory processing and school performance in 26 high‐functioning youths with ASD and 26 controls (age 8–14) using measures of sensory, social, cognitive, and academic functioning. In the ASD group, bivariate Pearson correlations indicated a significant positive relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) and the School Competence Scale (SCS) of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and a significant negative relationship between Dunn's Sensory Processing Framework and SCS scores. Final hierarchical multiple linear regression model accounting for SCS scores in ASD included IQ, ADHD symptoms, and sensory features. An interaction between increased sensory sensitivity with reduced sensory avoidance behaviors explained the greatest amount of variance in SCS, meaning school performance is lowest for children with greater hypersensitivity and fewer avoidance behaviors. Results indicate a strong impact of sensory processing on school performance in ASD.
Kilroy, E., Aziz-Zadeh, L., & Cermak, S. (2019). Ayres theories of autism and sensory integration revisited: What contemporary neuroscience has to say. Brain Sciences, 9(3), 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9030068 Show abstract
Abnormal sensory-based behaviors are a defining feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Dr. A. Jean Ayres was the first occupational therapist to conceptualize Sensory Integration (SI) theories and therapies to address these deficits. Her work was based on neurological knowledge of the 1970s. Since then, advancements in neuroimaging techniques make it possible to better understand the brain areas that may underlie sensory processing deficits in ASD. In this article, we explore the postulates proposed by Ayres (i.e., registration, modulation, motivation) through current neuroimaging literature. To this end, we review the neural underpinnings of sensory processing and integration in ASD by examining the literature on neurophysiological responses to sensory stimuli in individuals with ASD as well as structural and network organization using a variety of neuroimaging techniques. Many aspects of Ayres’ hypotheses about the nature of the disorder were found to be highly consistent with current literature on sensory processing in children with ASD but there are some discrepancies across various methodological techniques and ASD development. With additional characterization, neurophysiological profiles of sensory processing in ASD may serve as valuable biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic interventions, such as SI therapy.
Keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI); sensory processing; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Kilroy, E., Cermak, S. A., & Aziz-Zadeh, L. (2019). A review of functional and structural neurobiology of the action observation network in autism spectrum disorder and developmental coordination disorder. Brain Sciences, 9(4), 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci9040075 Show abstract
Recent research has reported motor impairment similarities between children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and a subgroup of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, there is a debate as to whether DCD is a co-occurring diagnosis in individuals with ASD and motor impairments (ASDd), or if motor impairments in ASD are distinct from DCD. However, the etiology of motor impairments is not well understood in either disorder. Clarifying comorbidities in ASD is important to determine different etiopathological phenotyping clusters in ASD and to understand the variety of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to the disorder. Furthermore, this distinction has important therapeutic relevance. Here we explore the current neuroimaging findings in ASD and DCD and discusses possible neural mechanisms that underlie similarities and differences between the disorders.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); developmental coordination disorder (DCD); action observation network (AON); functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); resting state; diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)
Aziz-Zadeh, L., Kilroy, E., & Corcelli, G. (2018). Understanding activation patterns in shared circuits: Toward a value driven model. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 180. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2018.00180 Show abstract
Over the past decade many studies indicate that we utilize our own motor system to understand the actions of other people. This mirror neuron system (MNS) has been proposed to be involved in social cognition and motor learning. However, conflicting findings regarding the underlying mechanisms that drive these shared circuits make it difficult to decipher a common model of their function. Here we propose adapting a “value-driven” model to explain discrepancies in the human mirror system literature and to incorporate this model with existing models. We will use this model to explain discrepant activation patterns in multiple shared circuits in the human data, such that a unified model may explain reported activation patterns from previous studies as a function of value.
2022
Study pinpoints three brain regions displaying telltale patterns in autistic individuals >
USC scientists are first to identify patterns of white matter connectivity exclusive to core autistic symptoms, pointing out potential flaw in previous autism neuroscience research.
November 14, 2022
Study identifies social, motor skills patterns unique to autistic children >
Findings help clarify relationships between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Coordination Disorder
July 4, 2022
2021
Newly published review covers current brain-gut-microbiome and autism literature >
Co-first authors of Nutrients review supported by USC’s DIA JumpStart undergraduate pipeline program.
December 16, 2021
USC faculty win 2021 AOTF honors >
Three USC Chan faculty members have been honored with annual awards from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation. Shawn Roll PhD Program Director and Associate Professor Shawn Roll was named to the AOTF Academy of Research in Occupational Therapy. Inclusion in the academy recognizes exemplary,…
February 8, 2021
New study shows children with autism have less activity in brain region that observes, simulates movements >
Team of USC and UCLA researchers first to pinpoint reduced frontal lobe activity, helping explain some social characteristics unique to autism.
January 28, 2021
⋯