Research Interests
My research focuses primarily on social-communicative functioning in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I use a range of behavioral approaches to quantify both verbal and nonverbal behavior in ASD, in an effort to disentangle the complex web of skills that is required for successful social interaction. I am particularly motivated to bridge the global with the local; that is, how can broad, gestalt social-communication problems (i.e., those that are likely to be noted by peers, teachers, etc.) be accounted for by quantifiable features of behavior (i.e., those that could feasibly be addressed by interventions)? It is not enough to discover that a particular skill is weak or atypical in ASD; for that information to be relevant, we must also demonstrate that those differences matter in the real world. Beyond this specific niche, I am broadly interested in neurocognitive mechanisms supporting discourse and social-communication in ASD and typical development. Domains of interest include motor development, generalization, executive function, reward mechanisms, and temporal dynamics of dyadic interactions.
Representative Publications
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (2010). Conversational gestures in autism spectrum disorders: Asynchrony
but not decreased frequency. Autism Research.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., Worek, A., Ono, K., & Snedeker, J. (2011). Mutual exclusivity in autism spectrum
disorders: Testing the pragmatic hypothesis. Cognition.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (2015). The art of common ground: Emergence of a complex pragmatic language skill
in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Language.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., & Yerys, B. (2015). Brief Report: Generalization weaknesses in verbally fluent children
and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Parma, V. & de Marchena, A. (2015). Motor signatures in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The importance of variability.
Journal of Neurophysiology.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (in press). Context counts: The impact of social context on gesture rate in verbally
fluent adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Gesture.
but not decreased frequency. Autism Research.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., Worek, A., Ono, K., & Snedeker, J. (2011). Mutual exclusivity in autism spectrum
disorders: Testing the pragmatic hypothesis. Cognition.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (2015). The art of common ground: Emergence of a complex pragmatic language skill
in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Language.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., & Yerys, B. (2015). Brief Report: Generalization weaknesses in verbally fluent children
and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Parma, V. & de Marchena, A. (2015). Motor signatures in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The importance of variability.
Journal of Neurophysiology.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (in press). Context counts: The impact of social context on gesture rate in verbally
fluent adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Gesture.
Representative Conference Presentations
de Marchena, A., Worek, A., Ono, K., Eigsti, I.M., & Snedeker, J. (November, 2008). Mutual
exclusivity in autism spectrum disorders: Testing the pragmatic hypothesis. Boston
University Conference on Language Development.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (April, 2009). Speech and gestures in autism spectrum
disorders: Quantifying asynchrony. Society for Research in Child Development.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (May, 2009). Relative contributions of speech and gesture on the
ADOS “Demonstration Task” in adolescents with high-functioning autism. International
Meeting for Autism Research. Chicago, IL.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (May, 2010). Adolescents with ASD and TD show equivalent patterns of gesture use
during lexical retrieval. International Meeting for Autism Research. Philadelphia, PA.
Eigsti, I.M. & de Marchena, A. (April, 2011). The role of gestures in cognition for individuals with ASD. Society for
Research in Child Development. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Eigsti, I.M., Dixon, J., de Marchena, A. & Helt, M. (May, 2010). Dynamical systems analysis of hand movement
organization in autism: Movement structure is associated with problem solving and symptom severity.
International Meeting for Autism Research. Philadelphia, PA.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (July, 2014). Gesture in a social vs. non-social context: Adolescents with autism
spectrum disorder highlight the varied functions of co-speech gesture. International Society for Gesture
Research. San Diego, CA.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., & Yerys, B. (March, 2015). Generalization impairments in autism spectrum disorder
can be demonstrated using an experimental problem solving task. Society for Research in Child Development.
Philadelphia, PA.
Yerys, B., Nissley-Tsiopinis, J., de Marchena, A., Antezana, L., Power, T., & Schultz, R. (May, 2015). Factor structure
of parent and teacher report on the ADHD rating scale in children with autism spectrum disorder. International
Meeting for Autism Research. Salt Lake City, UT.
exclusivity in autism spectrum disorders: Testing the pragmatic hypothesis. Boston
University Conference on Language Development.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (April, 2009). Speech and gestures in autism spectrum
disorders: Quantifying asynchrony. Society for Research in Child Development.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (May, 2009). Relative contributions of speech and gesture on the
ADOS “Demonstration Task” in adolescents with high-functioning autism. International
Meeting for Autism Research. Chicago, IL.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (May, 2010). Adolescents with ASD and TD show equivalent patterns of gesture use
during lexical retrieval. International Meeting for Autism Research. Philadelphia, PA.
Eigsti, I.M. & de Marchena, A. (April, 2011). The role of gestures in cognition for individuals with ASD. Society for
Research in Child Development. Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Eigsti, I.M., Dixon, J., de Marchena, A. & Helt, M. (May, 2010). Dynamical systems analysis of hand movement
organization in autism: Movement structure is associated with problem solving and symptom severity.
International Meeting for Autism Research. Philadelphia, PA.
de Marchena, A. & Eigsti, I.M. (July, 2014). Gesture in a social vs. non-social context: Adolescents with autism
spectrum disorder highlight the varied functions of co-speech gesture. International Society for Gesture
Research. San Diego, CA.
de Marchena, A., Eigsti, I.M., & Yerys, B. (March, 2015). Generalization impairments in autism spectrum disorder
can be demonstrated using an experimental problem solving task. Society for Research in Child Development.
Philadelphia, PA.
Yerys, B., Nissley-Tsiopinis, J., de Marchena, A., Antezana, L., Power, T., & Schultz, R. (May, 2015). Factor structure
of parent and teacher report on the ADHD rating scale in children with autism spectrum disorder. International
Meeting for Autism Research. Salt Lake City, UT.
Research Positions
- T32 Fellow, Center for Autism Research, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2014 - )
- Graduate Researcher, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, University of Connecticut (2006 - 2012)
- Fulbright research Fellow, Musicaycolor, centro de psicología infantil, Madrid, Spain (2010 - 2011)
- Graduate Researcher, Early Detection Lab, University of Connecticut (2006 - 2010)
- Research Coordinator, Laboratory of Neuroimaging, Mount Sinai School of Medicine (2005-2006)
- Research Assistant, Laboratory for Pediatric Neuroimaging, Columbia University (2004-2005)
- Research Intern, Laboratory for Developmental Studies, Harvard University (2002-2003)
- Research Intern, Psychopharmacology Laboratory, Tufts University (2001-2003)