Speaker
AGUSTÍN ERNESTO MARTÍNEZ-GONZÁLEZ
UNIVERSITY OF ALICANTE. SPAIN
Dr. Agustín Ernesto Martínez-González is an Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental Psychology and Teaching at the University of Alicante. He has completed several master’s degrees related to clinical psychology and clinical neuropsychology, which have provided him with a transversal and neuroeducational perspective on human behavior. In the research field, he has participated in more than 50 national and international congresses related to educational psychology, neuropsychology, and clinical psychology.
Similarly, he has authored numerous articles indexed in JCR (Social Science Edition), as well as books and book chapters. His research focuses on the repetitive spectrum in various mental disorders (OCD and ASD). In this latter regard, he has been involved in the validation of scales for OCD in Spanish and Chilean adolescents (OCI-R, OCI-CV, etc.) and the RBS-R in the Spanish population with autism and intellectual disabilities. His social transfer in research has materialized with the COREAT app (2019) and the INCE app (2025). COREAT is the first app with scientific evidence to detect ASD and measure the severity of repetitive behavior in both individuals with ASD and those with intellectual disabilities, following DSM-5 criteria (Martínez-González, 2019).
The INCE app is the first app to measure the gut-brain relationship in autism and in neurotypical populations. Finally, Professor Martínez-González is the director of the Comprehensive Research Group on Typical and Atypical Neurodevelopment (GINTA) and editor of the Disability, Clinical, and Neurosciences Journal (RDCN).
Artificial intelligence and development of an app to evaluate gut-brain axis in autism
The new Rome IV criteria have led to an improvement in clinical and research understanding of the gut-brain interaction. In this sense, functional digestive disorders have been redefined with a new terminology called Gut-Brain Interaction Disorders. Systematic review studies and meta-analyses have indicated that the prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) ranges from 40% to 70%. Additionally, other studies have found a relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms, pain, and sensory reactivity in ASD. Therefore, these are determining factors in detecting a possible alteration in the gut-brain axis.
The latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and technological development through app creation represent a new pathway for evaluating autism and gut-brain interaction disorders. In recent years, the GINTA research group at the University of Alicante has developed a series of instruments to assess this relationship in both neurotypical and ASD populations. The aim of this symposium is: 1) to provide information on the global landscape regarding the application of AI in detecting Gut-Brain Interaction Disorders and in autism diagnosis; 2) to present the INCE app as the first measure with scientific evidence that allows obtaining severity levels of gut-brain interaction by measuring various domains such as gastrointestinal symptoms, pain, and sensory reactivity. The INCE app allows for a case tracking history. The informant can be the caregiver of the person with ASD or professionals from a center.
There is also a self-reported version available for individuals over 13 years old with adequate reading comprehension. This app displays a mini-report of the evaluated domains, percentiles, and a neurological correlate associated with the evaluated domain.