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He JL, Wodka E, Tommerdahl M, Edden RAE, Mikkelsen M, Mostofsky SH, Puts NAJ. Disorder-specific alterations of tactile sensitivity in neurodevelopmental disorders. Commun Biol 2021; 4:97. [PMID: 33483581 PMCID: PMC7822903 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01592-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Alterations of tactile processing have long been identified in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the extent to which these alterations are disorder-specific, rather than disorder-general, and how they relate to the core symptoms of each disorder, remains unclear. We measured and compared tactile detection, discrimination, and order judgment thresholds between a large sample of children with ASD, ADHD, ASD + ADHD combined and typically developing controls. The pattern of results suggested that while difficulties with tactile detection and order judgement were more common in children with ADHD, difficulties with tactile discrimination were more common in children with ASD. Interestingly, in our subsequent correlation analyses between tactile perception and disorder-specific clinical symptoms, tactile detection and order judgment correlated exclusively with the core symptoms of ADHD, while tactile discrimination correlated exclusively with the symptoms of ASD. When taken together, these results suggest that disorder-specific alterations of lower-level sensory processes exist and are specifically related to higher-level clinical symptoms of each disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason L He
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AB, UK
| | - Ericka Wodka
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Mark Tommerdahl
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - Richard A E Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Mark Mikkelsen
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Stewart H Mostofsky
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- Center for Neurodevelopmental and Imaging Research, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
- Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA
| | - Nicolaas A J Puts
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
- F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AB, UK.
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Camarata S, Miller LJ, Wallace MT. Evaluating Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Treatment: Issues and Analysis. Front Integr Neurosci 2020; 14:556660. [PMID: 33324180 PMCID: PMC7726187 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2020.556660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For more than 50 years, "Sensory Integration" has been a theoretical framework for diagnosing and treating disabilities in children under the umbrella of "sensory integration dysfunction" (SID). More recently, the approach has been reframed as "the dimensions of sensory processing" or SPD in place of SID, so the review herein describes this collective framework as sensory integration/sensory processing treatment (SI/SP-T) for ASD. This review is not focused on diagnosis of SI/SPD. Broadly, the SI/SPD intervention approach views a plethora of disabilities such as ADHD, ASD, and disruptive behavior as being exacerbated by difficulties in modulating and integrating sensory input with a primary focus on contributions from tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular systems which are hypothesized to contribute to core symptoms of the conditions (e.g., ASD). SI/SP intervention procedures include sensory protocols designed to enhance tactile, proprioceptive, and vestibular experiences. SI/SP-T procedures utilize equipment (e.g., lycra swings, balance beams, climbing walls, and trampolines), specific devices (e.g., weighted vests, sensory brushes) and activities (e.g., placing hands in messy substances such as shaving cream, sequenced movements) hypothesized to enhance sensory integration and sensory processing. The approach is reviewed herein to provide a framework for testing SI/SP-T using widely accepted clinical trials and event coding methods used in applied behavior analysis (ABA) and other behavioral interventions. Also, a related but distinct neuroscientific paradigm, multisensory integration, is presented as an independent test of whether SI/SP-T differentially impacts sensory integration and/or multisensory integration. Finally, because SI/SP-T activities include many incidental behavioral events that are known as developmental facilitators (e.g., contingent verbal models/recasts during verbal interactions), there is a compelling need to control for confounds to study the unique impact of sensory-based interventions. Note that SI/SP-T includes very specific and identifiable procedures and materials, so it is reasonable to expect high treatment fidelity when testing the approach. A patient case is presented that illustrates this confound with a known facilitator (recast intervention) and a method for controlling potential confounds in order to conduct unbiased studies of the effects of SI/SP-T approaches that accurately represent SI/SP-T theories of change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Camarata
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Lucy Jane Miller
- STAR Institute for Sensory Processing, Greenwood Village, Centennial, CO, United States
- School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, United States
| | - Mark T. Wallace
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Bill Wilkerson Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States
- Graduate School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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Ainsworth K, Ostrolenk A, Irion C, Bertone A. Reduced multisensory facilitation exists at different periods of development in autism. Cortex 2020; 134:195-206. [PMID: 33291045 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Revised: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Atypical sensory processing is now recognised as a key component of an autism diagnosis. The integration of multiple sensory inputs (multisensory integration (MSI)) is thought to be idiosyncratic in autistic individuals and may have cascading effects on the development of higher-level skills such as social communication. Multisensory facilitation was assessed using a target detection paradigm in 45 autistic and 111 neurotypical individuals, matched on age and IQ. Target stimuli were: auditory (A; 3500 Hz tone), visual (V; white disk 'flash') or audiovisual (AV; simultaneous tone and flash), and were presented on a dark background in a randomized order with varying stimulus onset delays. Reaction time (RT) was recorded via button press. In order to assess possible developmental effects, participants were divided into younger (age 14 or younger) and older (age 15 and older) groups. Redundancy gain (RG) was significantly greater in neurotypical, compared to autistic individuals. No significant effect of age or interaction was found. Race model analysis was used to compute a bound value that represented the facilitation effect provided by MSI. Our results revealed that MSI facilitation occurred (violation of the race model) in neurotypical individuals, with more efficient MSI in older participants. In both the younger and older autistic groups, we found reduced MSI facilitation (no or limited violation of the race model). Autistic participants showed reduced multisensory facilitation compared to neurotypical participants in a simple target detection task, void of social context. This remained consistent across age. Our results support evidence that autistic individuals may not integrate low-level, non-social information in a typical fashion, adding to the growing discussion around the influential effect that basic perceptual atypicalities may have on the development of higher-level, core aspects of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty Ainsworth
- Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory for Autism and Development (PNLab), McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
| | - Alexia Ostrolenk
- Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory for Autism and Development (PNLab), McGill University, Montreal, Canada; University of Montreal Center of Excellence for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (CETEDUM), Montreal, Canada
| | | | - Armando Bertone
- Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory for Autism and Development (PNLab), McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; University of Montreal Center of Excellence for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (CETEDUM), Montreal, Canada
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Freschl J, Melcher D, Carter A, Kaldy Z, Blaser E. Seeing a Page in a Flipbook: Shorter Visual Temporal Integration Windows in 2-Year-Old Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 14:946-958. [PMID: 33174396 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience differences in visual temporal processing, the part of vision responsible for parsing continuous input into discrete objects and events. Here we investigated temporal processing in 2-year-old toddlers diagnosed with ASD and age-matched typically developing (TD) toddlers. We used a visual search task where the visibility of the target was determined by the pace of a display sequence. On integration trials, each display viewed alone had no visible target, but if integrated over time, the target became visible. On segmentation trials, the target became visible only when displays were perceptually segmented. We measured the percent of trials when participants fixated the target as a function of the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between displays. We computed the crossover point of the integration and segmentation performance functions for each group, an estimate of the temporal integration window (TIW), the period in which visual input is combined. We found that both groups of toddlers had significantly longer TIWs (125 ms) than adults (65 ms) from previous studies using the same paradigm, and that toddlers with ASD had significantly shorter TIWs (108 ms) than chronologically age-matched TD controls (142 ms). LAY SUMMARY: We investigated how young children, with and without autism, organize dynamic visual information across time, using a visual search paradigm. We found that toddlers with autism had higher temporal resolution than typically developing (TD) toddlers of the same age - that is, they are more likely to be able to detect rapid change across time, relative to TD toddlers. These differences in visual temporal processing can impact how one sees, interprets, and interacts with the world. Autism Res 2021, 14: 946-958. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Freschl
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David Melcher
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,University of Trento, Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Rovereto, Italy
| | - Alice Carter
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Zsuzsa Kaldy
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Erik Blaser
- University of Massachusetts Boston, Department of Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Stefanou ME, Dundon NM, Bestelmeyer PEG, Ioannou C, Bender S, Biscaldi M, Smyrnis N, Klein C. Late attentional processes potentially compensate for early perceptual multisensory integration deficits in children with autism: evidence from evoked potentials. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16157. [PMID: 32999327 PMCID: PMC7527489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73022-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory processing deficits and altered long-range connectivity putatively underlie Multisensory Integration (MSI) deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study set out to investigate non-social MSI stimuli and their electrophysiological correlates in young neurotypical adolescents and adolescents with ASD. We report robust MSI effects at behavioural and electrophysiological levels. Both groups demonstrated normal behavioural MSI. However, at the neurophysiological level, the ASD group showed less MSI-related reduction of the visual P100 latency, greater MSI-related slowing of the auditory P200 and an overall temporally delayed and spatially constrained onset of MSI. Given the task design and patient sample, and the age of our participants, we argue that electro-cortical indices of MSI deficits in ASD: (a) can be detected in early-adolescent ASD, (b) occur at early stages of perceptual processing, (c) can possibly be compensated by later attentional processes, (d) thus leading to normal MSI at the behavioural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Elena Stefanou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Neil M Dundon
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Brain Imaging Center, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | - Chara Ioannou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Bender
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Monica Biscaldi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nikolaos Smyrnis
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, 11528, Athens, Greece
| | - Christoph Klein
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, 11528, Athens, Greece.
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Correlations Between Audiovisual Temporal Processing and Sensory Responsiveness in Adolescents with Autistic Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:2450-2460. [PMID: 32978707 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04724-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Atypical sensory processing has recently gained much research interest as a key domain of autistic symptoms. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit difficulties in processing the temporal aspects of sensory inputs, and show altered behavioural responses to sensory stimuli (i.e., sensory responsiveness). The present study examined the relation between sensory responsiveness (assessed by the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile) and audiovisual temporal integration (measured by unisensory temporal order judgement (TOJ) tasks and audiovisual simultaneity judgement (SJ) tasks) in typically-developing adolescents (n = 94). We found that adolescents with higher levels of autistic traits exhibited more difficulties in separating visual stimuli in time (i.e., larger visual TOJ threshold) and showed a stronger bias to perceive sound-leading audiovisual pairings as simultaneous. Regarding the associations between different measures of sensory function, reduced visual temporal acuity, but not auditory or multisensory temporal processing, was significantly correlated with more atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness. Furthermore, the positive correlation between visual TOJ thresholds and sensory avoidance was only found in adolescents with relatively high levels of autistic traits, but not in those with relatively low levels of autistic traits. These findings suggest that reduced visual temporal acuity may contribute to altered sensory experiences and may be linked to broader behavioural characteristics of ASD.
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Gandhi TK, Tsourides K, Singhal N, Cardinaux A, Jamal W, Pantazis D, Kjelgaard M, Sinha P. Autonomic and Electrophysiological Evidence for Reduced Auditory Habituation in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:2218-2228. [PMID: 32926307 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04636-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
It is estimated that nearly 90% of children on the autism spectrum exhibit sensory atypicalities. What aspects of sensory processing are affected in autism? Although sensory processing can be studied along multiple dimensions, two of the most basic ones involve examining instantaneous sensory responses and how the responses change over time. These correspond to the dimensions of 'sensitivity' and 'habituation'. Results thus far have indicated that autistic individuals do not differ systematically from controls in sensory acuity/sensitivity. However, data from studies of habituation have been equivocal. We have studied habituation in autism using two measures: galvanic skin response (GSR) and magneto-encephalography (MEG). We report data from two independent studies. The first study, was conducted with 13 autistic and 13 age-matched neurotypical young adults and used GSR to assess response to an extended metronomic sequence. The second study involved 24 participants (12 with an ASD diagnosis), different from those in study 1, spanning the pre-adolescent to young adult age range, and used MEG. Both studies reveal consistent patterns of reduced habituation in autistic participants. These results suggest that autism, through mechanisms that are yet to be elucidated, compromises a fundamental aspect of sensory processing, at least in the auditory domain. We discuss the implications for understanding sensory hypersensitivities, a hallmark phenotypic feature of autism, recently proposed theoretical accounts, and potential relevance for early detection of risk for autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapan K Gandhi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, India Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 110016, India.
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| | - Kleovoulos Tsourides
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Nidhi Singhal
- Open Doors School, Action for Autism, New Delhi, 110 054, India
| | - Annie Cardinaux
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Wasifa Jamal
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Dimitrios Pantazis
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Margaret Kjelgaard
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA, 02325, USA
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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Kopec J, Hagmann C, Shea N, Prawl A, Batkin D, Russo N. Examining the Temporal Limits of Enhanced Visual Feature Detection in Children With Autism. Autism Res 2020; 13:1561-1572. [PMID: 32896996 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The enhanced perceptual processing of visual features in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is supported by an abundance of evidence in the spatial domain, with less robust evidence regarding whether this extends to information presented across time. The current study aimed to replicate and extend previous work finding that children with an ASD demonstrated enhanced perceptual accuracy in detecting feature-based (but not categorically defined) targets in time, when these were presented quickly, at a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 50 ms per item. Specifically, we extend the range of SOAs to examine the temporal boundaries of this enhanced accuracy and examine whether there is a relationship between ASD-related traits and detection accuracy on temporal visual search tasks. Individuals with autism perceived feature-based targets with statistically higher accuracy than their typically developing peers between SOAs of 39 and 65 ms and were numerically faster at all SOAs. No group differences were noted for category-based task accuracy. Our results also demonstrated that ASD-related traits measured by the autism spectrum quotient were positively correlated with accuracy on the feature-based task. Overall, results suggest that accurate visual perception of features (particularly color) is enhanced in children with ASD across time. LAY SUMMARY: Our results suggest that children with autism are able to process visual features, such as color, more accurately than typically developing children, even when these are presented very rapidly. Accuracy was higher in children with higher levels of autism-related traits and symptoms. Our findings suggest that more accurate visual perception exists not only across space in children with autism, as much of the existing literature demonstrates, but also over time. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1561-1572. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Kopec
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Carl Hagmann
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Nicole Shea
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Alyssa Prawl
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Daniel Batkin
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Natalie Russo
- Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA
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Individual differences in sensory integration predict differences in time perception and individual levels of schizotypy. Conscious Cogn 2020; 84:102979. [DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Siemann JK, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Wallace MT. Approaches to Understanding Multisensory Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 13:1430-1449. [PMID: 32869933 PMCID: PMC7721996 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Abnormal sensory responses are a DSM-5 symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and research findings demonstrate altered sensory processing in ASD. Beyond difficulties with processing information within single sensory domains, including both hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity, difficulties in multisensory processing are becoming a core issue of focus in ASD. These difficulties may be targeted by treatment approaches such as "sensory integration," which is frequently applied in autism treatment but not yet based on clear evidence. Recently, psychophysical data have emerged to demonstrate multisensory deficits in some children with ASD. Unlike deficits in social communication, which are best understood in humans, sensory and multisensory changes offer a tractable marker of circuit dysfunction that is more easily translated into animal model systems to probe the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Paralleling experimental paradigms that were previously applied in humans and larger mammals, we and others have demonstrated that multisensory function can also be examined behaviorally in rodents. Here, we review the sensory and multisensory difficulties commonly found in ASD, examining laboratory findings that relate these findings across species. Next, we discuss the known neurobiology of multisensory integration, drawing largely on experimental work in larger mammals, and extensions of these paradigms into rodents. Finally, we describe emerging investigations into multisensory processing in genetic mouse models related to autism risk. By detailing findings from humans to mice, we highlight the advantage of multisensory paradigms that can be easily translated across species, as well as the potential for rodent experimental systems to reveal opportunities for novel treatments. LAY SUMMARY: Sensory and multisensory deficits are commonly found in ASD and may result in cascading effects that impact social communication. By using similar experiments to those in humans, we discuss how studies in animal models may allow an understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie difficulties in multisensory integration, with the ultimate goal of developing new treatments. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1430-1449. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin K Siemann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Chaliha D, Albrecht M, Vaccarezza M, Takechi R, Lam V, Al-Salami H, Mamo J. A Systematic Review of the Valproic-Acid-Induced Rodent Model of Autism. Dev Neurosci 2020; 42:12-48. [DOI: 10.1159/000509109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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Armstrong-Gallegos S. Problems in Audiovisual Filtering for Children with Special Educational Needs. Iperception 2020; 11:2041669520951816. [PMID: 32922716 PMCID: PMC7457682 DOI: 10.1177/2041669520951816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
There is pervasive evidence that problems in sensory processing occur across a range of developmental disorders, but their aetiology and clinical significance remain unclear. The present study investigated the relation between sensory processing and literacy skills in children with and without a background of special educational needs (SEN). Twenty-six children aged between 7 and 12 years old, from both regular classes and SEN programmes, participated. Following baseline tests of literacy, fine motor skills and naming speed, two sets of instruments were administered: the carer-assessed Child Sensory Profile-2 and a novel Audiovisual Animal Stroop (AVAS) test. The SEN group showed significantly higher ratings on three Child Sensory Profile-2 quadrants, together with body position ratings. The SEN participants also showed a specific deficit when required to ignore an accompanying incongruent auditory stimulus on the AVAS. Interestingly, AVAS performance correlated significantly with literacy scores and with the sensory profile scores. It is proposed that the children with SEN showed a specific deficit in "filtering out" irrelevant auditory input. The results highlight the importance of including analysis of sensory processes within theoretical and applied approaches to developmental differences and suggest promising new approaches to the understanding, assessment, and support of children with SEN.
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Individual differences in multiple object tracking, attentional cueing, and age account for variability in the capacity of audiovisual integration. Atten Percept Psychophys 2020; 82:3521-3543. [PMID: 32529573 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-020-02062-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
There has been a recent increase in individual differences research within the field of audiovisual perception (Spence & Squire, 2003, Current Biology, 13(13), R519-R521), and furthering the understanding of audiovisual integration capacity with an individual differences approach is an important facet within this line of research. Across four experiments, participants were asked to complete an audiovisual integration capacity task (cf. Van der Burg, Awh, & Olivers, 2013, Psychological Science, 24(3), 345-351; Wilbiks & Dyson, 2016, PLOS ONE 11(12), e0168304; 2018, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(6), 871-884), along with differing combinations of additional perceptual tasks. Experiment 1 employed a multiple object tracking task and a visual working memory task. Experiment 2 compared performance on the capacity task with that of the Attention Network Test. Experiment 3 examined participants' focus in space through a Navon task and vigilance through time. Having completed this exploratory work, in Experiment 4 we collected data again from the tasks that were found to correlate significantly across the first three experiments and entered them into a regression model to predict capacity. The current research provides a preliminary explanation of the vast individual differences seen in audiovisual integration capacity in previous research, showing that by considering an individual's multiple object tracking span, focus in space, and attentional factors, we can account for up to 34.3% of the observed variation in capacity. Future research should seek to examine higher-level differences between individuals that may contribute to audiovisual integration capacity, including neurodevelopmental and mental health differences.
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64
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Federici A, Parma V, Vicovaro M, Radassao L, Casartelli L, Ronconi L. Anomalous Perception of Biological Motion in Autism: A Conceptual Review and Meta-Analysis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4576. [PMID: 32165647 PMCID: PMC7067769 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61252-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its popularity, the construct of biological motion (BM) and its putative anomalies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not completely clarified. In this article, we present a meta-analysis investigating the putative anomalies of BM perception in ASD. Through a systematic literature search, we found 30 studies that investigated BM perception in both ASD and typical developing peers by using point-light display stimuli. A general meta-analysis including all these studies showed a moderate deficit of individuals with ASD in BM processing, but also a high heterogeneity. This heterogeneity was explored in different additional meta-analyses where studies were grouped according to levels of complexity of the BM task employed (first-order, direct and instrumental), and according to the manipulation of low-level perceptual features (spatial vs. temporal) of the control stimuli. Results suggest that the most severe deficit in ASD is evident when perception of BM is serving a secondary purpose (e.g., inferring intentionality/action/emotion) and, interestingly, that temporal dynamics of stimuli are an important factor in determining BM processing anomalies in ASD. Our results question the traditional understanding of BM anomalies in ASD as a monolithic deficit and suggest a paradigm shift that deconstructs BM into distinct levels of processing and specific spatio-temporal subcomponents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Federici
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School of Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Valentina Parma
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Michele Vicovaro
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Radassao
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Luca Casartelli
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
| | - Luca Ronconi
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
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65
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Zhou HY, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK. Audiovisual temporal integration: Cognitive processing, neural mechanisms, developmental trajectory and potential interventions. Neuropsychologia 2020; 140:107396. [PMID: 32087206 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
To integrate auditory and visual signals into a unified percept, the paired stimuli must co-occur within a limited time window known as the Temporal Binding Window (TBW). The width of the TBW, a proxy of audiovisual temporal integration ability, has been found to be correlated with higher-order cognitive and social functions. A comprehensive review of studies investigating audiovisual TBW reveals several findings: (1) a wide range of top-down processes and bottom-up features can modulate the width of the TBW, facilitating adaptation to the changing and multisensory external environment; (2) a large-scale brain network works in coordination to ensure successful detection of audiovisual (a)synchrony; (3) developmentally, audiovisual TBW follows a U-shaped pattern across the lifespan, with a protracted developmental course into late adolescence and rebounding in size again in late life; (4) an enlarged TBW is characteristic of a number of neurodevelopmental disorders; and (5) the TBW is highly flexible via perceptual and musical training. Interventions targeting the TBW may be able to improve multisensory function and ameliorate social communicative symptoms in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han-Yu Zhou
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | | | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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66
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Balasco L, Provenzano G, Bozzi Y. Sensory Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Focus on the Tactile Domain, From Genetic Mouse Models to the Clinic. Front Psychiatry 2020; 10:1016. [PMID: 32047448 PMCID: PMC6997554 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.01016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory abnormalities are commonly recognized as diagnostic criteria in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as reported in the last edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-V). About 90% of ASD individuals have atypical sensory experiences, described as both hyper- and hypo-reactivity, with abnormal responses to tactile stimulation representing a very frequent finding. In this review, we will address the neurobiological bases of sensory processing in ASD, with a specific focus of tactile sensitivity. In the first part, we will review the most relevant sensory abnormalities detected in ASD, and then focus on tactile processing deficits through the discussion of recent clinical and experimental studies. In the search for the neurobiological bases of ASD, several mouse models have been generated with knockout and humanized knockin mutations in many ASD-associated genes. Here, we will therefore give a brief overview of the anatomical structure of the mouse somatosensory system, and describe the somatosensory abnormalities so far reported in different mouse models of ASD. Understanding the neurobiological bases of sensory processing in ASD mouse models may represent an opportunity for a better comprehension of the mechanisms underlying sensory abnormalities, and for the development of novel effective therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Balasco
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Giovanni Provenzano
- Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - Yuri Bozzi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- CNR Neuroscience Institute, Pisa, Italy
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67
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Di Lorenzo G, Riccioni A, Ribolsi M, Siracusano M, Curatolo P, Mazzone L. Auditory Mismatch Negativity in Youth Affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder With and Without Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:555340. [PMID: 33329094 PMCID: PMC7732489 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.555340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study investigates the differences in auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) parameters given in a sample of young subjects with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 37) with or without co-occurrent attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS). Our results show that ASD individuals present an MMN decreased amplitude and prolonged latency, without being influenced by concurrent APS. Additionally, when correlating the MMN indexes to clinical features, in the ASD + APS group, we found a negative correlation between the severity of autistic symptoms and the MMN latency in both frequency (f-MMN r = -0.810; p < 0.0001) and duration (d-MMN r = -0.650; p = 0.006) deviants. Thus, our results may provide a more informative characterization of the ASD sub-phenotype when associated with APS, highlighting the need for further longitudinal investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Di Lorenzo
- Laboratory of Psychophysiology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Assia Riccioni
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Ribolsi
- Psychiatry Unit, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Siracusano
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.,Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Paolo Curatolo
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Luigi Mazzone
- Child Neurology and Psychiatry Unit, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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68
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Foxe JJ, Molholm S, Baudouin SJ, Wallace MT. Explorations and perspectives on the neurobiological bases of autism spectrum disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 47:488-496. [PMID: 29575230 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- John J Foxe
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | | | - Mark T Wallace
- Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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69
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Cutts SA, Fragaszy DM, Mangalam M. Consistent inter-individual differences in susceptibility to bodily illusions. Conscious Cogn 2019; 76:102826. [PMID: 31670011 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Revised: 08/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Illusory senses of ownership and agency (that the hand or effector that we see belongs to us and moves at our will, respectively) support the embodiment of prosthetic limbs, tele-operated surgical devices, and human-machine interfaces. We exposed forty-eight individuals to four different procedures known to elicit illusory ownership or agency over a fake visible rubber hand or finger. The illusory ownership or agency arising from the hand correlated with that of the finger. For both body parts, sensory stimulation across different modalities (visual with tactile or visual with kinesthetic) produced illusions of similar strength. However, the strengths of the illusions of ownership and agency were unrelated within individuals, supporting the proposal that distinct neuropsychological processes underlie these two senses. Developing training programs to enhance susceptibility to illusions of agency or ownership for people with lower natural susceptibility could broaden the usefulness of the above technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Cutts
- Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | | | - Madhur Mangalam
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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70
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How did I get so late so soon? A review of time processing and management in autism. Behav Brain Res 2019; 374:112121. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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71
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Niedźwiecka A, Domasiewicz Z, Kawa R, Tomalski P, Pisula E. Sensory processing in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2019.1676715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alicja Niedźwiecka
- Department of Health and Rehabilitation Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Rafał Kawa
- Department of Health and Rehabilitation Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Przemysław Tomalski
- Developmental Psychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Ewa Pisula
- Department of Health and Rehabilitation Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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72
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Tietze FA, Hundertmark L, Roy M, Zerr M, Sinke C, Wiswede D, Walter M, Münte TF, Szycik GR. Auditory Deficits in Audiovisual Speech Perception in Adult Asperger's Syndrome: fMRI Study. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2286. [PMID: 31649597 PMCID: PMC6795762 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Audiovisual (AV) integration deficits have been proposed to underlie difficulties in speech perception in Asperger’s syndrome (AS). It is not known, if the AV deficits are related to alterations in sensory processing at the level of unisensory processing or at levels of conjoint multisensory processing. Functional Magnetic-resonance images (MRI) was performed in 16 adult subjects with AS and 16 healthy controls (HC) matched for age, gender, and verbal IQ as they were exposed to disyllabic AV congruent and AV incongruent nouns. A simple semantic categorization task was used to ensure subjects’ attention to the stimuli. The left auditory cortex (BA41) showed stronger activation in HC than in subjects with AS with no interaction regarding AV congruency. This suggests that alterations in auditory processing in unimodal low-level areas underlie AV speech perception deficits in AS. Whether this is signaling a difficulty in the deployment of attention remains to be demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian-Alexander Tietze
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Laura Hundertmark
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Mandy Roy
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany.,Asklepios Clinic North - Ochsenzoll, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael Zerr
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Daniel Wiswede
- Institute of Psychology II, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Thomas F Münte
- Institute of Psychology II, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Gregor R Szycik
- Department of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
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73
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Abstract
Although impairment in sensory integration is suggested in the autism spectrum (AS), empirical evidences remain equivocal. We assessed the integration of low-level visual and tactile information within and across modalities in AS and typically developing (TD) individuals. TD individuals demonstrated increased redundancy gain for cross-modal relative to double tactile or visual stimulation, while AS individuals showed similar redundancy gain between cross-modal and double tactile conditions. We further observed that violation of the race model inequality for cross-modal conditions was observed over a wider proportion of the reaction times distribution in TD than AS individuals. Importantly, the reduced cross-modal integration in AS individuals was not related to atypical attentional shift between modalities. We conclude that AS individuals displays selective decrease of cross-modal integration of low-level information.
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74
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Hense M, Badde S, Köhne S, Dziobek I, Röder B. Visual and Proprioceptive Influences on Tactile Spatial Processing in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Autism Res 2019; 12:1745-1757. [PMID: 31507084 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often exhibit altered representations of the external world. Consistently, when localizing touch, children with ASDs were less influenced than their peers by changes of the stimulated limb's location in external space [Wada et al., Scientific Reports 2015, 4(1), 5985]. However, given the protracted development of an external-spatial dominance in tactile processing in typically developing children, this difference might reflect a developmental delay rather than a set suppression of external space in ASDs. Here, adults with ASDs and matched control-participants completed (a) the tactile temporal order judgment (TOJ) task previously used to test external-spatial representation of touch in children with ASDs and (b) a tactile-visual cross-modal congruency (CC) task which assesses benefits of task-irrelevant visual stimuli on tactile localization in external space. In both experiments, participants localized tactile stimuli to the fingers of each hand, while holding their hands either crossed or uncrossed. Performance differences between hand postures reflect the influence of external-spatial codes. In both groups, tactile TOJ-performance markedly decreased when participants crossed their hands and CC-effects were especially large if the visual stimulus was presented at the same side of external space as the task-relevant touch. The absence of group differences was statistically confirmed using Bayesian statistical modeling: adults with ASDs weighted external-spatial codes comparable to typically developed adults during tactile and visual-tactile spatio-temporal tasks. Thus, atypicalities in the spatial coding of touch for children with ASDs appear to reflect a developmental delay rather than a stable characteristic of ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1745-1757. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: A touched limb's location can be described twofold, with respect to the body (right hand) or the external world (right side). Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reportedly rely less than their peers on the external world. Here, adults with and without ASDs completed two tactile localization tasks. Both groups relied to the same degree on external world locations. This opens the possibility that the tendency to relate touch to the external world is typical in individuals with ASDs but emerges with a delay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Hense
- Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie Badde
- Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York
| | - Svenja Köhne
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Brigitte Röder
- Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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75
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Vilidaite G, Norcia AM, West RJH, Elliott CJH, Pei F, Wade AR, Baker DH. Autism sensory dysfunction in an evolutionarily conserved system. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:20182255. [PMID: 30963913 PMCID: PMC6304042 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing evidence for a strong genetic basis for autism, with many genetic models being developed in an attempt to replicate autistic symptoms in animals. However, current animal behaviour paradigms rarely match the social and cognitive behaviours exhibited by autistic individuals. Here, we instead assay another functional domain—sensory processing—known to be affected in autism to test a novel genetic autism model in Drosophila melanogaster. We show similar visual response alterations and a similar development trajectory in Nhe3 mutant flies (total n = 72) and in autistic human participants (total n = 154). We report a dissociation between first- and second-order electrophysiological visual responses to steady-state stimulation in adult mutant fruit flies that is strikingly similar to the response pattern in human adults with ASD as well as that of a large sample of neurotypical individuals with high numbers of autistic traits. We explain this as a genetically driven, selective signalling alteration in transient visual dynamics. In contrast to adults, autistic children show a decrease in the first-order response that is matched by the fruit fly model, suggesting that a compensatory change in processing occurs during development. Our results provide the first animal model of autism comprising a differential developmental phenotype in visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Greta Vilidaite
- 1 Department of Psychology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305 , USA
| | - Anthony M Norcia
- 1 Department of Psychology, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305 , USA
| | - Ryan J H West
- 3 Department of Biology, University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
| | | | - Francesca Pei
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University , Stanford, CA 94305 , USA
| | - Alex R Wade
- 3 Department of Biology, University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK.,4 Department of Psychology, University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
| | - Daniel H Baker
- 4 Department of Psychology, University of York , York YO10 5DD , UK
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76
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Casassus M, Poliakoff E, Gowen E, Poole D, Jones LA. Time perception and autistic spectrum condition: A systematic review. Autism Res 2019; 12:1440-1462. [PMID: 31336032 PMCID: PMC6852160 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Problems with timing and time perception have been suggested as key characteristics of autism spectrum condition (ASC). Studies and personal accounts from clinicians, parents, caregivers, and self‐reports from autistic people themselves often refer to problems with time. Although a number of empirical studies have examined aspects relating to time in autistic individuals, there remains no clear consensus on whether or how timing mechanisms may be affected in autism. A key reason for this lack of clarity is the wide range of timing processes that exist and subsequently the wide range of methodologies, research paradigms, and samples that time‐based studies have used with autism populations. In order to summarize and organize the available literature on this issue, a systematic review was conducted. Five electronic databases were consulted. From an initial 597 records (after duplicates were removed), 45 papers were selected and reviewed. The studies are reviewed within different sections based on the different types of timing ability that have been explored in the neurotypical (NT) population: time sensitivity, interval timing, and higher‐order time perception. Within each section cognitive models, methodologies, possible clinical implications, and research results are discussed. The results show different consistency across studies between the three types of timing ability. The highest consistency of results showing atypical time perception abilities is found in high‐level time perception studies. It remains unclear if autism is characterized by a fundamental time perception impairment. Suggestions for future research are discussed. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1440–1462. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary This systematic review examines the different types of timing and time perception behavior that have been investigated in autism. Overall, there are a number of studies that show differences between autistic and non‐autistic individuals, but some studies do not find such differences. Group differences are more consistent across studies using complex tasks rather than simpler more fundamental timing tasks. We suggest that experiments across a range of timing tasks would be fruitful to address gaps in our knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Casassus
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Ellen Poliakoff
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Emma Gowen
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Poole
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Luke Anthony Jones
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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77
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van Laarhoven T, Stekelenburg JJ, Vroomen J. Increased sub-clinical levels of autistic traits are associated with reduced multisensory integration of audiovisual speech. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9535. [PMID: 31267024 PMCID: PMC6606565 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46084-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that sub-clinical levels of autistic symptoms may be related to reduced processing of artificial audiovisual stimuli. It is unclear whether these findings extent to more natural stimuli such as audiovisual speech. The current study examined the relationship between autistic traits measured by the Autism spectrum Quotient and audiovisual speech processing in a large non-clinical population using a battery of experimental tasks assessing audiovisual perceptual binding, visual enhancement of speech embedded in noise and audiovisual temporal processing. Several associations were found between autistic traits and audiovisual speech processing. Increased autistic-like imagination was related to reduced perceptual binding measured by the McGurk illusion. Increased overall autistic symptomatology was associated with reduced visual enhancement of speech intelligibility in noise. Participants reporting increased levels of rigid and restricted behaviour were more likely to bind audiovisual speech stimuli over longer temporal intervals, while an increased tendency to focus on local aspects of sensory inputs was related to a more narrow temporal binding window. These findings demonstrate that increased levels of autistic traits may be related to alterations in audiovisual speech processing, and are consistent with the notion of a spectrum of autistic traits that extends to the general population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thijs van Laarhoven
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
| | - Jeroen J Stekelenburg
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands
| | - Jean Vroomen
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands
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78
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Felix RA, Chavez VA, Novicio DM, Morley BJ, Portfors CV. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit α 7-knockout mice exhibit degraded auditory temporal processing. J Neurophysiol 2019; 122:451-465. [PMID: 31116647 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00170.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The CHRNA7 gene that encodes the α7-subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) has been associated with some autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental conditions characterized, in part, by auditory and language impairment. These conditions may include auditory processing disorders that represent impaired timing of neural activity, often accompanied by problems understanding speech. Here, we measure timing properties of sound-evoked activity via the auditory brainstem response (ABR) of α7-nAChR knockout mice of both sexes and wild-type colony controls. We find a significant timing delay in evoked ABR signals that represents midbrain activity in knockouts. We also examine spike-timing properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus, a midbrain nucleus that exhibits high levels of α7-nAChR during development. We find delays of evoked responses along with degraded spiking precision in knockout animals. We find similar timing deficits in responses of neurons in the superior paraolivary nucleus and ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus, which are brainstem nuclei thought to shape temporal precision in the midbrain. In addition, we find that other measures of temporal acuity including forward masking and gap detection are impaired for knockout animals. We conclude that altered temporal processing at the level of the brainstem in α7-nAChR-deficient mice may contribute to degraded spike timing in the midbrain, which may underlie the observed timing delay in the ABR signals. Our findings are consistent with a role for the α7-nAChR in types of neurodevelopmental and auditory processing disorders and we identify potential neural targets for intervention.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Disrupted signaling via the α7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders that include impaired auditory processing. The underlying causes of dysfunction are not known but a common feature is abnormal timing of neural activity. We examined temporal processing of α7-nAChR knockout mice and wild-type controls. We found degraded spike timing of neurons in knockout animals, which manifests at the level of the auditory brainstem and midbrain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard A Felix
- School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Integrated Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington
| | - Vicente A Chavez
- School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Integrated Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington
| | - Dyana M Novicio
- School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Integrated Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington
| | | | - Christine V Portfors
- School of Biological Sciences and the Department of Integrated Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University Vancouver, Vancouver, Washington
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79
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Mul CL, Cardini F, Stagg SD, Sadeghi Esfahlani S, Kiourtsoglou D, Cardellicchio P, Aspell JE. Altered bodily self-consciousness and peripersonal space in autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019; 23:2055-2067. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361319838950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
There is some evidence that disordered self-processing in autism spectrum disorders is linked to the social impairments characteristic of the condition. To investigate whether bodily self-consciousness is altered in autism spectrum disorders as a result of multisensory processing differences, we tested responses to the full body illusion and measured peripersonal space in 22 adults with autism spectrum disorders and 29 neurotypical adults. In the full body illusion set-up, participants wore a head-mounted display showing a view of their ‘virtual body’ being stroked synchronously or asynchronously with respect to felt stroking on their back. After stroking, we measured the drift in perceived self-location and self-identification with the virtual body. To assess the peripersonal space boundary we employed an audiotactile reaction time task. The results showed that participants with autism spectrum disorders are markedly less susceptible to the full body illusion, not demonstrating the illusory self-identification and self-location drift. Strength of self-identification was negatively correlated with severity of autistic traits and contributed positively to empathy scores. The results also demonstrated a significantly smaller peripersonal space, with a sharper (steeper) boundary, in autism spectrum disorders participants. These results suggest that bodily self-consciousness is altered in participants with autism spectrum disorders due to differences in multisensory integration, and this may be linked to deficits in social functioning.
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80
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McGurk Effect by Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Controls: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 49:34-43. [PMID: 30019277 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3680-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
By synthesizing existing behavioural studies through a meta-analytic approach, the current study compared the performances of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing groups in audiovisual speech integration and investigated potential moderators that might contribute to the heterogeneity of the existing findings. In total, nine studies were included in the current study, and the pooled overall difference between the two groups was significant, g = - 0.835 (p < 0.001; 95% CI - 1.155 to - 0.516). Age and task scoring method were found to be associated with the inconsistencies of the findings reported by previous studies. These findings indicate that individuals with ASD show weaker McGurk effect than typically developing controls.
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81
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Feldman JI, Kuang W, Conrad JG, Tu A, Santapuram P, Simon DM, Foss-Feig JH, Kwakye LD, Stevenson RA, Wallace MT, Woynaroski TG. Brief Report: Differences in Multisensory Integration Covary with Sensory Responsiveness in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 49:397-403. [PMID: 30043353 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3667-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Research shows that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ in their behavioral patterns of responding to sensory stimuli (i.e., sensory responsiveness) and in various other aspects of sensory functioning relative to typical peers. This study explored relations between measures of sensory responsiveness and multisensory speech perception and integration in children with and without ASD. Participants were 8-17 year old children, 18 with ASD and 18 matched typically developing controls. Participants completed a psychophysical speech perception task, and parents reported on children's sensory responsiveness. Psychophysical measures (e.g., audiovisual accuracy, temporal binding window) were associated with patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., hyporesponsiveness, sensory seeking). Results indicate that differences in multisensory speech perception and integration covary with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob I Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Wayne Kuang
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Julie G Conrad
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Alexander Tu
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Pooja Santapuram
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - David M Simon
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.,Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jennifer H Foss-Feig
- Department of Psychiatry, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Leslie D Kwakye
- Department of Neuroscience, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA
| | - Ryan A Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,Program in Neuroscience, The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.,York University Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.,Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.,Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. .,Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA. .,Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
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82
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Living and Working in a Multisensory World: From Basic Neuroscience to the Hospital. MULTIMODAL TECHNOLOGIES AND INTERACTION 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/mti3010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital is an environment subjected to ceaseless noise. Patient alarms contribute to the saturated auditory environment and often overwhelm healthcare providers with constant and false alarms. This may lead to alarm fatigue and prevent optimum patient care. In response, a multisensory alarm system developed with consideration for human neuroscience and basic music theory is proposed as a potential solution. The integration of auditory, visual, and other sensory output within an alarm system can be used to convey more meaningful clinical information about patient vital signs in the ICU and operating room to ultimately improve patient outcomes.
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83
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Derrick D, Bicevskis K, Gick B. Visual-Tactile Speech Perception and the Autism Quotient. FRONTIERS IN COMMUNICATION 2019; 3:61. [PMID: 35106291 PMCID: PMC8802876 DOI: 10.3389/fcomm.2018.00061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Multisensory information is integrated asymmetrically in speech perception: An audio signal can follow video by 240ms, but can precede video by only 60ms, without disrupting the sense of synchronicity (Munhall et al., 1996). Similarly, air flow can follow either audio (Gick et al., 2010) or video (Bicevskis et al., 2016) by a much larger margin than it can precede either while remaining perceptually synchronous. These asymmetric windows of integration have been attributed to the physical properties of the signals; light travels faster than sound (Munhall et al., 1996), and sound travels faster than air flow (Gick et al., 2010). Perceptual windows of integration narrow during development (Hillock-Dunn and Wallace, 2012), but remain wider among people with autism (Wallace and Stevenson, 2014). Here we show that, even among neurotypical adult perceivers, visual-tactile windows of integration are wider and flatter the higher the participant's Autism Quotient (AQ) (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001), a self-report measure of autistic traits. As "pa" is produced with a tiny burst of aspiration (Derrick et al., 2009), we applied light and inaudible air puffs to participants' necks while they watched silent videos of a person saying "ba" or "pa," with puffs presented both synchronously and at varying degrees of asynchrony relative to the recorded plosive release burst, which itself is time-aligned to visible lip opening. All syllables seen along with cutaneous air puffs were more likely to be perceived as "pa." Syllables were perceived as "pa" most often when the air puff occurred 50-100ms after lip opening, with decaying probability as asynchrony increased. Integration was less dependent on time-alignment the higher the participant's AQ. Perceivers integrate event-relevant tactile information in visual speech perception with greater reliance upon event-related accuracy the more they self-describe as neurotypical, supporting the Happé and Frith (2006) weak coherence account of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald Derrick
- New Zealand Institute of Language, Brain, and Behaviour, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
- MARCS Institute, Western Sydney University, Milperra, NSW, Australia
| | - Katie Bicevskis
- School of Languages and Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Bryan Gick
- Department of Linguistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, United States
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84
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Noel JP, De Niear MA, Lazzara NS, Wallace MT. Uncoupling Between Multisensory Temporal Function and Nonverbal Turn-Taking in Autism Spectrum Disorder. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2018. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2017.2778141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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85
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Feldman JI, Dunham K, Cassidy M, Wallace MT, Liu Y, Woynaroski TG. Audiovisual multisensory integration in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 95:220-234. [PMID: 30287245 PMCID: PMC6291229 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
An ever-growing literature has aimed to determine how individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ from their typically developing (TD) peers on measures of multisensory integration (MSI) and to ascertain the degree to which differences in MSI are associated with the broad range of symptoms associated with ASD. Findings, however, have been highly variable across the studies carried out to date. The present work systematically reviews and quantitatively synthesizes the large literature on audiovisual MSI in individuals with ASD to evaluate the cumulative evidence for (a) group differences between individuals with ASD and TD peers, (b) correlations between MSI and autism symptoms in individuals with ASD and (c) study level factors that may moderate findings (i.e., explain differential effects) observed across studies. To identify eligible studies, a comprehensive search strategy was employed using the ProQuest search engine, PubMed database, forwards and backwards citation searches, direct author contact, and hand-searching of select conference proceedings. A significant between-group difference in MSI was evident in the literature, with individuals with ASD demonstrating worse audiovisual integration on average across studies compared to TD controls. This effect was moderated by mean participant age, such that between-group differences were more pronounced in younger samples. The mean correlation between MSI and autism and related symptomatology was also significant, indicating that increased audiovisual integration in individuals with ASD is associated with better language/communication abilities and/or reduced autism symptom severity in the extant literature. This effect was moderated by whether the stimuli were linguistic versus non-linguistic in nature, such that correlation magnitudes tended to be significantly greater when linguistic stimuli were utilized in the measure of MSI. Limitations and future directions for primary and meta-analytic research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob I Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
| | - Kacie Dunham
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Margaret Cassidy
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 110 Magnolia Cir, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, 465 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville, TN, 27323, USA.
| | - Yupeng Liu
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 110 Magnolia Cir, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, 465 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1215 21st Ave S, MCE South Tower 8310, Nashville, TN, 27323, USA.
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86
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Schormans AL, Allman BL. Behavioral Plasticity of Audiovisual Perception: Rapid Recalibration of Temporal Sensitivity but Not Perceptual Binding Following Adult-Onset Hearing Loss. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:256. [PMID: 30429780 PMCID: PMC6220077 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to accurately integrate or bind stimuli from more than one sensory modality is highly dependent on the features of the stimuli, such as their intensity and relative timing. Previous studies have demonstrated that the ability to perceptually bind stimuli is impaired in various clinical conditions such as autism, dyslexia, schizophrenia, as well as aging. However, it remains unknown if adult-onset hearing loss, separate from aging, influences audiovisual temporal acuity. In the present study, rats were trained using appetitive operant conditioning to perform an audiovisual temporal order judgment (TOJ) task or synchrony judgment (SJ) task in order to investigate the nature and extent that audiovisual temporal acuity is affected by adult-onset hearing loss, with a specific focus on the time-course of perceptual changes following loud noise exposure. In our first series of experiments, we found that audiovisual temporal acuity in normal-hearing rats was influenced by sound intensity, such that when a quieter sound was presented, the rats were biased to perceive the audiovisual stimuli as asynchronous (SJ task), or as though the visual stimulus was presented first (TOJ task). Psychophysical testing demonstrated that noise-induced hearing loss did not alter the rats' temporal sensitivity 2-3 weeks post-noise exposure, despite rats showing an initial difficulty in differentiating the temporal order of audiovisual stimuli. Furthermore, consistent with normal-hearing rats, the timing at which the stimuli were perceived as simultaneous (i.e., the point of subjective simultaneity, PSS) remained sensitive to sound intensity following hearing loss. Contrary to the TOJ task, hearing loss resulted in persistent impairments in asynchrony detection during the SJ task, such that a greater proportion of trials were now perceived as synchronous. Moreover, psychophysical testing found that noise-exposed rats had altered audiovisual synchrony perception, consistent with impaired audiovisual perceptual binding (e.g., an increase in the temporal window of integration on the right side of simultaneity; right temporal binding window (TBW)). Ultimately, our collective results show for the first time that adult-onset hearing loss leads to behavioral plasticity of audiovisual perception, characterized by a rapid recalibration of temporal sensitivity but a persistent impairment in the perceptual binding of audiovisual stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley L Schormans
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Brian L Allman
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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87
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Millin R, Kolodny T, Flevaris AV, Kale AM, Schallmo MP, Gerdts J, Bernier RA, Murray S. Reduced auditory cortical adaptation in autism spectrum disorder. eLife 2018; 7:36493. [PMID: 30362457 PMCID: PMC6203433 DOI: 10.7554/elife.36493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptation is a fundamental property of cortical neurons and has been suggested to be altered in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used fMRI to measure adaptation induced by repeated audio-visual stimulation in early sensory cortical areas in individuals with ASD and neurotypical (NT) controls. The initial transient responses were equivalent between groups in both visual and auditory cortices and when stimulation occurred with fixed-interval and randomized-interval timing. However, in auditory but not visual cortex, the post-transient sustained response was greater in individuals with ASD than NT controls in the fixed-interval timing condition, reflecting reduced adaptation. Further, individual differences in the sustained response in auditory cortex correlated with ASD symptom severity. These findings are consistent with hypotheses that ASD is associated with increased neural responsiveness but that responsiveness differences only manifest after repeated stimulation, are specific to the temporal pattern of stimulation, and are confined to specific cortical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Millin
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Tamar Kolodny
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | | | - Alexander M Kale
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | | | - Jennifer Gerdts
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Raphael A Bernier
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Scott Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
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88
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Ronen M, Lifshitz-Ben-Basat A, Taitelbaum-Swead R, Fostick L. Auditory temporal processing, reading, and phonological awareness among aging adults. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2018; 190:1-10. [PMID: 29986206 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2018.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory temporal processing (ATP) has been related in the literature to both speech perception as well as reading and phonological awareness. In aging adults, it is known to be related to difficulties in speech perception. In the present study, we aimed to test whether an age-related deficit in ATP would also be accompanied by poor reading and phonological awareness. Thirty-eight aging adults were compared to 55 readers with dyslexia and 42 young normal readers on temporal order judgment (TOJ), speech perception, reading, and phonological awareness tests. Aging adults had longer TOJ thresholds than young normal readers, but shorter than readers with dyslexia; however, they had lower speech perception accuracy than both groups. Phonological awareness of the aging adults was better than readers with dyslexia, but poorer than young normal readers, although their reading accuracy was similar to that of the young controls. This is the first report on poor phonological awareness among aging adults. Suprisingly, it was not accompanied by difficulties in reading ability, and might instead be related to aging adults' difficulties in speech perception. This newly discovered relationship between ATP and phonological awareness among aging adults appears to extend the existing understanding of this relationship, and suggests it should be explored in other groups with ATP deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Ronen
- Department of Psychology, Ariel University, Israel
| | | | | | - Leah Fostick
- Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Israel.
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89
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Insights from perceptual, sensory, and motor functioning in autism and cerebellar primary disturbances: Are there reliable markers for these disorders? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 95:263-279. [PMID: 30268434 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 06/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The contribution of cerebellar circuitry alterations in the pathophysiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been widely investigated in the last decades. Yet, experimental studies on neurocognitive markers of ASD have not been attentively compared with similar studies in patients with cerebellar primary disturbances (e.g., malformations, agenesis, degeneration, etc). Addressing this neglected issue could be useful to underline unexpected areas of overlap and/or underestimated differences between these sets of conditions. In fact, ASD and cerebellar primary disturbances (notably, Cerebellar Cognitive Affective Syndrome, CCAS) can share atypical manifestations in perceptual, sensory, and motor functions, but neural subcircuits involved in these anomalies/difficulties could be distinct. Here, we specifically deal with this issue focusing on four paradigmatic neurocognitive functions: visual and biological motion perception, multisensory integration, and high stages of the motor hierarchy. From a research perspective, this represents an essential challenge to more deeply understand neurocognitive markers of ASD and of cerebellar primary disturbances/CCAS. Although we cannot assume definitive conclusions, and beyond phenotypical similarities between ASD and CCAS, clinical and experimental evidence described in this work argues that ASD and CCAS are distinct phenomena. ASD and CCAS seem to be characterized by different pathophysiological mechanisms and mediated by distinct neural nodes. In parallel, from a clinical perspective, this characterization may furnish insights to tackle the distinction between autistic functioning/autistic phenotype (in ASD) and dysmetria of thought/autistic-like phenotype (in CCAS).
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90
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Published estimates of group differences in multisensory integration are inflated. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202908. [PMID: 30231054 PMCID: PMC6145544 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A common measure of multisensory integration is the McGurk effect, an illusion in which incongruent auditory and visual speech are integrated to produce an entirely different percept. Published studies report that participants who differ in age, gender, culture, native language, or traits related to neurological or psychiatric disorders also differ in their susceptibility to the McGurk effect. These group-level differences are used as evidence for fundamental alterations in sensory processing between populations. Using empirical data and statistical simulations tested under a range of conditions, we show that published estimates of group differences in the McGurk effect are inflated when only statistically significant (p < 0.05) results are published. With a sample size typical of published studies, a group difference of 10% would be reported as 31%. As a consequence of this inflation, follow-up studies often fail to replicate published reports of large between-group differences. Inaccurate estimates of effect sizes and replication failures are especially problematic in studies of clinical populations involving expensive and time-consuming interventions, such as training paradigms to improve sensory processing. Reducing effect size inflation and increasing replicability requires increasing the number of participants by an order of magnitude compared with current practice.
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91
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HU J, LI C, WANG Q, LI S, LI T, LIU S. 孤独症青少年的情绪韵律注意偏向缺陷:低效率的知觉模式*. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA SINICA 2018. [DOI: 10.3724/sp.j.1041.2018.00637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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92
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Noel JP, Stevenson RA, Wallace MT. Atypical audiovisual temporal function in autism and schizophrenia: similar phenotype, different cause. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:1230-1241. [PMID: 29575155 PMCID: PMC5980744 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2017] [Revised: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Binding across sensory modalities yields substantial perceptual benefits, including enhanced speech intelligibility. The coincidence of sensory inputs across time is a fundamental cue for this integration process. Recent work has suggested that individuals with diagnoses of schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will characterize auditory and visual events as synchronous over larger temporal disparities than their neurotypical counterparts. Namely, these clinical populations possess an enlarged temporal binding window (TBW). Although patients with SZ and ASD share aspects of their symptomatology, phenotypic similarities may result from distinct etiologies. To examine similarities and variances in audiovisual temporal function in these two populations, individuals diagnosed with ASD (n = 46; controls n = 40) and SZ (n = 16, controls = 16) completed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task. In addition to standard psychometric analyses, synchrony judgments were assessed using Bayesian causal inference modeling. This approach permits distinguishing between distinct causes of an enlarged TBW: an a priori bias to bind sensory information and poor fidelity in the sensory representation. Findings indicate that both ASD and SZ populations show deficits in multisensory temporal acuity. Importantly, results suggest that while the wider TBWs in ASD most prominently results from atypical priors, the wider TBWs in SZ results from a trend toward changes in prior and weaknesses in the sensory representations. Results are discussed in light of current ASD and SZ theories and highlight that different perceptual training paradigms focused on improving multisensory integration may be most effective in these two clinical populations and emphasize that similar phenotypes may emanate from distinct mechanistic causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ryan A. Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark T. Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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93
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Normal temporal binding window but no sound-induced flash illusion in people with one eye. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:1825-1834. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5263-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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94
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Isaksson S, Salomäki S, Tuominen J, Arstila V, Falter-Wagner CM, Noreika V. Is there a generalized timing impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorders across time scales and paradigms? J Psychiatr Res 2018; 99:111-121. [PMID: 29438910 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.01.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2017] [Revised: 12/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with ASD have abnormal motor and perceptual functions that do not currently form diagnostic criteria of ASD, but nevertheless may affect everyday behaviour. Temporal processing seems to be one of such non-diagnostic yet impaired domains, although the lack of systematic studies testing different aspects of timing in the same sample of participants prevents a conclusive assessment of whether there is a generalized temporal deficit in ASD associated with diagnostic symptoms. 17 children diagnosed with ASD and 18 typically developing age- and IQ-matched controls carried out a set of motor and perceptual timing tasks: free tapping, simultaneity judgment, auditory duration discrimination, and verbal duration estimation. Parents of participants filled in a questionnaire assessing the sense and management of time. Children with ASD showed faster and more variable free tapping than controls. Auditory duration discrimination thresholds were higher in the ASD group than controls in a sub-second version of the task, while there were no group differences in a supra-second discrimination of intervals. Children with ASD showed more variable thresholds of simultaneity judgment, and they received lower parental scores for their sense and management of time. No group differences were observed in the verbal duration estimation task in the minute-range. Different timing functions were correlated in the ASD group but not among controls, whilst several timing measures correlated with ASD symptoms. We conclude that children with ASD show a broad range of abnormalities in temporal processing tasks including motor timing, perceptual timing, and temporal perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Isaksson
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Susanna Salomäki
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Jarno Tuominen
- Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Valtteri Arstila
- Department of Philosophy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Turku Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Christine M Falter-Wagner
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Valdas Noreika
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
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95
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Zhou HY, Cai XL, Weigl M, Bang P, Cheung EF, Chan RC. Multisensory temporal binding window in autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 86:66-76. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2017] [Revised: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 12/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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96
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Does hearing aid use affect audiovisual integration in mild hearing impairment? Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:1161-1179. [PMID: 29453491 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5206-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 02/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
There is converging evidence for altered audiovisual integration abilities in hearing-impaired individuals and those with profound hearing loss who are provided with cochlear implants, compared to normal-hearing adults. Still, little is known on the effects of hearing aid use on audiovisual integration in mild hearing loss, although this constitutes one of the most prevalent conditions in the elderly and, yet, often remains untreated in its early stages. This study investigated differences in the strength of audiovisual integration between elderly hearing aid users and those with the same degree of mild hearing loss who were not using hearing aids, the non-users, by measuring their susceptibility to the sound-induced flash illusion. We also explored the corresponding window of integration by varying the stimulus onset asynchronies. To examine general group differences that are not attributable to specific hearing aid settings but rather reflect overall changes associated with habitual hearing aid use, the group of hearing aid users was tested unaided while individually controlling for audibility. We found greater audiovisual integration together with a wider window of integration in hearing aid users compared to their age-matched untreated peers. Signal detection analyses indicate that a change in perceptual sensitivity as well as in bias may underlie the observed effects. Our results and comparisons with other studies in normal-hearing older adults suggest that both mild hearing impairment and hearing aid use seem to affect audiovisual integration, possibly in the sense that hearing aid use may reverse the effects of hearing loss on audiovisual integration. We suggest that these findings may be particularly important for auditory rehabilitation and call for a longitudinal study.
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97
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Cataldo I, Azhari A, Esposito G. A Review of Oxytocin and Arginine-Vasopressin Receptors and Their Modulation of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Mol Neurosci 2018; 11:27. [PMID: 29487501 PMCID: PMC5816822 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Oxytocin (OXT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) play a key regulatory part in social and affiliative behaviors; two aspects highly compromised in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Furthermore, variants in the adjacent oxytocin-vasopressin gene regions have been found to be associated with ASD diagnosis and endophenotypes. This review focuses mainly on common OXTr single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), AVPR1a microsatellites and AVPR1b polymorphisms in relation to the development of autism. Although these genes did not surface in genome-wide association studies, evidence supports the hypothesis that these receptors and their polymorphisms are widely involved in the regulation of social behavior, and in modulating neural and physiological pathways contributing to the etiology of ASD. With a specific focus on variants considered to be among the most prevalent in the development of ASD, these issues will be discussed in-depth and suggestions to approach inconsistencies in the present literature will be provided. Translational implications and future directions are deliberated from a short-term and a forward-looking perspective. While the scientific community has made significant progress in enhancing our understanding of ASD, more research is required for the ontology of this disorder to be fully elucidated. By supplementing information related to genetics, highlighting the differences across male and female sexes, this review provides a wider view of the current state of knowledge of OXTr and AVPr mechanisms of functioning, eventually addressing future research in the identification of further risk factors, to build new strategies for early interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Cataldo
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Mobile and Social Computing Lab, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy
| | - Atiqah Azhari
- Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.,Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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98
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Ito S, Feldheim DA. The Mouse Superior Colliculus: An Emerging Model for Studying Circuit Formation and Function. Front Neural Circuits 2018; 12:10. [PMID: 29487505 PMCID: PMC5816945 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2018.00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The superior colliculus (SC) is a midbrain area where visual, auditory and somatosensory information are integrated to initiate motor commands. The SC plays a central role in visual information processing in the mouse; it receives projections from 85% to 90% of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). While the mouse SC has been a long-standing model used to study retinotopic map formation, a number of technological advances in mouse molecular genetic techniques, large-scale physiological recordings and SC-dependent visual behavioral assays have made the mouse an even more ideal model to understand the relationship between circuitry and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinya Ito
- Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - David A Feldheim
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
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99
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Beker S, Foxe JJ, Molholm S. Ripe for solution: Delayed development of multisensory processing in autism and its remediation. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 84:182-192. [PMID: 29162518 PMCID: PMC6389331 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Revised: 11/09/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Difficulty integrating inputs from different sensory sources is commonly reported in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Accumulating evidence consistently points to altered patterns of behavioral reactions and neural activity when individuals with ASD observe or act upon information arriving through multiple sensory systems. For example, impairments in the integration of seen and heard speech appear to be particularly acute, with obvious implications for interpersonal communication. Here, we explore the literature on multisensory processing in autism with a focus on developmental trajectories. While much remains to be understood, some consistent observations emerge. Broadly, sensory integration deficits are found in children with an ASD whereas these appear to be much ameliorated, or even fully recovered, in older teenagers and adults on the spectrum. This protracted delay in the development of multisensory processing raises the possibility of applying early intervention strategies focused on multisensory integration, to accelerate resolution of these functions. We also consider how dysfunctional cross-sensory oscillatory neural communication may be one key pathway to impaired multisensory processing in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomit Beker
- The Sheryl and Daniel R. Tishman Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - John J Foxe
- The Sheryl and Daniel R. Tishman Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Sheryl and Daniel R. Tishman Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.
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100
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Yaguchi A, Hidaka S. Distinct Autistic Traits Are Differentially Associated With the Width of the Multisensory Temporal Binding Window. Multisens Res 2018; 31:523-536. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and interaction, and restricted interests and behavior patterns. These characteristics are considered as a continuous distribution in the general population. People with ASD show atypical temporal processing in multisensory integration. Regarding the flash–beep illusion, which refers to how a single flash can be illusorily perceived as multiple flashes when multiple auditory beeps are concurrently presented, some studies reported that people with ASD have a wider temporal binding window and greater integration than typically developed people; others found the opposite or inconsistent tendencies. Here, we investigated the relationships between the manner of the flash–beep illusion and the various dimensions of ASD traits by estimating the degree of typically developed participants’ ASD traits including five subscales using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. We found that stronger ASD traits of communication and social skill were associated with a wider and narrower temporal binding window respectively. These results suggest that specific ASD traits are differently involved in the particular temporal binding processes of audiovisual integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayako Yaguchi
- Department of Psychology, Rikkyo University, 1-2-26, Kitano, Niiza-shi, Saitama, 352-8558, Japan
| | - Souta Hidaka
- Department of Psychology, Rikkyo University, 1-2-26, Kitano, Niiza-shi, Saitama, 352-8558, Japan
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