101
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Abstract
Intragenic deletions of the contactin-associated protein-like 2 gene (CNTNAP2) have been found in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, intellectual disability (ID), obsessive compulsive disorder, cortical dysplasia-focal epilepsy syndrome, autism, schizophrenia, Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, stuttering, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A variety of molecular mechanisms, such as loss of transcription factor binding sites and perturbation of penetrance and expressivity, have been proposed to account for the phenotypic variability resulting from CNTNAP2 mutations. Deletions of both CNTNAP2 alleles produced truncated proteins lacking the transmembrane or some of the extracellular domains, or no protein at all. This observation can be extended to heterozygous intragenic deletions by assuming that such deletion-containing alleles lead to expression of a Caspr2 protein lacking one or several extracellular domains. Such altered forms of Capr2 proteins will lack the ability to bridge the intercellular space between neurons by binding to partners, such as CNTN1, CNTN2, DLG1, and DLG4. This presumed effect of intragenic deletions of CNTNAP2, and possibly other genes involved in connecting neuronal cells, represents a molecular basis for the postulated neuronal hypoconnectivity in autism and probably other neurodevelopmental disorders, including epilepsy, ID, language impairments and schizophrenia. Thus, CNTNAP2 may represent a paradigmatic case of a gene functioning as a node in a genetic and cellular network governing brain development and acquisition of higher cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Poot
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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102
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You RS, Serniclaes W, Rider D, Chabane N. On the nature of the speech perception deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2017; 61:158-171. [PMID: 28082004 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2016.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2015] [Revised: 07/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have claimed to show deficits in the perception of speech sounds in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of the current study was to clarify the nature of such deficits. Children with ASD might only exhibit a lesser amount of precision in the perception of phoneme categories (CPR deficit). However, these children might further present an allophonic mode of speech perception, similar to the one evidenced in dyslexia, characterised by enhanced discrimination of acoustic differences within phoneme categories. Allophonic perception usually gives rise to a categorical perception (CP) deficit, characterised by a weaker coherence between discrimination and identification of speech sounds. The perceptual performance of ASD children was compared to that of control children of the same chronological age. Identification and discrimination data were collected for continua of natural vowels, synthetic vowels, and synthetic consonants. Results confirmed that children with ASD exhibit a CPR deficit for the three stimulus continua. These children further exhibited a trend toward allophonic perception that was, however, not accompanied by the usual CP deficit. These findings confirm that the commonly found CPR deficit is also present in ASD. Whether children with ASD also present allophonic perception requires further investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- R S You
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Parma, Italy; Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, France.
| | - W Serniclaes
- Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France; UNESCOG, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
| | - D Rider
- Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes, France
| | - N Chabane
- Centre Cantonal de l'Autisme, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland
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103
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Abstract
Acute otitis media (AOM) symptoms can be masked by communication deficits, common to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We sought to evaluate the association between ASD and otitis media. Using ICD-9-CM diagnostic codes, we performed a retrospective case-cohort study comparing AOM, and otitis-related diagnoses among children with and without ASD. Children with ASD had a significantly increased rate of AOM, otitis media with effusion, otorrhea, and PE tube placement. Children with ASD were more than twice as likely to develop mastoiditis, and to undergo mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty. Children with ASD are more likely to have middle ear infections and otitis-related complications, highlighting the importance of routine middle ear examinations and close attention to hearing impairment in this population.
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104
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Mody M, Shui AM, Nowinski LA, Golas SB, Ferrone C, O’Rourke JA, McDougle CJ. Communication Deficits and the Motor System: Exploring Patterns of Associations in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 47:155-162. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2934-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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105
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Chen C, Liu CC, Weng PY, Cheng Y. Mismatch Negativity to Threatening Voices Associated with Positive Symptoms in Schizophrenia. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:362. [PMID: 27471459 PMCID: PMC4945630 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 07/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the general consensus holds that emotional perception is impaired in patients with schizophrenia, the extent to which neural processing of emotional voices is altered in schizophrenia remains to be determined. This study enrolled 30 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 30 controls and measured their mismatch negativity (MMN), a component of auditory event-related potentials (ERP). In a passive oddball paradigm, happily or angrily spoken deviant syllables dada were randomly presented within a train of emotionally neutral standard syllables. Results showed that MMN in response to angry syllables and angry-derived non-vocal sounds was significantly decreased in individuals with schizophrenia. P3a to angry syllables showed stronger amplitudes but longer latencies. Weaker MMN amplitudes were associated with more positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Receiver operator characteristic analysis revealed that angry MMN, angry-derived MMN, and angry P3a could help predict whether someone had received a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia. The findings suggested general impairments of voice perception and acoustic discrimination in patients with chronic schizophrenia. The emotional salience processing of voices showed an atypical fashion at the preattentive level, being associated with positive symptoms in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei Taiwan
| | - Chia-Chien Liu
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, TaipeiTaiwan; Department of Psychiatry, National Yang-Ming University Hospital, YilanTaiwan
| | - Pei-Yuan Weng
- Department of Psychiatry, National Yang-Ming University Hospital, Yilan Taiwan
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, TaipeiTaiwan; Department of Rehabilitation, National Yang-Ming University Hospital, YilanTaiwan
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106
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Kremláček J, Kreegipuu K, Tales A, Astikainen P, Põldver N, Näätänen R, Stefanics G. Visual mismatch negativity (vMMN): A review and meta-analysis of studies in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Cortex 2016; 80:76-112. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2015] [Revised: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 03/17/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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107
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Chen C, Sung JY, Cheng Y. Neural Dynamics of Emotional Salience Processing in Response to Voices during the Stages of Sleep. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 10:117. [PMID: 27378870 PMCID: PMC4906046 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2015] [Accepted: 05/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Sleep has been related to emotional functioning. However, the extent to which emotional salience is processed during sleep is unknown. To address this concern, we investigated night sleep in healthy adults regarding brain reactivity to the emotionally (happily, fearfully) spoken meaningless syllables dada, along with correspondingly synthesized nonvocal sounds. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were continuously acquired during an entire night of sleep while we applied a passive auditory oddball paradigm. During all stages of sleep, mismatch negativity (MMN) in response to emotional syllables, which is an index for emotional salience processing of voices, was detected. In contrast, MMN to acoustically matching nonvocal sounds was undetected during Sleep Stage 2 and 3 as well as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Post-MMN positivity (PMP) was identified with larger amplitudes during Stage 3, and at earlier latencies during REM sleep, relative to wakefulness. These findings clearly demonstrated the neural dynamics of emotional salience processing during the stages of sleep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Ying Sung
- Department of Neurology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical UniversityTaipei, Taiwan
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming UniversityTaipei, Taiwan; Department of Rehabilitation, National Yang-Ming University HospitalYilan, Taiwan
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108
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Yu L, Fan Y, Deng Z, Huang D, Wang S, Zhang Y. Pitch Processing in Tonal-Language-Speaking Children with Autism: An Event-Related Potential Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 45:3656-67. [PMID: 26111738 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2510-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
The present study investigated pitch processing in Mandarin-speaking children with autism using event-related potential measures. Two experiments were designed to test how acoustic, phonetic and semantic properties of the stimuli contributed to the neural responses for pitch change detection and involuntary attentional orienting. In comparison with age-matched (6-12 years) typically developing controls (16 participants in Experiment 1, 18 in Experiment 2), children with autism (18 participants in Experiment 1, 16 in Experiment 2) showed enhanced neural discriminatory sensitivity in the nonspeech conditions but not for speech stimuli. The results indicate domain specificity of enhanced pitch processing in autism, which may interfere with lexical tone acquisition and language development for children who speak a tonal language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luodi Yu
- School of Psychology and Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Yuebo Fan
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism, Guangzhou Cana School, Guangzhou, 510540, China
| | - Zhizhou Deng
- School of Psychology and Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Dan Huang
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism, Guangzhou Cana School, Guangzhou, 510540, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- School of Psychology and Center for the Study of Applied Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
- Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.
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109
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Korhonen V, Werner S. Autistic traits and attention to speech: Evidence from typically developing individuals. LOGOP PHONIATR VOCO 2016; 42:44-50. [PMID: 27216974 DOI: 10.1080/14015439.2016.1186731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder have a preference for attending to non-speech stimuli over speech stimuli. We are interested in whether non-speech preference is only a feature of diagnosed individuals, and whether we can we test implicit preference experimentally. In typically developed individuals, serial recall is disrupted more by speech stimuli than by non-speech stimuli. Since behaviour of individuals with autistic traits resembles that of individuals with autism, we have used serial recall to test whether autistic traits influence task performance during irrelevant speech sounds. The errors made on the serial recall task during speech or non-speech sounds were counted as a measure of speech or non-speech preference in relation to no sound condition. We replicated the serial order effect and found the speech to be more disruptive than the non-speech sounds, but were unable to find any associations between the autism quotient scores and the non-speech sounds. Our results may indicate a learnt behavioural response to speech sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vesa Korhonen
- a School of Educational Science and Psychology , University of Eastern Finland , Joensuu , Finland
| | - Stefan Werner
- b Philosophical Faculty, School of Humanities , Linguistics, University of Eastern Finland , Joensuu , Finland
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110
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Lin IF, Agus TR, Suied C, Pressnitzer D, Yamada T, Komine Y, Kato N, Kashino M. Fast response to human voices in autism. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26336. [PMID: 27193919 PMCID: PMC4872056 DOI: 10.1038/srep26336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are reported to allocate less spontaneous attention to voices. Here, we investigated how vocal sounds are processed in ASD adults, when those sounds are attended. Participants were asked to react as fast as possible to target stimuli (either voices or strings) while ignoring distracting stimuli. Response times (RTs) were measured. Results showed that, similar to neurotypical (NT) adults, ASD adults were faster to recognize voices compared to strings. Surprisingly, ASD adults had even shorter RTs for voices than the NT adults, suggesting a faster voice recognition process. To investigate the acoustic underpinnings of this effect, we created auditory chimeras that retained only the temporal or the spectral features of voices. For the NT group, no RT advantage was found for the chimeras compared to strings: both sets of features had to be present to observe an RT advantage. However, for the ASD group, shorter RTs were observed for both chimeras. These observations indicate that the previously observed attentional deficit to voices in ASD individuals could be due to a failure to combine acoustic features, even though such features may be well represented at a sensory level.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Fan Lin
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198 Japan
- Department of Human Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, 192-0397 Japan
| | - Trevor R. Agus
- School of Creative Arts, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
| | - Clara Suied
- Département Action et Cognition en Situation Opérationnelle, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, 91223 Brétigny sur Orge, France
| | - Daniel Pressnitzer
- CNRS UMR 8248, Ecole normale supérieure, 29 rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Takashi Yamada
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Kitakarasuyama 6-11-11, Setagaya, Tokyo, 157-8577 Japan
- ATR Brain Information Communication Research Laboratory Group, Hikaridai 2-2-2, Sourakugun Seikacho, Kyoto, 619-0237 Japan
| | - Yoko Komine
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Kitakarasuyama 6-11-11, Setagaya, Tokyo, 157-8577 Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Kitakarasuyama 6-11-11, Setagaya, Tokyo, 157-8577 Japan
| | - Makio Kashino
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198 Japan
- Department of Information Processing, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 226-8503 Japan
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111
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Yau SH, Brock J, McArthur G. The relationship between spoken language and speech and nonspeech processing in children with autism: a magnetic event-related field study. Dev Sci 2016; 19:834-52. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shu Hui Yau
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders; Department of Cognitive Science; Macquarie University; Australia
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112
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Key AP, Yoder PJ, Stone WL. Consonant differentiation mediates the discrepancy between non-verbal and verbal abilities in children with ASD. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH : JIDR 2016; 60:478-90. [PMID: 27120990 PMCID: PMC6927012 DOI: 10.1111/jir.12286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2015] [Revised: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate verbal communication disorders reflected in lower verbal than non-verbal abilities. The present study examined the extent to which this discrepancy is associated with atypical speech sound differentiation. METHODS Differences in the amplitude of auditory event-related potentials elicited by contrasting consonant-vowel syllables during a passive listening paradigm were used to assess speech sound differentiation in 24 children with ASD and 18 chronological age-matched children with typical development (TD), M age 6.90 years (SD = 1.39). RESULTS Results revealed that compared with TD peers, children with ASD showed reduced consonant differentiation in the 84- to 308-ms period. Brain responses indexing consonant differentiation were negatively related to the degree of discrepancy in non-verbal and verbal abilities and mediated the relationship between diagnostic group membership and the greater discrepancy. CONCLUSIONS We discuss the theoretical and clinical implications of the brain's response to speech sound contrasts possibly explaining the greater non-verbal versus language ability in children with ASD compared with that in typically developing children.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Key
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - P J Yoder
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - W L Stone
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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113
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Ronconi L, Molteni M, Casartelli L. Building Blocks of Others' Understanding: A Perspective Shift in Investigating Social-Communicative Deficit in Autism. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:144. [PMID: 27148004 PMCID: PMC4828440 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Ronconi
- Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Department of General Psychology, University of PaduaPadua, Italy; Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio MedeaBosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Massimo Molteni
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Luca Casartelli
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio MedeaBosisio Parini, Italy; Developmental Psychopathology Unit, Vita-Salute San Raffaele UniversityMilan, Italy
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114
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Kikuchi M, Yoshimura Y, Mutou K, Minabe Y. Magnetoencephalography in the study of children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2016; 70:74-88. [PMID: 26256564 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive neuroimaging technique that provides a measure of cortical neural activity on a millisecond timescale with high spatial resolution. MEG has been clinically applied to various neurological diseases, including epilepsy and cognitive dysfunction. In the past decade, MEG has also emerged as an important investigatory tool in neurodevelopmental studies. It is therefore an opportune time to review how MEG is able to contribute to the study of atypical brain development. We limit this review to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The relevant published work for children was accessed using PubMed on 5 January 2015. Case reports, case series, and papers on epilepsy were excluded. Owing to their accurate separation of brain activity in the right and left hemispheres and the higher accuracy of source localization, MEG studies have added new information related to auditory-evoked brain responses to findings from previous electroencephalography studies of children with ASD. In addition, evidence of atypical brain connectivity in children with ASD has accumulated over the past decade. MEG is well suited for the study of neural activity with high time resolution even in young children. Although further studies are still necessary, the detailed findings provided by neuroimaging methods may aid clinical diagnosis and even contribute to the refinement of diagnostic categories for neurodevelopmental disorders in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Kouhei Mutou
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Yoshio Minabe
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
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115
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Dubiel A, Kulesza RJ. Prenatal valproic acid exposure disrupts tonotopic c-Fos expression in the rat brainstem. Neuroscience 2016; 324:511-23. [PMID: 27094734 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulties in communication and social interactions, restricted, repetitive behaviors and sensory abnormalities. Notably, the vast majority of individuals with ASD experience some degree of auditory dysfunction and we have recently reported consistent hypoplasia and dysmorphology in auditory brainstem centers in individuals with ASD. Prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is associated with an increased risk of ASD. In rodents, prenatal exposure to VPA is employed as an animal model of ASD and is associated with a number of anatomical, physiological and behavioral deficits, including hypoplasia and dysmorphology of auditory brainstem centers. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that such dysmorphology in VPA-exposed animals would translate into abnormal neuronal activity in brainstem circuits and irregular tonotopic maps. Herein, we have subjected control and VPA-exposed animals to 4- or 16-kHz tones and examined neuronal activation with immunohistochemistry for c-Fos. After these exposures, we identified significantly more c-Fos-positive neurons in the auditory brainstem of VPA-exposed animals. Additionally, we observed a larger dispersion of c-Fos-positive neurons and shifted tonotopic bands in VPA-exposed rats. We interpret these findings to suggest hyper-responsiveness to sounds and disrupted mapping of sound frequencies after prenatal VPA exposure. Based on these findings, we suggest that such abnormal patterns of activation may play a role in auditory processing deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Dubiel
- Auditory Research Center, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA 16509, United States
| | - R J Kulesza
- Auditory Research Center, Department of Anatomy, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA 16509, United States.
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116
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Perception of Melodic Contour and Intonation in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence From Mandarin Speakers. J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 45:2067-75. [PMID: 25636678 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2370-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Tone language experience benefits pitch processing in music and speech for typically developing individuals. No known studies have examined pitch processing in individuals with autism who speak a tone language. This study investigated discrimination and identification of melodic contour and speech intonation in a group of Mandarin-speaking individuals with high-functioning autism. Individuals with autism showed superior melodic contour identification but comparable contour discrimination relative to controls. In contrast, these individuals performed worse than controls on both discrimination and identification of speech intonation. These findings provide the first evidence for differential pitch processing in music and speech in tone language speakers with autism, suggesting that tone language experience may not compensate for speech intonation perception deficits in individuals with autism.
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117
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Homberg JR, Kyzar EJ, Stewart AM, Nguyen M, Poudel MK, Echevarria DJ, Collier AD, Gaikwad S, Klimenko VM, Norton W, Pittman J, Nakamura S, Koshiba M, Yamanouchi H, Apryatin SA, Scattoni ML, Diamond DM, Ullmann JFP, Parker MO, Brown RE, Song C, Kalueff AV. Improving treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders: recommendations based on preclinical studies. Expert Opin Drug Discov 2015; 11:11-25. [DOI: 10.1517/17460441.2016.1115834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Judith R Homberg
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Evan J Kyzar
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
| | | | | | | | - David J Echevarria
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
| | - Adam D Collier
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA
| | - Siddharth Gaikwad
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
- Research Institute of Marine Drugs and Nutrition, College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
- Neuroscience Graduate Hospital, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Viktor M Klimenko
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
- Pavlov Physiology Department, Institute of Experimental Medicine, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - William Norton
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology and Behaviour, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
| | - Julian Pittman
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Troy University, Troy, AL, USA
| | - Shun Nakamura
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mamiko Koshiba
- The International Stress and Behavior Society (ISBS), Kiev, Ukraine
- Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, Saitama University Medical School, Saitama, Japan
| | - Hideo Yamanouchi
- Departments of Pediatrics and Biochemistry, Saitama University Medical School, Saitama, Japan
| | | | - Maria Luisa Scattoni
- Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy
| | - David M Diamond
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
- Research and Development Service, J.A. Haley Veterans Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Jeremy FP Ullmann
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Matthew O Parker
- School of Health Sciences and Social Work, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Richard E Brown
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Cai Song
- Research Institute of Marine Drugs and Nutrition, College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
- Neuroscience Graduate Hospital, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Allan V Kalueff
- Research Institute of Marine Drugs and Nutrition, College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China
- Institute for Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institute of Chemical Technology and Institute of Natural Sciences, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia
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118
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Schaaf RC, Lane AE. Toward a Best-Practice Protocol for Assessment of Sensory Features in ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:1380-95. [PMID: 25374136 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2299-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Sensory difficulties are a commonly occurring feature of autism spectrum disorders and are now included as one manifestation of the 'restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities' diagnostic criteria of the DSM5 necessitating guidelines for comprehensive assessment of these features. To facilitate the development of such guidelines, this paper provides an overview of the literature on sensory features in autism spectrum disorder. We summarize the literature pertaining to: terminology, current assessment practices, sensory development, and the relationship of sensory features to core symptoms of autism. The paper concludes with recommendations for clinical assessment of sensory features in Autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roseann C Schaaf
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of the Farber Institute of Neuroscience, Jefferson School of Health Professions, Thomas Jefferson University, 901 Walnut Street, Suite 605, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA,
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119
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Dubiel A, Kulesza RJ. Prenatal valproic acid exposure disrupts tonotopic c-Fos expression in the rat brainstem. Neuroscience 2015; 311:349-61. [PMID: 26518464 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.10.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2015] [Revised: 10/05/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with communication and social interactions, restricted, repetitive behaviors and sensory abnormalities. Additionally, the vast majority of subjects with ASD suffer some degree of auditory dysfunction and we have previously identified significant hypoplasia and dysmorphology in auditory brainstem centers in individuals with ASD. Prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is associated with an increased risk of ASD. In rodents, prenatal exposure to VPA is utilized as an animal model of ASD and is associated with a number of anatomical, physiological and behavioral deficits, including hypoplasia and dysmorphology in the auditory brainstem. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that such dysmorphology in VPA-exposed animals would translate into abnormal activity in brainstem circuits and irregular tonotopic maps. Herein, we have subjected control and VPA-exposed animals to 4 or 16 kHz tones and examined neuronal activation with immunohistochemistry for c-Fos. After these sound exposures, we found significantly more c-Fos-positive neurons in the auditory brainstem of VPA-exposed animals. Further, we found a larger dispersion of c-Fos-positive neurons and shifted tonotopic bands in VPA-exposed rats. We interpret these findings to suggest hyper-responsiveness to sounds and disrupted mapping of sound frequencies after prenatal VPA exposure. Based on these findings, we suggest that such abnormal patterns of activation may play a role in auditory processing deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Dubiel
- Auditory Research Center, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA 16509, United States
| | - R J Kulesza
- Auditory Research Center, Department of Anatomy, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Erie, PA 16509, United States.
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120
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Tracking the sensory environment: an ERP study of probability and context updating in ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:600-11. [PMID: 24488156 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2045-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
We recorded visual event-related brain potentials from 32 adult male participants (16 high-functioning participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 16 control participants, ranging in age from 18 to 53 years) during a three-stimulus oddball paradigm. Target and non-target stimulus probability was varied across three probability conditions, whereas the probability of a third non-target stimulus was held constant in all conditions. P3 amplitude to target stimuli was more sensitive to probability in ASD than in typically developing participants, whereas P3 amplitude to non-target stimuli was less responsive to probability in ASD participants. This suggests that neural responses to changes in event probability are attention-dependant in high-functioning ASD. The implications of these findings for higher-level behaviors such as prediction and planning are discussed.
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121
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Kargas N, López B, Reddy V, Morris P. The relationship between auditory processing and restricted, repetitive behaviors in adults with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:658-68. [PMID: 25178987 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2219-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Current views suggest that autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterised by enhanced low-level auditory discrimination abilities. Little is known, however, about whether enhanced abilities are universal in ASD and how they relate to symptomatology. We tested auditory discrimination for intensity, frequency and duration in 21 adults with ASD and 21 IQ and age-matched controls. Contrary to predictions, there were significant deficits in ASD on all acoustic parameters. The findings suggest that low-level auditory discrimination ability varies widely within ASD and this variability relates to IQ level, and influences the severity of restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs). We suggest that it is essential to further our understanding of the potential contributing role of sensory perception ability on the emergence of RRBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niko Kargas
- Autism Research Network, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, King Henry Building, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2DY, UK,
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122
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Attenuated auditory event-related potentials and associations with atypical sensory response patterns in children with autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2015; 45:506-23. [PMID: 24072639 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1948-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Neurobiological underpinnings of unusual sensory features in individuals with autism are unknown. Event-related potentials elicited by task-irrelevant sounds were used to elucidate neural correlates of auditory processing and associations with three common sensory response patterns (hyperresponsiveness; hyporesponsiveness; sensory seeking). Twenty-eight children with autism and 39 typically developing children (4-12 year-olds) completed an auditory oddball paradigm. Results revealed marginally attenuated P1 and N2 to standard tones and attenuated P3a to novel sounds in autism versus controls. Exploratory analyses suggested that within the autism group, attenuated N2 and P3a amplitudes were associated with greater sensory seeking behaviors for specific ranges of P1 responses. Findings suggest that attenuated early sensory as well as later attention-orienting neural responses to stimuli may underlie selective sensory features via complex mechanisms.
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123
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Yau SH, McArthur G, Badcock NA, Brock J. Case study: auditory brain responses in a minimally verbal child with autism and cerebral palsy. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:208. [PMID: 26150768 PMCID: PMC4473003 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2014] [Accepted: 05/24/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
An estimated 30% of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remain minimally verbal into late childhood, but research on cognition and brain function in ASD focuses almost exclusively on those with good or only moderately impaired language. Here we present a case study investigating auditory processing of GM, a nonverbal child with ASD and cerebral palsy. At the age of 8 years, GM was tested using magnetoencephalography (MEG) whilst passively listening to speech sounds and complex tones. Where typically developing children and verbal autistic children all demonstrated similar brain responses to speech and nonspeech sounds, GM produced much stronger responses to nonspeech than speech, particularly in the 65-165 ms (M50/M100) time window post-stimulus onset. GM was retested aged 10 years using electroencephalography (EEG) whilst passively listening to pure tone stimuli. Consistent with her MEG response to complex tones, GM showed an unusually early and strong response to pure tones in her EEG responses. The consistency of the MEG and EEG data in this single case study demonstrate both the potential and the feasibility of these methods in the study of minimally verbal children with ASD. Further research is required to determine whether GM's atypical auditory responses are characteristic of other minimally verbal children with ASD or of other individuals with cerebral palsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu H. Yau
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
| | - Nicholas A. Badcock
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie UniversitySydney, Australia
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124
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Enhanced segregation of concurrent sounds with similar spectral uncertainties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Sci Rep 2015; 5:10524. [PMID: 26001110 PMCID: PMC4441195 DOI: 10.1038/srep10524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
When acoustic signals from different sound sources are mixed upon arrival at the ears, the auditory system organizes these acoustic elements by their features. This study shows that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) performed better in terms of hearing a target sequence among distractors that had similar spectral uncertainties. Their superior performance in this task indicates an enhanced discrimination between auditory streams with the same spectral uncertainties but different spectro-temporal details. The enhanced discrimination of acoustic components may be related to the absence of the automatic grouping of acoustic components with the same features, which results in difficulties in speech perception in a noisy environment. On the other hand, the ASD group and the control group had similar performance in hearing a target sequence among distractors that had different spatial cues defined by interaural intensity differences.
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125
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Otte R, Donkers F, Braeken M, Van den Bergh B. Multimodal processing of emotional information in 9-month-old infants II: Prenatal exposure to maternal anxiety. Brain Cogn 2015; 95:107-17. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2013] [Revised: 11/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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126
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Devitt NM, Gallagher L, Reilly RB. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Fragile X Syndrome (FXS): Two Overlapping Disorders Reviewed through Electroencephalography-What Can be Interpreted from the Available Information? Brain Sci 2015; 5:92-117. [PMID: 25826237 PMCID: PMC4493458 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci5020092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/17/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Fragile X syndrome (FXS) are neurodevelopmental disorders with different but potentially related neurobiological underpinnings, which exhibit significant overlap in their behavioural symptoms. FXS is a neurogenetic disorder of known cause whereas ASD is a complex genetic disorder, with both rare and common genetic risk factors and likely genetic and environmental interaction effects. A comparison of the phenotypic presentation of the two disorders may highlight those symptoms that are more likely to be under direct genetic control, for example in FXS as opposed to shared symptoms that are likely to be under the control of multiple mechanisms. This review is focused on the application and analysis of electroencephalography data (EEG) in ASD and FXS. Specifically, Event Related Potentials (ERP) and resting state studies (rEEG) studies investigating ASD and FXS cohorts are compared. This review explores the electrophysiological similarities and differences between the two disorders in addition to the potentially associated neurobiological mechanisms at play. A series of pertinent research questions which are suggested in the literature are also posed within the review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niamh Mc Devitt
- School of Medicine, Trinity College, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Louise Gallagher
- School of Medicine, Trinity College, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Trinity College Institute for Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Trinity Centre for Health Sciences, St James' Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
- Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Cherry Orchard Hospital Dublin 10, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Richard B Reilly
- School of Medicine, Trinity College, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Trinity Centre for Bioengineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- Trinity College Institute for Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
- School of Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
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127
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Port RG, Anwar AR, Ku M, Carlson GC, Siegel SJ, Roberts TP. Prospective MEG biomarkers in ASD: pre-clinical evidence and clinical promise of electrophysiological signatures. THE YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2015; 88:25-36. [PMID: 25745372 PMCID: PMC4345535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by social impairments and restricted/stereotyped behaviors and currently affect an estimated 1 in 68 children aged 8 years old. While there has been substantial recent focus on ASD in research, both the biological pathology and, perhaps consequently, a fully effective treatment have yet to be realized. What has remained throughout is the hypothesis that ASD has neurobiological underpinnings and the observation that both the phenotypic expression and likely the underlying etiology is highly heterogeneous. Given the neurodevelopmental basis of ASD, a biologically based marker (biomarker) could prove useful not only for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, but also for stratification and response indices for pharmaceutical development. In this review, we examine the current state of the field for MEG-related biomarkers in ASD. We describe several potential biomarkers (middle latency delays [M50/M100], mismatch negativity latency, gamma-band oscillatory activity), and investigate their relation to symptomology, core domains of dysfunction (e.g., language impairment), and putative biological underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell G. Port
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Neurosciences Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Ayesha R. Anwar
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Matthew Ku
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Gregory C. Carlson
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Neurosciences Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Steven J. Siegel
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Neurosciences Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Bioengineering Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Timothy P.L. Roberts
- Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Neurosciences Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,To whom all correspondence should be addressed: Timothy P.L. Roberts, Department of Radiology, Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. Fax: 215-590-1345;
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128
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Effects of aging on the neuromagnetic mismatch detection to speech sounds. Biol Psychol 2015; 104:48-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2012] [Revised: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 11/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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129
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Martínez-Sanchis S. Neurobiological foundations of multisensory integration in people with autism spectrum disorders: the role of the medial prefrontal cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:970. [PMID: 25538597 PMCID: PMC4255523 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2014] [Accepted: 11/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This review aims to relate the sensory processing problems in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially multisensory integration (MSI), to the role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) by exploring neuroanatomical findings; brain connectivity and Default Network (DN); global or locally directed attention; and temporal multisensory binding. The mPFC is part of the brain's DN, which is deactivated when attention is focused on a particular task and activated on rest when spontaneous cognition emerges. In those with ASD, it is hypoactive and the higher the social impairment the greater the atypical activity. With an immature DN, cross-modal integration is impaired, resulting in a collection of disconnected fragments instead of a coherent global perception. The deficit in MSI may lie in the temporal synchronization of neural networks. The time interval in which the stimulation of one sensory channel could influence another would be higher, preventing integration in the typical shorter time range. Thus, the underconnectivity between distant brain areas would be involved in top-down information processes (relying on global integration of data from different sources) and would enhance low level perception processes such as over focused attention to sensory details.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Martínez-Sanchis
- Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia Valencia, Spain
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130
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Seery A, Tager-Flusberg H, Nelson CA. Event-related potentials to repeated speech in 9-month-old infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2014; 6:43. [PMID: 25937843 PMCID: PMC4416338 DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-6-43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Atypical neural responses to repeated auditory and linguistic stimuli have been reported both in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their first-degree relatives. Recent work suggests that the younger siblings of children with ASD have atypical event-related potentials (ERPs) to repeated tones at 9 months of age; however, the functional significance is unclear, and it is unknown whether this atypicality is also present in response to linguistic stimuli. Methods We analyzed ERPs to repetitive and deviant consonant-vowel stimuli at 9 months in 35 unaffected high-risk-for-autism (HRA) infant siblings of children with ASD and 45 low-risk control (LRC) infants. We examined a positive component, the P150, over frontal and central electrode sites and investigated the relationships between this component and later behavior. Results Over frontal electrodes, HRA infants had larger-amplitude ERPs to repetitions of the standard than LRC infants, whereas ERPs to the deviant did not differ between HRA and LRC infants. Furthermore, for HRA infants, the amplitude of ERPs to the standards was positively correlated with later language ability. Conclusions Our work suggests that atypical ERPs to repeated speech during infancy are a possible endophenotype of ASD but that this atypicality is associated with beneficial, rather than disordered, language development. Potential mechanisms driving these relationships and implications for development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Seery
- Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016 USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215 USA ; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 USA
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131
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Quattrocki E, Friston K. Autism, oxytocin and interoception. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 47:410-30. [PMID: 25277283 PMCID: PMC4726659 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 225] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Revised: 07/23/2014] [Accepted: 09/20/2014] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by profound social and verbal communication deficits, stereotypical motor behaviors, restricted interests, and cognitive abnormalities. Autism affects approximately 1% of children in developing countries. Given this prevalence, identifying risk factors and therapeutic interventions are pressing objectives—objectives that rest on neurobiologically grounded and psychologically informed theories about the underlying pathophysiology. In this article, we review the evidence that autism could result from a dysfunctional oxytocin system early in life. As a mediator of successful procreation, not only in the reproductive system, but also in the brain, oxytocin plays a crucial role in sculpting socio-sexual behavior. Formulated within a (Bayesian) predictive coding framework, we propose that oxytocin encodes the saliency or precision of interoceptive signals and enables the neuronal plasticity necessary for acquiring a generative model of the emotional and social 'self.' An aberrant oxytocin system in infancy could therefore help explain the marked deficits in language and social communication—as well as the sensory, autonomic, motor, behavioral, and cognitive abnormalities—seen in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Quattrocki
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | - Karl Friston
- The Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, UCL, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
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132
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Harper-Hill K, Copland D, Arnott W. Efficiency of lexical access in children with autism spectrum disorders: does modality matter? J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 44:1819-32. [PMID: 24519698 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-014-2055-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The provision of visual support to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is widely recommended. We explored one mechanism underlying the use of visual supports: efficiency of language processing. Two groups of children, one with and one without an ASD, participated. The groups had comparable oral and written language skills and nonverbal cognitive abilities. In two semantic priming experiments, prime modality and prime-target relatedness were manipulated. Response time and accuracy of lexical decisions on the spoken word targets were measured. In the first uni-modal experiment, both groups demonstrated significant priming effects. In the second experiment which was cross-modal, no effect for relatedness or group was found. This result is considered in the light of the attentional capacity required for access to the lexicon via written stimuli within the developing semantic system. These preliminary findings are also considered with respect to the use of visual support for children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keely Harper-Hill
- University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, Australia,
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133
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Brief report: atypical neuromagnetic responses to illusory auditory pitch in children with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 43:2726-31. [PMID: 23543291 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1805-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Atypical auditory perception is a widely recognised but poorly understood feature of autism. In the current study, we used magnetoencephalography to measure the brain responses of 10 autistic children as they listened passively to dichotic pitch stimuli, in which an illusory tone is generated by sub-millisecond inter-aural timing differences in white noise. Relative to control stimuli that contain no inter-aural timing differences, dichotic pitch stimuli typically elicit an object related negativity (ORN) response, associated with the perceptual segregation of the tone and the carrier noise into distinct auditory objects. Autistic children failed to demonstrate an ORN, suggesting a failure of segregation; however, comparison with the ORNs of age-matched typically developing controls narrowly failed to attain significance. More striking, the autistic children demonstrated a significant differential response to the pitch stimulus, peaking at around 50 ms. This was not present in the control group, nor has it been found in other groups tested using similar stimuli. This response may be a neural signature of atypical processing of pitch in at least some autistic individuals.
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134
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Pryweller JR, Schauder KB, Anderson AW, Heacock JL, Foss-Feig JH, Newsom CR, Loring WA, Cascio CJ. White matter correlates of sensory processing in autism spectrum disorders. Neuroimage Clin 2014; 6:379-87. [PMID: 25379451 PMCID: PMC4218938 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2014.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2014] [Revised: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been characterized by atypical socio-communicative behavior, sensorimotor impairment and abnormal neurodevelopmental trajectories. DTI has been used to determine the presence and nature of abnormality in white matter integrity that may contribute to the behavioral phenomena that characterize ASD. Although atypical patterns of sensory responding in ASD are well documented in the behavioral literature, much less is known about the neural networks associated with aberrant sensory processing. To address the roles of basic sensory, sensory association and early attentional processes in sensory responsiveness in ASD, our investigation focused on five white matter fiber tracts known to be involved in these various stages of sensory processing: superior corona radiata, centrum semiovale, inferior longitudinal fasciculus, posterior limb of the internal capsule, and splenium. We acquired high angular resolution diffusion images from 32 children with ASD and 26 typically developing children between the ages of 5 and 8. We also administered sensory assessments to examine brain-behavior relationships between white matter integrity and sensory variables. Our findings suggest a modulatory role of the inferior longitudinal fasciculus and splenium in atypical sensorimotor and early attention processes in ASD. Increased tactile defensiveness was found to be related to reduced fractional anisotropy in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, which may reflect an aberrant connection between limbic structures in the temporal lobe and the inferior parietal cortex. Our findings also corroborate the modulatory role of the splenium in attentional orienting, but suggest the possibility of a more diffuse or separable network for social orienting in ASD. Future investigation should consider the use of whole brain analyses for a more robust assessment of white matter microstructure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer R. Pryweller
- Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Kimberly B. Schauder
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Adam W. Anderson
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | | | - Cassandra R. Newsom
- Vanderbilt University Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Department of Pediatrics, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Whitney A. Loring
- Vanderbilt University Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Department of Pediatrics, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Carissa J. Cascio
- Vanderbilt University Department of Psychiatry, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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135
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Chen C, Lee YH, Cheng Y. Anterior insular cortex activity to emotional salience of voices in a passive oddball paradigm. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:743. [PMID: 25346670 PMCID: PMC4193252 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The human voice, which has a pivotal role in communication, is processed in specialized brain regions. Although a general consensus holds that the anterior insular cortex (AIC) plays a critical role in negative emotional experience, previous studies have not observed AIC activation in response to hearing disgust in voices. We used magnetoencephalography to measure the magnetic counterparts of mismatch negativity (MMNm) and P3a (P3am) in healthy adults while the emotionally meaningless syllables dada, spoken as neutral, happy, or disgusted prosodies, along with acoustically matched simple and complex tones, were presented in a passive oddball paradigm. The results revealed that disgusted relative to happy syllables elicited stronger MMNm-related cortical activities in the right AIC and precentral gyrus along with the left posterior insular cortex, supramarginal cortex, transverse temporal cortex, and upper bank of superior temporal cortex. The AIC activity specific to disgusted syllables (corrected p < 0.05) was associated with the hit rate of the emotional categorization task. These findings may clarify the neural correlates of emotional MMNm and lend support to the role of AIC in the processing of emotional salience already at the preattentive level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Hsuan Lee
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University Taipei, Taiwan ; Department of Rehabilitation, National Yang-Ming University Yilan, Taiwan ; Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital Taipei, Taiwan
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136
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Engineer CT, Centanni TM, Im KW, Kilgard MP. Speech sound discrimination training improves auditory cortex responses in a rat model of autism. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:137. [PMID: 25140133 PMCID: PMC4122159 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/14/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with autism often have language impairments and degraded cortical responses to speech. Extensive behavioral interventions can improve language outcomes and cortical responses. Prenatal exposure to the antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) increases the risk for autism and language impairment. Prenatal exposure to VPA also causes weaker and delayed auditory cortex responses in rats. In this study, we document speech sound discrimination ability in VPA exposed rats and document the effect of extensive speech training on auditory cortex responses. VPA exposed rats were significantly impaired at consonant, but not vowel, discrimination. Extensive speech training resulted in both stronger and faster anterior auditory field (AAF) responses compared to untrained VPA exposed rats, and restored responses to control levels. This neural response improvement generalized to non-trained sounds. The rodent VPA model of autism may be used to improve the understanding of speech processing in autism and contribute to improving language outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal T Engineer
- Cortical Plasticity Laboratory, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Tracy M Centanni
- Cortical Plasticity Laboratory, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Kwok W Im
- Cortical Plasticity Laboratory, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Michael P Kilgard
- Cortical Plasticity Laboratory, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX, USA
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137
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Fan YT, Cheng Y. Atypical mismatch negativity in response to emotional voices in people with autism spectrum conditions. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102471. [PMID: 25036143 PMCID: PMC4103818 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are characterized by heterogeneous impairments of social reciprocity and sensory processing. Voices, similar to faces, convey socially relevant information. Whether voice processing is selectively impaired remains undetermined. This study involved recording mismatch negativity (MMN) while presenting emotionally spoken syllables dada and acoustically matched nonvocal sounds to 20 subjects with ASC and 20 healthy matched controls. The people with ASC exhibited no MMN response to emotional syllables and reduced MMN to nonvocal sounds, indicating general impairments of affective voice and acoustic discrimination. Weaker angry MMN amplitudes were associated with more autistic traits. Receiver operator characteristic analysis revealed that angry MMN amplitudes yielded a value of 0.88 (p<.001). The results suggest that people with ASC may process emotional voices in an atypical fashion already at the automatic stage. This processing abnormality can facilitate diagnosing ASC and enable social deficits in people with ASC to be predicted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang-Teng Fan
- Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yawei Cheng
- Institute of Neuroscience and Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Rehabilitation, National Yang-Ming University Hospital, Yilan, Taiwan
- Department of Research and Education, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
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138
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Näätänen R, Sussman ES, Salisbury D, Shafer VL. Mismatch negativity (MMN) as an index of cognitive dysfunction. Brain Topogr 2014; 27:451-66. [PMID: 24838819 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-014-0374-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2013] [Accepted: 04/29/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Cognition is often affected in a variety of neuropsychiatric, neurological, and neurodevelopmental disorders. The neural discriminative response, reflected in mismatch negativity (MMN) and its magnetoencephalographic equivalent (MMNm), has been used as a tool to study a variety of disorders involving auditory cognition. MMN/MMNm is an involuntary brain response to auditory change or, more generally, to pattern regularity violation. For a number of disorders, MMN/MMNm amplitude to sound deviance has been shown to be attenuated or the peak-latency of the component prolonged compared to controls. This general finding suggests that while not serving as a specific marker to any particular disorder, MMN may be useful for understanding factors of cognition in various disorders, and has potential to serve as an indicator of risk. This review presents a brief history of the MMN, followed by a description of how MMN has been used to index auditory processing capability in a range of neuropsychiatric, neurological, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Finally, we suggest future directions for research to further enhance our understanding of the neural substrate of deviance detection that could lead to improvements in the use of MMN as a clinical tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Risto Näätänen
- Department of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
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139
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Fitzpatrick EM, Lambert L, Whittingham J, Leblanc E. Examination of characteristics and management of children with hearing loss and autism spectrum disorders. Int J Audiol 2014; 53:577-86. [DOI: 10.3109/14992027.2014.903338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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140
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Pankert A, Pankert K, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Konrad K, Kohls G. Responsivity to familiar versus unfamiliar social reward in children with autism. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2014; 121:1199-210. [PMID: 24728874 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-014-1210-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2014] [Accepted: 03/30/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
In autism spectrum disorders (ASD), social motivation theories suggest that the core social communication problems seen in children with ASD arise from diminished responsiveness to social reward. Although clinical and experimental data support these theories, the extent to which the reward deficit in ASD is unique for social rewards remains unclear. With the present investigation, we aimed to provide insight into the degree to which sociality as well as familiarity of reward incentives impact motivated goal-directed behavior in children with ASD. To do so, we directly compared the influence of familiar versus unfamiliar social reward relative to nonsocial, monetary reward in children with ASD relative to age- and IQ-matched typically developing controls (TDC) using a visual and auditory incentive go/nogo task with reward contingencies for successful response inhibitions. We found that children with ASD responded stronger to visual familiar and unfamiliar social reward as well as to nonsocial, monetary reward than TDC. While the present data are at odds with predictions made by social motivation theories, individual variations beyond clinical diagnosis, such as reward exposure across various social settings, help explain the pattern of results. The findings of this study stress the necessity for additional research on intra-individual as well as environmental factors that contribute to social reward responsiveness in individuals with ASD versus other neuropsychiatric disorders such as ADHD or conduct disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azarakhsh Pankert
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Neuenhofer Weg 21, 52074, Aachen, Germany
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141
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Engineer CT, Centanni TM, Im KW, Borland MS, Moreno NA, Carraway RS, Wilson LG, Kilgard MP. Degraded auditory processing in a rat model of autism limits the speech representation in non-primary auditory cortex. Dev Neurobiol 2014; 74:972-86. [PMID: 24639033 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Revised: 02/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Although individuals with autism are known to have significant communication problems, the cellular mechanisms responsible for impaired communication are poorly understood. Valproic acid (VPA) is an anticonvulsant that is a known risk factor for autism in prenatally exposed children. Prenatal VPA exposure in rats causes numerous neural and behavioral abnormalities that mimic autism. We predicted that VPA exposure may lead to auditory processing impairments which may contribute to the deficits in communication observed in individuals with autism. In this study, we document auditory cortex responses in rats prenatally exposed to VPA. We recorded local field potentials and multiunit responses to speech sounds in primary auditory cortex, anterior auditory field, ventral auditory field. and posterior auditory field in VPA exposed and control rats. Prenatal VPA exposure severely degrades the precise spatiotemporal patterns evoked by speech sounds in secondary, but not primary auditory cortex. This result parallels findings in humans and suggests that secondary auditory fields may be more sensitive to environmental disturbances and may provide insight into possible mechanisms related to auditory deficits in individuals with autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- C T Engineer
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, 75080
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142
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Lin IF, Kashino M, Ohta H, Yamada T, Tani M, Watanabe H, Kanai C, Ohno T, Takayama Y, Iwanami A, Kato N. The effect of intranasal oxytocin versus placebo treatment on the autonomic responses to human sounds in autism: a single-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover design study. Mol Autism 2014; 5:20. [PMID: 24576333 PMCID: PMC4015306 DOI: 10.1186/2040-2392-5-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2013] [Accepted: 02/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty with verbal communication, which might be due to a lack of spontaneous orientation toward social auditory stimuli. Previous studies have shown that a single dose of oxytocin improves speech comprehension in autism. The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether the orientation behaviors toward human sounds are different for neurotypical (NT) adults and adults with ASD and whether oxytocin has an effect on their orientation behaviors toward human sounds. METHODS This was a randomized, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover design study of intranasal oxytocin versus placebo in 13 NT adults and 16 adults with ASD. Subjects were randomized to 24 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo on different days, and they were blind to the treatment. The participants then listened passively to human and non-human affective sounds while their skin conductance responses (SCRs) and the changes in peripheral blood vessel constriction were monitored as an indicator of spontaneous orientation. The monitored data were analyzed by a mixed-design ANOVA. RESULTS Oxytocin enhanced the difference between the SCRs to human and non-human sounds in both the NT and ASD groups (F(1,56) = 6.046, p = 0.017). Further correlation coefficient analysis showed significant correlations between this SCR difference and the scores in the autism spectrum quotient 'attention to detail' and 'social skill' subscales and interpersonal reactivity index and social functioning scale in the ASD group. Oxytocin was well tolerated, and no serious adverse effects were reported. CONCLUSIONS The difference in SCRs implies that oxytocin nasal spray may enhance orientation behaviors toward human sounds in the presence of other environmental sounds in both ASD and NT adults. TRIAL REGISTRATION UMIN-CTR Clinical Trial, Unique trial number: UMIN000005809.
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Affiliation(s)
- I-Fan Lin
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan.
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143
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Ludlow A, Mohr B, Whitmore A, Garagnani M, Pulvermüller F, Gutierrez R. Auditory processing and sensory behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders as revealed by mismatch negativity. Brain Cogn 2014; 86:55-63. [PMID: 24565813 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2013] [Revised: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 01/27/2014] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Sensory dysfunctions may underlie key characteristics in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study aimed to investigate auditory change detection in children with ASD in order to determine event-related potentials to meaningless and meaningful speech stimuli. 11 high functioning boys with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (mean age=13.0; SD=1.08) and 11 typically developing boys (mean age=13.7; SD=1.5) participated in a mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. Results revealed that compared to TD controls, the children with ASD showed significantly reduced MMN responses to both words and pseudowords in the frontal regions of the brain and also a significant reduction in their activation for words in the Central Parietal regions. In order to test the relationship between sensory processing and auditory processing, children completed the Adult and Adolescent Sensory Profile. As predicted, the children with ASD showed more extreme sensory behaviours and were significantly higher than their typically developing controls across three of the sensory quadrants (sensory sensitivity, low registration and sensory avoidance). Importantly, only auditory sensory sensitivity was able to account for the differences displayed for words in the frontal and central parietal regions when controlling for the effect of group, revealing an inverse relationship of the higher sensory sensitivity scores the less activation in response for words. We discuss how the expression of sensory behaviours in ASD may result in deficient neurophysiological mechanisms underlying automatic language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda Ludlow
- Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK.
| | - Bettina Mohr
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Antony Whitmore
- Department of Psychology, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Max Garagnani
- Brain Language Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
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144
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Orekhova EV, Stroganova TA. Arousal and attention re-orienting in autism spectrum disorders: evidence from auditory event-related potentials. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:34. [PMID: 24567709 PMCID: PMC3915101 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2013] [Accepted: 01/17/2014] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The extended phenotype of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) includes a combination of arousal regulation problems, sensory modulation difficulties, and attention re-orienting deficit. A slow and inefficient re-orienting to stimuli that appear outside of the attended sensory stream is thought to be especially detrimental for social functioning. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and magnetic fields (ERFs) may help to reveal which processing stages underlying brain response to unattended but salient sensory event are affected in individuals with ASD. Previous research focusing on two sequential stages of the brain response-automatic detection of physical changes in auditory stream, indexed by mismatch negativity (MMN), and evaluation of stimulus novelty, indexed by P3a component,-found in individuals with ASD either increased, decreased, or normal processing of deviance and novelty. The review examines these apparently conflicting results, notes gaps in previous findings, and suggests a potentially unifying hypothesis relating the dampened responses to unattended sensory events to the deficit in rapid arousal process. Specifically, "sensory gating" studies focused on pre-attentive arousal consistently demonstrated that brain response to unattended and temporally novel sound in ASD is already affected at around 100 ms after stimulus onset. We hypothesize that abnormalities in nicotinic cholinergic arousal pathways, previously reported in individuals with ASD, may contribute to these ERP/ERF aberrations and result in attention re-orienting deficit. Such cholinergic dysfunction may be present in individuals with ASD early in life and can influence both sensory processing and attention re-orienting behavior. Identification of early neurophysiological biomarkers for cholinergic deficit would help to detect infants "at risk" who can potentially benefit from particular types of therapies or interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Orekhova
- MEG Centre, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education Moscow, Russia ; MedTech West, Sahlgrenska Academy Gothenburg, Sweden
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145
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Porges SW, Bazhenova OV, Bal E, Carlson N, Sorokin Y, Heilman KJ, Cook EH, Lewis GF. Reducing auditory hypersensitivities in autistic spectrum disorder: preliminary findings evaluating the listening project protocol. Front Pediatr 2014; 2:80. [PMID: 25136545 PMCID: PMC4117928 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2014.00080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2014] [Accepted: 07/16/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory hypersensitivities are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the present study, the effectiveness of a novel intervention, the listening project protocol (LPP), was evaluated in two trials conducted with children diagnosed with ASD. LPP was developed to reduce auditory hypersensitivities. LPP is based on a theoretical "neural exercise" model that uses computer altered acoustic stimulation to recruit the neural regulation of middle ear muscles. Features of the intervention stimuli were informed by basic research in speech and hearing sciences that has identified the specific acoustic frequencies necessary to understand speech, which must pass through middle ear structures before being processed by other components of the auditory system. LPP was hypothesized to reduce auditory hypersensitivities by increasing the neural tone to the middle ear muscles to functionally dampen competing sounds in frequencies lower than human speech. The trials demonstrated that LPP, when contrasted to control conditions, selectively reduced auditory hypersensitivities. These findings are consistent with the polyvagal theory, which emphasizes the role of the middle ear muscles in social communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen W Porges
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC , USA
| | - Olga V Bazhenova
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA
| | - Elgiz Bal
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA
| | - Nancy Carlson
- Department of Occupational Therapy, Elizabethtown College , Elizabethtown, PA , USA
| | - Yevgeniya Sorokin
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA
| | - Keri J Heilman
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC , USA
| | - Edwin H Cook
- Department of Psychiatry, Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago , Chicago, IL , USA
| | - Gregory F Lewis
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC , USA
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146
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Moseley RL, Pulvermüller F, Mohr B, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S, Shtyrov Y. Brain routes for reading in adults with and without autism: EMEG evidence. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 44:137-53. [PMID: 23748435 PMCID: PMC3898534 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1858-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Reading utilises at least two neural pathways. The temporal lexical route visually maps whole words to their lexical entries, whilst the nonlexical route decodes words phonologically via parietal cortex. Readers typically employ the lexical route for familiar words, but poor comprehension plus precocity at mechanically 'sounding out' words suggests that differences might exist in autism. Combined MEG/EEG recordings of adults with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) and controls while reading revealed preferential recruitment of temporal areas in controls and additional parietal recruitment in ASC. Furthermore, a lack of differences between semantic word categories was consistent with previous suggestion that people with ASC may lack a 'default' lexical-semantic processing mode. These results are discussed with reference to dual-route models of reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel L. Moseley
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Michael V. Lombardo
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simon Baron-Cohen
- Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Yury Shtyrov
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge, CB2 7EF UK
- Centre for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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147
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Magrelli S, Jermann P, Noris B, Ansermet F, Hentsch F, Nadel J, Billard A. Social orienting of children with autism to facial expressions and speech: a study with a wearable eye-tracker in naturalistic settings. Front Psychol 2013; 4:840. [PMID: 24312064 PMCID: PMC3834245 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigates attention orienting to social stimuli in children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) during dyadic social interactions taking place in real-life settings. We study the effect of social cues that differ in complexity and distinguish between social cues produced by facial expressions of emotion and those produced during speech. We record the children's gazes using a head-mounted eye-tracking device and report on a detailed and quantitative analysis of the motion of the gaze in response to the social cues. The study encompasses a group of children with ASC from 2 to 11-years old (n = 14) and a group of typically developing (TD) children (n = 17) between 3 and 6-years old. While the two groups orient overtly to facial expressions, children with ASC do so to a lesser extent. Children with ASC differ importantly from TD children in the way they respond to speech cues, displaying little overt shifting of attention to speaking faces. When children with ASC orient to facial expressions, they show reaction times and first fixation lengths similar to those presented by TD children. However, children with ASC orient to speaking faces slower than TD children. These results support the hypothesis that individuals affected by ASC have difficulties processing complex social sounds and detecting intermodal correspondence between facial and vocal information. It also corroborates evidence that people with ASC show reduced overt attention toward social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Magrelli
- Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Jermann
- Center for Digital Education, École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland
| | - Basilio Noris
- Service of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Hôpitaux Universitaires de GenèveGenève, Switzerland
| | - François Ansermet
- Service of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine, Hôpitaux Universitaires de GenèveGenève, Switzerland
| | - François Hentsch
- Emotion Center, CNRS and The Universite Pierre et Marie CuriePitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France.
| | - Jacqueline Nadel
- Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland
| | - Aude Billard
- Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory, École Polytechnique Fédérale de LausanneLausanne, Switzerland
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148
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Kushnerenko EV, Van den Bergh BRH, Winkler I. Separating acoustic deviance from novelty during the first year of life: a review of event-related potential evidence. Front Psychol 2013; 4:595. [PMID: 24046757 PMCID: PMC3763200 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2013] [Accepted: 08/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Orienting to salient events in the environment is a first step in the development of attention in young infants. Electrophysiological studies have indicated that in newborns and young infants, sounds with widely distributed spectral energy, such as noise and various environmental sounds, as well as sounds widely deviating from their context elicit an event-related potential (ERP) similar to the adult P3a response. We discuss how the maturation of event-related potentials parallels the process of the development of passive auditory attention during the first year of life. Behavioral studies have indicated that the neonatal orientation to high-energy stimuli gradually changes to attending to genuine novelty and other significant events by approximately 9 months of age. In accordance with these changes, in newborns, the ERP response to large acoustic deviance is dramatically larger than that to small and moderate deviations. This ERP difference, however, rapidly decreases within first months of life and the differentiation of the ERP response to genuine novelty from that to spectrally rich but repeatedly presented sounds commences during the same period. The relative decrease of the response amplitudes elicited by high-energy stimuli may reflect development of an inhibitory brain network suppressing the processing of uninformative stimuli. Based on data obtained from healthy full-term and pre-term infants as well as from infants at risk for various developmental problems, we suggest that the electrophysiological indices of the processing of acoustic and contextual deviance may be indicative of the functioning of auditory attention, a crucial prerequisite of learning and language development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena V Kushnerenko
- School of Psychology, Institute for Research in Child Development, University of East London London, UK
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149
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Key AP, Yoder PJ. Equiprobable and Oddball Paradigms: Two Approaches for Documenting Auditory Discrimination. Dev Neuropsychol 2013; 38:402-17. [DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2012.718819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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150
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Abnormal pre-attentive arousal in young children with autism spectrum disorder contributes to their atypical auditory behavior: an ERP study. PLoS One 2013; 8:e69100. [PMID: 23935931 PMCID: PMC3723785 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0069100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2013] [Accepted: 06/05/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Auditory sensory modulation difficulties and problems with automatic re-orienting to sound are well documented in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Abnormal preattentive arousal processes may contribute to these deficits. In this study, we investigated components of the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) reflecting preattentive arousal in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children aged 3-8 years. Pairs of clicks (‘S1’ and ‘S2’) separated by a 1 sec S1-S2 interstimulus interval (ISI) and much longer (8-10 sec) S1-S1 ISIs were presented monaurally to either the left or right ear. In TD children, the P50, P100 and N1c CAEP components were strongly influenced by temporal novelty of clicks and were much greater in response to the S1 than the S2 click. Irrespective of the stimulation side, the ‘tangential’ P100 component was rightward lateralized in TD children, whereas the ‘radial’ N1c component had higher amplitude contralaterally to the stimulated ear. Compared to the TD children, children with ASD demonstrated 1) reduced amplitude of the P100 component under the condition of temporal novelty (S1) and 2) an attenuated P100 repetition suppression effect. The abnormalities were lateralized and depended on the presentation side. They were evident in the case of the left but not the right ear stimulation. The P100 abnormalities in ASD correlated with the degree of developmental delay and with the severity of auditory sensory modulation difficulties observed in early life. The results suggest that some rightward-lateralized brain networks that are crucially important for arousal and attention re-orienting are compromised in children with ASD and that this deficit contributes to sensory modulation difficulties and possibly even other behavioral deficits in ASD.
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