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Ostrolenk A, Courchesne V, Mottron L. A longitudinal study on language acquisition in monozygotic twins concordant for autism and hyperlexia. Brain Cogn 2023; 173:106099. [PMID: 37839243 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2023.106099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hyperlexia, a strong orientation towards written materials, along with a discrepancy between the precocious acquisition of decoding skills and weaker comprehension abilities, characterizes up to 20% of autistic children. Sometimes perceived as an obstacle to oral language acquisition, hyperlexia may alternatively be the first step in a non-social pathway of language acquisition in autism. METHOD We describe two monozygotic twin brothers, both autistic and hyperlexic, from the ages of 4 to 8 years old. Following an in-depth diagnostic assessment, we investigated cross-sectionally and longitudinally their verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities, language, reading and writing skills, interests, and strengths. RESULTS The twins' features, including their high non-verbal level of intelligence, their special interests, and their skills in various domains, were highly similar. Their language consisted exclusively of letters and numbers until their fourth year. After that, their vocabulary broadened until they developed full sentences, and their perception-related interests expanded and merged over time to serve the development of other skills. CONCLUSION Our results show that hyperlexic skills can be harnessed to favor oral language development. Given the strong concordance between the twins' cognitive and behavioral phenotypes, we discuss the environmental and genetic influence that could explain their abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexia Ostrolenk
- Département de Psychiatrie et d'Addictologie, Université de Montréal, H3T 1J4 Québec, Canada; Montreal Autism Research Group, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'île-de-Montréal, 7070 boulevard Perras, Montreal, QC H1E 1A4, Canada
| | - Valérie Courchesne
- Montreal Autism Research Group, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'île-de-Montréal, 7070 boulevard Perras, Montreal, QC H1E 1A4, Canada; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 80 Workman Way, Toronto, ON M6J 1H4, Canada
| | - Laurent Mottron
- Département de Psychiatrie et d'Addictologie, Université de Montréal, H3T 1J4 Québec, Canada; Montreal Autism Research Group, CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'île-de-Montréal, 7070 boulevard Perras, Montreal, QC H1E 1A4, Canada.
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Miranda M, Campo CG, Birba A, Neely A, Hernandez FDT, Faure E, Costa GR, Ibáñez A, García A. An action-concept processing advantage in a patient with a double motor cortex. Brain Cogn 2022; 156:105831. [PMID: 34922210 PMCID: PMC9944406 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Patients with atrophy in motor brain regions exhibit selective deficits in processing action-related meanings, suggesting a link between movement conceptualization and the amount of regional tissue. Here we examine such a relation in a unique opposite model: a rare patient with a double cortex (due to subcortical band heterotopia) in primary/supplementary motor regions, and no double cortex in multimodal semantic regions. We measured behavioral performance in action- and object-concept processing as well and resting-state functional connectivity. Both dimensions involved comparisons with healthy controls. Results revealed preserved accuracy in action and object categories for the patient. However, unlike controls, the patient exhibited faster performance for action than object concepts, a difference that was uninfluenced by general cognitive abilities. Moreover, this pattern was accompanied by heightened functional connectivity between the bilateral primary motor cortices. This suggests that a functionally active double motor cortex may entail action-processing advantages. Our findings offer new constraints for models of action semantics and motor-region function at large.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Miranda
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Traslacional (INCyT), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Cecilia Gonzalez Campo
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustina Birba
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina,Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Alejandra Neely
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | | | - Evelyng Faure
- Department of Radiology, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Advanced Epilepsy Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Rojas Costa
- Department of Radiology, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Advanced Epilepsy Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile,Health Innovation Center, Clínica las Condes, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina,Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile,Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, California, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Adolfo García
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States; and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Departamento de Lingüística y Literatura, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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Riedel A, Maier S, Wenzler K, Feige B, Tebartz van Elst L, Bölte S, Neufeld J. A case of co-occuring synesthesia, autism, prodigious talent and strong structural brain connectivity. BMC Psychiatry 2020; 20:342. [PMID: 32605557 PMCID: PMC7329514 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-020-02722-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synesthesia is a sensory phenomenon where certain domain-specific stimuli trigger additional sensations of e.g. color or texture. The condition occurs in about 4% of the general population, but is overrepresented in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), where it might also be associated with the presence of prodigious talents. CASE PRESENTATION Here we describe the case of a young transsexual man with Asperger Syndrome, synesthesia and a prodigious talent for foreign language acquisition. In our case, not only letters, numbers, spoken words, music, noises, weekdays and months lead to highly consistent, vivid color sensations but also his own and others' emotions, geometric shapes, any mathematical symbol, and letters from an unfamiliar alphabet (Hebrew). These color associations seem to aid categorization, differentiation and storage of information and might thereby contribute to the young man's language acquisition ability. We investigated the young man's structural brain connectivity in comparison to adults with or without ASD, applying global fiber tracking to diffusion-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) data. The case presented with increased connectivity, especially between regions involved in visual and emotion processing, memory, and higher order associative binding regions. An electroencephalography experiment investigating synesthetic color and shape sensations while listening to music showed a negligible occipital alpha suppression, indicating that these internally generated synesthetic sensations derive from a different brain mechanism than when processing external visual information. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, this case study endorses the notion of a link between synesthesia, prodigious talent and autism, adding to the currently still sparse literature in this field. It provides new insights into the possible manifestations of synesthesia in individuals with ASD and its potential contribution to prodigious talents in people with an otherwise unexceptional cognitive profile. Additionally, this case impressively illustrates how synesthesia can be a key element not only of sensory perception but also social and emotional processing and contributes to existing evidence of increased brain connectivity in association with synesthesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Riedel
- grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Maier
- grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kerstin Wenzler
- grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernd Feige
- grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- grid.7708.80000 0000 9428 7911Section for Experimental Neuropsychiatry, Department for Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, Medical Center – University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sven Bölte
- grid.4714.60000 0004 1937 0626Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden ,grid.1032.00000 0004 0375 4078Curtin Autism Research Group, Essential Partner Autism CRC, School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia ,grid.467087.a0000 0004 0442 1056Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Janina Neufeld
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Ostrolenk A, Forgeot d’Arc B, Jelenic P, Samson F, Mottron L. Hyperlexia: Systematic review, neurocognitive modelling, and outcome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 79:134-149. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 04/04/2017] [Accepted: 04/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Numbers and functional lateralization: A visual half-field and dichotic listening study in proficient bilinguals. Neuropsychologia 2017; 100:93-109. [PMID: 28414092 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 04/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Potential links between language and numbers and the laterality of symbolic number representations in the brain are still debated. Furthermore, reports on bilingual individuals indicate that the language-number interrelationships might be quite complex. Therefore, we carried out a visual half-field (VHF) and dichotic listening (DL) study with action words and different forms of symbolic numbers used as stimuli to test the laterality of word and number processing in single-, dual-language and mixed -task and language- contexts. Experiment 1 (VHF) showed a significant right visual field/left hemispheric advantage in response accuracy for action word, as compared to any form of symbolic number processing. Experiment 2 (DL) revealed a substantially reversed effect - a significant right ear/left hemisphere advantage for arithmetic operations as compared to action word processing, and in response times in single- and dual-language contexts for number vs. action words. All these effects were language independent. Notably, for within-task response accuracy compared across modalities significant differences were found in all studied contexts. Thus, our results go counter to findings showing that action-relevant concepts and words, as well as number words are represented/processed primarily in the left hemisphere. Instead, we found that in the auditory context, following substantial engagement of working memory (here: by arithmetic operations), there is a subsequent functional reorganization of processing single stimuli, whether verbs or numbers. This reorganization - their weakened laterality - at least for response accuracy is not exclusive to processing of numbers, but the number of items to be processed. For response times, except for unpredictable tasks in mixed contexts, the "number problem" is more apparent. These outcomes are highly relevant to difficulties that simultaneous translators encounter when dealing with lengthy auditory material in which single items such as number words (and possibly other types of key words) need to be emphasized. Our results may also shed a new light on the "mathematical savant problem".
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Bauer CE, Brefczynski-Lewis J, Marano G, Mandich MB, Stolin A, Martone P, Lewis JW, Jaliparthi G, Raylman RR, Majewski S. Concept of an upright wearable positron emission tomography imager in humans. Brain Behav 2016; 6:e00530. [PMID: 27688946 PMCID: PMC5036439 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Revised: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is traditionally used to image patients in restrictive positions, with few devices allowing for upright, brain-dedicated imaging. Our team has explored the concept of wearable PET imagers which could provide functional brain imaging of freely moving subjects. To test feasibility and determine future considerations for development, we built a rudimentary proof-of-concept prototype (Helmet_PET) and conducted tests in phantoms and four human volunteers. METHODS Twelve Silicon Photomultiplier-based detectors were assembled in a ring with exterior weight support and an interior mechanism that could be adjustably fitted to the head. We conducted brain phantom tests as well as scanned four patients scheduled for diagnostic F(18-) FDG PET/CT imaging. For human subjects the imager was angled such that field of view included basal ganglia and visual cortex to test for typical resting-state pattern. Imaging in two subjects was performed ~4 hr after PET/CT imaging to simulate lower injected F(18-) FDG dose by taking advantage of the natural radioactive decay of the tracer (F(18) half-life of 110 min), with an estimated imaging dosage of 25% of the standard. RESULTS We found that imaging with a simple lightweight ring of detectors was feasible using a fraction of the standard radioligand dose. Activity levels in the human participants were quantitatively similar to standard PET in a set of anatomical ROIs. Typical resting-state brain pattern activation was demonstrated even in a 1 min scan of active head rotation. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of imaging a human subject with a novel wearable PET imager that moves with robust head movements. We discuss potential research and clinical applications that will drive the design of a fully functional device. Designs will need to consider trade-offs between a low weight device with high mobility and a heavier device with greater sensitivity and larger field of view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E Bauer
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Center for Neuroscience West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Julie Brefczynski-Lewis
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Center for Neuroscience West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Gary Marano
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Mary-Beth Mandich
- Division of Physical Therapy Department of Human Performance West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Alexander Stolin
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Peter Martone
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - James W Lewis
- Center for Neuroscience West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Gangadhar Jaliparthi
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Raymond R Raylman
- Center for Advanced Imaging West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA; Department of Radiology West Virginia University Morgantown WV USA
| | - Stan Majewski
- Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging University of Virginia Charlottesville VA USA
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Abstract
Abnormal fMRI habituation in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) has been proposed as a critical component in social impairment. This study investigated habituation to fearful faces and houses in ASD and whether fMRI measures of brain activity discriminate between ASD and typically developing (TD) controls. Two identical fMRI runs presenting masked fearful faces, houses, and scrambled images were collected. We found significantly slower fMRI responses to fearful faces but not houses in ASD. In addition, the pattern of slow to emerge amygdala activation to faces had robust discriminability [ASD vs. TD; area under the curve (AUC) = .852, p < .001]. In contrast, habituation to houses had no predictive value (AUC = .573, p = .365). Amygdala habituation to emotional faces may be useful for quantifying risk in ASD.
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Zaidel DW. Creativity, brain, and art: biological and neurological considerations. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:389. [PMID: 24917807 PMCID: PMC4041074 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2014] [Accepted: 05/15/2014] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Creativity is commonly thought of as a positive advance for society that transcends the status quo knowledge. Humans display an inordinate capacity for it in a broad range of activities, with art being only one. Most work on creativity’s neural substrates measures general creativity, and that is done with laboratory tasks, whereas specific creativity in art is gleaned from acquired brain damage, largely in observing established visual artists, and some in visual de novo artists (became artists after the damage). The verb “to create” has been erroneously equated with creativity; creativity, in the classic sense, does not appear to be enhanced following brain damage, regardless of etiology. The turning to communication through art in lieu of language deficits reflects a biological survival strategy. Creativity in art, and in other domains, is most likely dependent on intact and healthy knowledge and semantic conceptual systems, which are represented in several pathways in the cortex. It is adversely affected when these systems are dysfunctional, for congenital reasons (savant autism) or because of acquired brain damage (stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s), whereas inherent artistic talent and skill appear less affected. Clues to the neural substrates of general creativity and specific art creativity can be gleaned from considering that art is produced spontaneously mainly by humans, that there are unique neuroanatomical and neurofunctional organizations in the human brain, and that there are biological antecedents of innovation in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dahlia W Zaidel
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Mottron L, Bouvet L, Bonnel A, Samson F, Burack JA, Dawson M, Heaton P. Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:209-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Revised: 11/22/2012] [Accepted: 11/23/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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