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Stefanou ME, Dundon NM, Bestelmeyer PEG, Biscaldi M, Smyrnis N, Klein C. The dissociating effects of fear and disgust on multisensory integration in autism: evidence from evoked potentials. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1390696. [PMID: 39161654 PMCID: PMC11330835 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1390696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Deficits in Multisensory Integration (MSI) in ASD have been reported repeatedly and have been suggested to be caused by altered long-range connectivity. Here we investigate behavioral and ERP correlates of MSI in ASD using ecologically valid videos of emotional expressions. Methods In the present study, we set out to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of audiovisual MSI in young autistic and neurotypical adolescents. We employed dynamic stimuli of high ecological validity (500 ms clips produced by actors) that depicted fear or disgust in unimodal (visual and auditory), and bimodal (audiovisual) conditions. Results We report robust MSI effects at both the behavioral and electrophysiological levels and pronounced differences between autistic and neurotypical participants. Specifically, neurotypical controls showed robust behavioral MSI for both emotions as seen through a significant speed-up of bimodal response time (RT), confirmed by Miller's Race Model Inequality (RMI), with greater MSI effects for fear than disgust. Adolescents with ASD, by contrast, showed behavioral MSI only for fear. At the electrophysiological level, the bimodal condition as compared to the unimodal conditions reduced the amplitudes of the visual P100 and auditory P200 and increased the amplitude of the visual N170 regardless of group. Furthermore, a cluster-based analysis across all electrodes revealed that adolescents with ASD showed an overall delayed and spatially constrained MSI effect compared to controls. Conclusion Given that the variables we measured reflect attention, our findings suggest that MSI can be modulated by the differential effects on attention that fear and disgust produce. We also argue that the MSI deficits seen in autistic individuals can be compensated for at later processing stages by (a) the attention-orienting effects of fear, at the behavioral level, and (b) at the electrophysiological level via increased attentional effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Elena Stefanou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Neil M. Dundon
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | | | - Monica Biscaldi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nikolaos Smyrnis
- Second Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, University General Hospital “Attikon”, Athens, Greece
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Sensorimotor Control, University Mental Health, Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “COSTAS STEFANIS”, Athens, Greece
| | - Christoph Klein
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Second Department of Psychiatry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, University General Hospital “Attikon”, Athens, Greece
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
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Alho K, Escera C, Kujala T, Schröger E, Tervaniemi M, Winkler I, Yabe H. Risto Näätänen (1939-2023). Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14504. [PMID: 38108528 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Kimmo Alho
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Carles Escera
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu (IRSJD), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Teija Kujala
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Erich Schröger
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Mari Tervaniemi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - István Winkler
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Hirooki Yabe
- Department of Mind & Brain Medicine, Fukushima Medical University (FMU), Fukushima, Japan
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3
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Chen A, Zhao R, Huang G, Li A, Cheung H. Successful lexical tone production of Mandarin Chinese autistic children with intellectual impairment. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE & COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2023; 58:1912-1926. [PMID: 37140200 DOI: 10.1111/1460-6984.12881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atypical speech prosody has been commonly found among autistic children. Yet it remains unknown whether prosody impairment originates from poor pitch ability in general or whether it is the result of the difficulty in understanding and using prosody for communicative purposes. AIMS To investigate whether native Mandarin Chinese-speaking autistic children with intellectual impairment were able to accurately produce native lexical tones, which are pitch patterns that distinguish word meaning lexically and serve little social purpose. METHODS & PROCEDURES Using a picture-naming task, thirteen 8-13-year-old Mandarin Chinese-speaking autistic children with intellectual impairment were tested on their production of Chinese lexical tones. Chronical age-matched typically developing (TD) children were included as the control group. Perceptual assessment and phonetic analyses were conducted with the produced lexical tones. OUTCOMES & RESULTS The majority of the lexical tones produced by the autistic children were perceived as accurate by adult judges. Phonetic analysis of the pitch contours found no significant difference between the two groups, and the autistic children and TD children used the phonetic features in comparable ways when differentiating the lexical tones. However, the lexical tone accuracy rate was lower among the autistic children than among the TDs, and the larger individual difference was observed among the autistic children than the TD children. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS These results indicate that autistic children are able to produce the global contours of the lexical tones, and pitch deficits do not seem to qualify as a core feature of autism. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on the subject Atypical prosody has been considered a maker of the speech of autistic children, and meta-analysis found a significant difference in mean pitch and pitch range between TD children and autistic children. Yet it remains unknown whether the pitch deficits are the result of impaired perceptual-motoric ability or if they reflect failure in learning sentential prosody, which requires an understanding of the interlocutors' mind. In addition, research on pitch ability of autistic children with intellectual disabilities has been scarce, and whether these children are able to produce pitch variation is largely unknown. What this paper adds to existing knowledge We tested native Mandarin Chinese autistic children with intellectual impairment on their production of native lexical tones. The lexical tones in Chinese are pitch variations realized on individual syllables that distinguish lexical meaning, but they do not serve social pragmatic purposes. We found that although these autistic children had only developed limited spoken language, the majority of their lexical tones were perceived as accurate. They were able to use the phonetic features in comparable ways with the TD children when distinguishing the lexical tones. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? It seems unlikely that pitch processing at the lexical level is fundamentally impaired in autistic children, and pitch deficits do not seem to qualify for a core feature of their speech. Practitioners should be cautious when using pitch production as a clinical marker for autistic children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Chen
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
- School of Communication Science, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
| | - Ru Zhao
- School of Psychology, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
- The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Gan Huang
- Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Aijun Li
- Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hintat Cheung
- Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan, China
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Noel JP, Angelaki DE. A theory of autism bridging across levels of description. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:631-641. [PMID: 37183143 PMCID: PMC10330321 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Autism impacts a wide range of behaviors and neural functions. As such, theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are numerous and span different levels of description, from neurocognitive to molecular. We propose how existent behavioral, computational, algorithmic, and neural accounts of ASD may relate to one another. Specifically, we argue that ASD may be cast as a disorder of causal inference (computational level). This computation relies on marginalization, which is thought to be subserved by divisive normalization (algorithmic level). In turn, divisive normalization may be impaired by excitatory-to-inhibitory imbalances (neural implementation level). We also discuss ASD within similar frameworks, those of predictive coding and circular inference. Together, we hope to motivate work unifying the different accounts of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Dora E Angelaki
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA; Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Reetzke R, Singh V, Hong JS, Holingue CB, Kalb LG, Ludwig NN, Menon D, Pfeiffer DL, Landa RJ. Profiles and correlates of language and social communication differences among young autistic children. Front Psychol 2022; 13:936392. [PMID: 36148115 PMCID: PMC9485602 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.936392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Delays in early language development are characteristic of young autistic children, and one of the most recognizable first concerns that motivate parents to seek a diagnostic evaluation for their child. Although early language abilities are one of the strongest predictors of long-term outcomes, there is still much to be understood about the role of language impairment in the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of autism. Using a person-centered, Latent Profile Analysis, we first aimed to identify distinct patterns of language and social communication ability in a clinic-based sample of 498 autistic children, ranging in age from 18 to 60 months (M = 33 mo, SD = 12 mo). Next, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was implemented to examine sociodemographic and child-based developmental differences among the identified language and social communication profiles. Three clinically meaningful profiles were identified from parent-rated and clinician-administered measures: Profile 1 (48% of the sample) “Relatively Low Language and Social Communication Abilities,” Profile 2 (34% of the sample) “Relatively Elevated Language and Social Communication Abilities,” and Profile 3 (18% of the sample) “Informant Discrepant Language and Relatively Elevated Social Communication Abilities.” Overall, young autistic children from the lowest-resource households exhibited the lowest language and social communication abilities, and the lowest non-verbal problem-solving and fine-motor skills, along with more features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and atypical auditory processing. These findings highlight the need for effective community-based implementation strategies for young autistic children from low-resource households and underrepresented communities to improve access to individualized quality care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel Reetzke
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Rachel Reetzke,
| | - Vini Singh
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Ji Su Hong
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Calliope B. Holingue
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Luther G. Kalb
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Natasha N. Ludwig
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Deepa Menon
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Danika L. Pfeiffer
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Rebecca J. Landa
- Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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6
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Ver Loren van Themaat AH, Oranje B, Larsen KM, Tomasevic L, Korsgaard Johnsen L, Elgaard Thorup AA, Plessen KJ, Siebner HR, Nordentoft M. Mismatch negativity and P3a amplitude in children with familial high risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder - A Danish register-based EEG study. Schizophr Res 2022; 246:187-194. [PMID: 35797883 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2022.06.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Infrequent deviants in a rapid sequence of sounds elicit a negative cortical potential over the frontocentral midline (mismatch negativity, MMN) followed by a positive deflection (P3a). Both cortical potentials are consistently attenuated in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), and, to a lesser degree, in patients with bipolar disorder (BP). OBJECTIVE Since it is unclear when MMN and P3a deficits arise relative to the emergence of symptoms, we examined whether MMN and P3a alterations are already detectable in children with familial high risk. METHODS Using 128-channel electroencephalography, we recorded auditory MMN and P3a evoked by a deviation in sound duration, frequency, or both in 51 children with familial high-risk for SZ (FHR-SZ), 41 children with familial high-risk for BP (FHR-BP), and 39 population-based children (PBC) at a mean age of 12.10. RESULTS MMN amplitude evoked by a duration deviant was larger in children with FHR-BP compared to PBC and FHR-SZ. P3a amplitude in response to a duration ∗ frequency deviant was larger in children with FHR-BP compared to children with FHR-SZ, but not compared to PBC. MMN- and P3a-peak latency did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS At an age of around 12 years, children with FHR-BP display enhanced neural sensitivity to change detection of duration deviants, while FHR-SZ showed a normal response pattern. Longitudinal recordings in high-risk children during adolescence are required to elucidate the temporal trajectories of MMN and P3a responses and how they relate to the emergence of first clinical symptoms in SZ and BP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Hester Ver Loren van Themaat
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark.
| | - Bob Oranje
- Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; Department of Psychiatry, UMC Utrecht Brain Center, the Netherlands
| | - Kit Melissa Larsen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Leo Tomasevic
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Line Korsgaard Johnsen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
| | - Anne Amalie Elgaard Thorup
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health - CORE, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Kerstin Jessica Plessen
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark; Service of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center, University of Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Hartwig Roman Siebner
- Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Merete Nordentoft
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health - CORE, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Mental Health Services, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark; The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Aarhus, Denmark
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7
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Márquez-García AV, Vakorin VA, Kozhemiako N, Magnuson JR, Iarocci G, Ribary U, Moreno S, Doesburg SM. Children with autism spectrum disorder show atypical electroencephalographic response to processing contextual incongruencies. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8948. [PMID: 35624226 PMCID: PMC9142591 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12475-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience difficulties with social communication, making it challenging to interpret contextual information that aids in accurately interpreting language. To investigate how the brain processes the contextual information and how this is different in ASD, we compared event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to processing visual and auditory congruent and incongruent information. Two groups of children participated in the study: 37 typically developing children and 15 children with ASD (age range = 6 to 12). We applied a language task involving auditory sentences describing congruent or incongruent images. We investigated two ERP components associated with language processing: the N400 and P600. Our results showed how children with ASD present significant differences in their neural responses in comparison with the TD group, even when their reaction times and correct trials are not significantly different from the TD group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amparo V Márquez-García
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
| | - Vasily A Vakorin
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Nataliia Kozhemiako
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Justine R Magnuson
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Grace Iarocci
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Urs Ribary
- Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Sylvain Moreno
- Department of School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | - Sam M Doesburg
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
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8
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Matsui T, Uchida M, Fujino H, Tojo Y, Hakarino K. Perception of native and non-native phonemic contrasts in children with autistic spectrum disorder: effects of speaker variability. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2022; 36:417-435. [PMID: 34460348 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2021.1947385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The current study investigated speech perception in children with ASD by directly comparing discrimination accuracy of phonemic contrasts in the native and non-native languages. The effect of speaker variability on phoneme perception was also examined. We also explored the relation between language impairment and accuracy in phoneme discrimination in children with ASD. Significant differences in performance were found between the ASD and TD groups on discrimination of the native phonemic contrasts. By contrast, no difference was found between the two groups on discrimination of the non-native phonemic contrasts. Further subgroup analysis revealed that the ALN group (ASD without language delay or impairment) showed significantly higher discrimination accuracy for the native syllable contrasts than the non-native counterpart. No significant difference was found in the discrimination accuracy between the native and non-native phonemic contrasts in the ALD group (ASD with language delay or impairment). The effect of speaker viability on phoneme discrimination was observed in the TD group but not in the ASD subgroups. Nonverbal reasoning ability was highly related to discrimination accuracy of both the native and non-native phonemic contrasts in children with ASD. The results of the present study suggest that speech perception in children with ASD is not as attuned to their native language as in their TD peers. Our findings also indicate that language delay or impairment is related to difficulty in perception of native phonemes in children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoko Matsui
- Center for Research in International Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mariko Uchida
- Center for Research in International Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Fujino
- Graduate School for Teacher Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yoshikuni Tojo
- College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
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Cooke J, Molloy CJ, Cáceres ASJ, Dinneen T, Bourgeron T, Murphy D, Gallagher L, Loth E. The Synaptic Gene Study: Design and Methodology to Identify Neurocognitive Markers in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and NRXN1 Deletions. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:806990. [PMID: 35250452 PMCID: PMC8894872 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.806990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Synaptic gene conditions, i.e., “synaptopathies,” involve disruption to genes expressed at the synapse and account for between 0.5 and 2% of autism cases. They provide a unique entry point to understanding the molecular and biological mechanisms underpinning autism-related phenotypes. Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS, also known as 22q13 deletion syndrome) and NRXN1 deletions (NRXN1ds) are two synaptopathies associated with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). PMS often incorporates disruption to the SHANK3 gene, implicated in excitatory postsynaptic scaffolding, whereas the NRXN1 gene encodes neurexin-1, a presynaptic cell adhesion protein; both are implicated in trans-synaptic signaling in the brain. Around 70% of individuals with PMS and 43–70% of those with NRXN1ds receive a diagnosis of autism, suggesting that alterations in synaptic development may play a crucial role in explaining the aetiology of autism. However, a substantial amount of heterogeneity exists between conditions. Most individuals with PMS have moderate to profound intellectual disability (ID), while those with NRXN1ds have no ID to severe ID. Speech abnormalities are common to both, although appear more severe in PMS. Very little is currently known about the neurocognitive underpinnings of phenotypic presentations in PMS and NRXN1ds. The Synaptic Gene (SynaG) study adopts a gene-first approach and comprehensively assesses these two syndromic forms of autism. The study compliments preclinical efforts within AIMS-2-TRIALS focused on SHANK3 and NRXN1. The aims of the study are to (1) establish the frequency of autism diagnosis and features in individuals with PMS and NRXN1ds, (2) to compare the clinical profile of PMS, NRXN1ds, and individuals with ‘idiopathic’ autism (iASD), (3) to identify mechanistic biomarkers that may account for autistic features and/or heterogeneity in clinical profiles, and (4) investigate the impact of second or multiple genetic hits on heterogeneity in clinical profiles. In the current paper we describe our methodology for phenotyping the sample and our planned comparisons, with information on the necessary adaptations made during the global COVID-19 pandemic. We also describe the demographics of the data collected thus far, including 25 PMS, 36 NRXN1ds, 33 iASD, and 52 NTD participants, and present an interim analysis of autistic features and adaptive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Cooke
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Jennifer Cooke,
| | - Ciara J. Molloy
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Antonia San José Cáceres
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Fundación para la Investigación Biomédica del Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain
- Biomedical Research Networking Center for Mental Health Network (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
| | - Thomas Dinneen
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Declan Murphy
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Louise Gallagher
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Eva Loth
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Eva Loth,
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10
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Chen N, Watanabe K, Wada M. People With High Autistic Traits Show Fewer Consensual Crossmodal Correspondences Between Visual Features and Tastes. Front Psychol 2021; 12:714277. [PMID: 34566793 PMCID: PMC8457010 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.714277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Crossmodal correspondences between visual features (e.g., color/shape) and tastes have been extensively documented in recent years. Visual colors and shapes have been shown to consensually match to specific tastes. Meanwhile, individuals with autism spectrum disorder are reported to have atypical sensory processing and deficits in multisensory integration. However, the influence of autistic traits on the formation of such correspondences is relatively unknown. Here, we examined whether autistic traits could influence visual–taste associations using an online questionnaire survey among Japanese participants. The results showed that the participants exhibited strong color–taste, shape–taste, and shape–color associations, and the proportions of choosing the consensual color–taste/shape–color associations were significantly associated with autistic traits. The participants with higher autistic quotient scores chose fewer of the consensual color–taste/shape–color associations while there was no difference in choosing shape–taste associations. We interpreted the results as statistical learning with a reduced prior knowledge effect in participants with higher autistic quotient scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Chen
- Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons With Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
| | - Katsumi Watanabe
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.,Faculty of Arts, Design, and Architecture, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Makoto Wada
- Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons With Disabilities, Tokorozawa, Japan
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11
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Kamita MK, Silva LAF, Magliaro FCL, Fernandes FD, Matas CG. Auditory Event Related Potentials in children with autism spectrum disorder. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2021; 148:110826. [PMID: 34246067 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2021.110826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze auditory cortical processing in high functioning ASD individuals. METHODS Thirty individuals were included in the study (15 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 15 with typical development), and their Auditory Event Related Potentials evaluation, elicited with tone burst and speech stimuli, were analyzed. RESULTS There were no significant differences between individuals with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder without intellectual disability and those with typical development in the auditory Event-related Potentials elicited with tone bursts or speech stimuli. CONCLUSIONS The results of Auditory Event Related Potentials did not show any change at the cortical level in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana K Kamita
- Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo. Str. Cipotânea, 51, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, ZIP Code: 05360-160, Brazil.
| | - Liliane A F Silva
- Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo. Str. Cipotânea, 51, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, ZIP Code: 05360-160, Brazil.
| | - Fernanda C L Magliaro
- Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo. Str. Cipotânea, 51, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, ZIP Code: 05360-160, Brazil.
| | - Fernanda D Fernandes
- Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo. Str. Cipotânea, 51, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, ZIP Code: 05360-160, Brazil.
| | - Carla G Matas
- Department of Physical Therapy, Speech-Language-Hearing Therapy and Occupational Therapy, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo. Str. Cipotânea, 51, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, ZIP Code: 05360-160, Brazil.
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12
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Rotschafer SE. Auditory Discrimination in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:651209. [PMID: 34211363 PMCID: PMC8239241 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.651209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasingly common with 1 in 59 children in the United States currently meeting the diagnostic criteria. Altered sensory processing is typical in ASD, with auditory sensitivities being especially common; in particular, people with ASD frequently show heightened sensitivity to environmental sounds and a poor ability to tolerate loud sounds. These sensitivities may contribute to impairments in language comprehension and to a worsened ability to distinguish relevant sounds from background noise. Event-related potential tests have found that individuals with ASD show altered cortical activity to both simple and speech-like sounds, which likely contribute to the observed processing impairments. Our goal in this review is to provide a description of ASD-related changes to the auditory system and how those changes contribute to the impairments seen in sound discrimination, sound-in-noise performance, and language processing. In particular, we emphasize how differences in the degree of cortical activation and in temporal processing may contribute to errors in sound discrimination.
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13
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Chen F, Cheung CCH, Peng G. Linguistic Tone and Non-Linguistic Pitch Imitation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Cross-Linguistic Investigation. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:2325-2343. [PMID: 34109462 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05123-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The conclusions on prosodic pitch features in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have primarily been derived from studies in non-tonal language speakers. This cross-linguistic study evaluated the performance of imitating Cantonese lexical tones and their non-linguistic (nonspeech) counterparts by Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking children with and without ASD. Acoustic analyses showed that, compared with typically developing peers, children with ASD exhibited increased pitch variations when imitating lexical tones, while performed similarly when imitating the nonspeech counterparts. Furthermore, Mandarin-speaking children with ASD failed to exploit the phonological knowledge of segments to improve the imitation accuracy of non-native lexical tones. These findings help clarify the speech-specific pitch processing atypicality and phonological processing deficit in tone-language-speaking children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China.
| | - Candice Chi-Hang Cheung
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, & Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Gang Peng
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience, & Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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14
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Alho J, Bharadwaj H, Khan S, Mamashli F, Perrachione TK, Losh A, McGuiggan NM, Joseph RM, Hämäläinen MS, Kenet T. Altered maturation and atypical cortical processing of spoken sentences in autism spectrum disorder. Prog Neurobiol 2021; 203:102077. [PMID: 34033856 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102077] [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: 01/15/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with widespread receptive language impairments, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these deficits are poorly understood. Neuroimaging has shown that processing of socially-relevant sounds, including speech and non-speech, is atypical in ASD. However, it is unclear how the presence of lexical-semantic meaning affects speech processing in ASD. Here, we recorded magnetoencephalography data from individuals with ASD (N = 22, ages 7-17, 4 females) and typically developing (TD) peers (N = 30, ages 7-17, 5 females) during unattended listening to meaningful auditory speech sentences and meaningless jabberwocky sentences. After adjusting for age, ASD individuals showed stronger responses to meaningless jabberwocky sentences than to meaningful speech sentences in the same left temporal and parietal language regions where TD individuals exhibited stronger responses to meaningful speech. Maturational trajectories of meaningful speech responses were atypical in temporal, but not parietal, regions in ASD. Temporal responses were associated with ASD severity, while parietal responses were associated with aberrant involuntary attentional shifting in ASD. Our findings suggest a receptive speech processing dysfunction in ASD, wherein unattended meaningful speech elicits abnormal engagement of the language system, while unattended meaningless speech, filtered out in TD individuals, engages the language system through involuntary attention capture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jussi Alho
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Hari Bharadwaj
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Fahimeh Mamashli
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tyler K Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ainsley Losh
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Graduate School of Education, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Nicole M McGuiggan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert M Joseph
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matti S Hämäläinen
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tal Kenet
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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15
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Manfredi M, Cohn N, Ribeiro B, Sanchez Pinho P, Fernandes Rodrigues Pereira E, Boggio PS. The electrophysiology of audiovisual processing in visual narratives in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Brain Cogn 2021; 151:105730. [PMID: 33892434 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the semantic processing of the multimodal audiovisual combination of visual narratives with auditory descriptive words and auditory sounds in individuals with ASD. To this aim, we recorded ERPs to critical auditory words and sounds associated with events in visual narrative that were either semantically congruent or incongruent with the climactic visual event. A similar N400 effect was found both in adolescents with ASD and neurotypical adolescents (ages 9-16) when accessing different types of auditory information (i.e. words and sounds) into a visual narrative. This result might suggest that verbal information processing in ASD adolescents could be facilitated by direct association with meaningful visual information. In addition, we observed differences in scalp distribution of later brain responses between ASD and neurotypical adolescents. This finding might suggest ASD adolescents differ from neurotypical adolescents during the processing of the multimodal combination of visual narratives with auditory information at later stages of the process. In conclusion, the semantic processing of verbal information, typically impaired in individuals with ASD, can be facilitated when embedded into a meaningful visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Manfredi
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Biological Science and Health, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Neil Cohn
- Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| | - Beatriz Ribeiro
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Biological Science and Health, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pamella Sanchez Pinho
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Biological Science and Health, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Paulo Sergio Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Center for Biological Science and Health, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
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16
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Chen F, Zhang H, Ding H, Wang S, Peng G, Zhang Y. Neural coding of formant-exaggerated speech and nonspeech in children with and without autism spectrum disorders. Autism Res 2021; 14:1357-1374. [PMID: 33792205 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The presence of vowel exaggeration in infant-directed speech (IDS) may adapt to the age-appropriate demands in speech and language acquisition. Previous studies have provided behavioral evidence of atypical auditory processing towards IDS in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), while the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remain unknown. This event-related potential (ERP) study investigated the neural coding of formant-exaggerated speech and nonspeech in 24 4- to 11-year-old children with ASD and 24 typically-developing (TD) peers. The EEG data were recorded using an alternating block design, in which each stimulus type (exaggerated/non-exaggerated sound) was presented with equal probability. ERP waveform analysis revealed an enhanced P1 for vowel formant exaggeration in the TD group but not in the ASD group. This speech-specific atypical processing in ASD was not found for the nonspeech stimuli which showed similar P1 enhancement in both ASD and TD groups. Moreover, the time-frequency analysis indicated that children with ASD showed differences in neural synchronization in the delta-theta bands for processing acoustic formant changes embedded in nonspeech. Collectively, the results add substantiating neurophysiological evidence (i.e., a lack of neural enhancement effect of vowel exaggeration) for atypical auditory processing of IDS in children with ASD, which may exert a negative effect on phonetic encoding and language learning. LAY SUMMARY: Atypical responses to motherese might act as a potential early marker of risk for children with ASD. This study investigated the neural responses to such socially relevant stimuli in the ASD brain, and the results suggested a lack of neural enhancement responding to the motherese even in individuals without intellectual disability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- School of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China.,Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience & Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.,Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA
| | - Hao Zhang
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongwei Ding
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Gang Peng
- Research Centre for Language, Cognition, and Neuroscience & Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences & Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA
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17
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Jorgensen AR, Whitehouse AJO, Fox AM, Maybery MT. Delayed cortical processing of auditory stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of electrophysiological studies. Brain Cogn 2021; 150:105709. [PMID: 33774338 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Several researchers have hypothesised that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show encoding delays in their obligatory event-related potentials (ERPs)/ event-related fields (ERFs) for low-level auditory information compared to neurotypical (NT) samples. However, empirical research has yielded varied findings, such as low-level auditory processing in ASD samples being unimpaired, superior, or impaired compared to NT samples. Diverse outcomes have also been reported for studies investigating ASD-NT differences in functional lateralisation of delays. The lack of consistency across studies has prevented a comprehensive understanding of the overall effects in the autistic population. Therefore, this meta-analysis compared long-latency ERPs and ERFs produced by autistic and NT individuals to non-linguistic auditory stimuli to test, firstly, the robustness of auditory processing differences and, secondly, whether these differences are observed in one or both hemispheres. Nine articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analytic results indicated that autistic individuals demonstrate bilaterally delayed P1/ M50 peaks and lateralised delays in the right but not left hemisphere N1/ M100 peak. These results further inform our understanding of auditory processing and lateralisation across the autism spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna R Jorgensen
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, M304, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
| | - Andrew J O Whitehouse
- Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Northern Entrance, Perth Children's Hospital, 15 Hospital Ave, Nedlands, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Allison M Fox
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, M304, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Murray T Maybery
- School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, M304, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia
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18
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Aberrant auditory system and its developmental implications for autism. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2021; 64:861-878. [DOI: 10.1007/s11427-020-1863-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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19
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Visual and Verbal Narrative Comprehension in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: An ERP Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:2658-2672. [PMID: 31974801 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04374-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
We examined semantic processing in ASD children by presenting sentences with congruent or incongruent final words and visual narratives with congruent or incongruent final panels. An N400 effect to incongruent words appeared as compared to congruent ones, which was attenuated for the ASD children. We observed a negativity sustained to incongruous than congruous words, but only for the TD children. Incongruent panels evoked a greater fronto-central N400 amplitude than congruent panels in both groups. In addition, incongruent panels evoked a centro-parietal late positivity, only in controls. In conclusion, ASD children face processing deficits in both verbal and visual materials when integrating meaning across information, though such impairments may arise in different parts of the interpretive process, depending on the modality.
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20
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Schwartz S, Wang L, Shinn-Cunningham BG, Tager-Flusberg H. Neural Evidence for Speech Processing Deficits During a Cocktail Party Scenario in Minimally and Low Verbal Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism. Autism Res 2020; 13:1828-1842. [PMID: 32827357 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
As demonstrated by the Cocktail Party Effect, a person's attention is grabbed when they hear their name in a multispeaker setting. However, individuals with autism (ASD) are commonly challenged in multispeaker settings and often do not respond to salient speech, including one's own name (OON). It is unknown whether neural responses during this Cocktail Party scenario differ in those with ASD and whether such differences are associated with expressive language or auditory filtering abilities. We measured neural responses to hearing OON in quiet and multispeaker settings using electroencephalography in 20 minimally or low verbal ASD (ASD-MLV), 27 verbally fluent ASD (ASD-V), and 27 neurotypical (TD) participants, ages 13-22. First, we determined whether TD's neural responses to OON relative to other names could be quantified with early frontal mismatch responses (MMRs) and late, slow shift parietal and frontal responses (LPPs/FNs). Second, we compared the strength of MMRs and LPPs/FNs across the three groups. Third, we tested whether participants with poorer auditory filtering abilities exhibited particularly weak neural responses to OON heard in a multispeaker setting. Our primary finding was that TDs and ASD-Vs, but not ASD-MLVs, had significant MMRs to OON in a multispeaker setting, and strength of LPPs positively correlated with auditory filtering abilities in those with ASD. These findings reveal electrophysiological correlates of auditory filtering disruption within a clinical population that has severe language and communication impairments and offer a novel neuroimaging approach to studying the Cocktail Party effect in neurotypical and clinical populations. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1828-1842. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research and Wiley Periodicals LLC. LAY SUMMARY: We found that minimally and low verbal adolescents and young adults with autism exhibit decreased neural responses to one's own name when heard in a multispeaker setting. In addition, decreased strength of neural responses in those with autism correlated with decreased auditory filtering abilities. We propose that these neural deficits may reflect the ineffective processing of salient speech in noisy settings and contribute to language and communication deficits observed in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Schwartz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Le Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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21
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Stefanou ME, Dundon NM, Bestelmeyer PEG, Ioannou C, Bender S, Biscaldi M, Smyrnis N, Klein C. Late attentional processes potentially compensate for early perceptual multisensory integration deficits in children with autism: evidence from evoked potentials. Sci Rep 2020; 10:16157. [PMID: 32999327 PMCID: PMC7527489 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73022-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensory processing deficits and altered long-range connectivity putatively underlie Multisensory Integration (MSI) deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study set out to investigate non-social MSI stimuli and their electrophysiological correlates in young neurotypical adolescents and adolescents with ASD. We report robust MSI effects at behavioural and electrophysiological levels. Both groups demonstrated normal behavioural MSI. However, at the neurophysiological level, the ASD group showed less MSI-related reduction of the visual P100 latency, greater MSI-related slowing of the auditory P200 and an overall temporally delayed and spatially constrained onset of MSI. Given the task design and patient sample, and the age of our participants, we argue that electro-cortical indices of MSI deficits in ASD: (a) can be detected in early-adolescent ASD, (b) occur at early stages of perceptual processing, (c) can possibly be compensated by later attentional processes, (d) thus leading to normal MSI at the behavioural level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Elena Stefanou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Neil M Dundon
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Brain Imaging Center, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | | | - Chara Ioannou
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Bender
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany
| | - Monica Biscaldi
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nikolaos Smyrnis
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, 11528, Athens, Greece
| | - Christoph Klein
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Hauptstrasse 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, 50931, Cologne, Germany.
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Eginition Hospital, 11528, Athens, Greece.
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22
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To better understand the shared basis of language and mental health, this review examines the behavioral and neurobiological features of aberrant language in five major neuropsychiatric conditions. Special attention is paid to genes implicated in both language and neuropsychiatric disorders, as they reveal biological domains likely to underpin the processes controlling both. RECENT FINDINGS Abnormal language and communication are common manifestations of neuropsychiatric conditions, and children with impaired language are more likely to develop psychiatric disorders than their peers. Major themes in the genetics of both language and psychiatry include master transcriptional regulators, like FOXP2; key developmental regulators, like AUTS2; and mediators of neurotransmission, like GRIN2A and CACNA1C.
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23
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Grisoni L, Moseley RL, Motlagh S, Kandia D, Sener N, Pulvermüller F, Roepke S, Mohr B. Prediction and Mismatch Negativity Responses Reflect Impairments in Action Semantic Processing in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:395. [PMID: 31798432 PMCID: PMC6868096 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motor and language difficulties in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are still largely unclear. The present work investigates biological indicators of sound processing, (action-) semantic understanding and predictive coding and their correlation with clinical symptoms of ASD. Twenty-two adults with high-functioning ASD and 25 typically developed (TD) participants engaged in an auditory, passive listening, Mismatch Negativity (MMN) task while high-density electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Action and non-action words were presented in the context of sounds, which were either semantically congruent with regard to the body part they relate to or semantically incongruent or unrelated. The anticipatory activity before sound onset, the Prediction Potential (PP), was significantly reduced in the ASD group specifically for action, but not for non-action sounds. The early-MMN-like responses to words (latency: 120 ms) were differentially modulated across groups: controls showed larger amplitudes for words in action-sound compared to non-action contexts, whereas ASD participants demonstrated enlarged early-MMN-like responses only in a pure tone context, with no other modulation dependent on action sound context. Late-MMN-like responses around 560 ms post-stimulus onset revealed body-part-congruent action-semantic priming for words in control participants, but not in the ASD group. Importantly, neurophysiological indices of semantic priming in ASD participants correlated with the extent of autistic traits as revealed by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The data suggest that high-functioning adults with ASD show a specific deficit in semantic processing and predictive coding of sounds and words related to action, which is absent for neutral, non-action, sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Grisoni
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Rachel L Moseley
- Department of Psychology, University of Bournemouth, Poole, United Kingdom
| | - Shiva Motlagh
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dimitra Kandia
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Neslihan Sener
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Friedemann Pulvermüller
- Brain Language Laboratory, Department of Philosophy and Humanities, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Einstein Center for Neurosciences, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Roepke
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina Mohr
- Department of Psychiatry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.,Zentrum für Neuropsychologie und Intensive Sprachtherapie (ZeNIS), Berlin, Germany
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24
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Foxe JJ, Molholm S, Baudouin SJ, Wallace MT. Explorations and perspectives on the neurobiological bases of autism spectrum disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 47:488-496. [PMID: 29575230 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- John J Foxe
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- Department of Neuroscience, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | | | - Mark T Wallace
- Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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25
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Chiodo L, Mottron L, Majerus S. Preservation of categorical perception for speech in autism with and without speech onset delay. Autism Res 2019; 12:1609-1622. [DOI: 10.1002/aur.2134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Liliane Chiodo
- Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research UnitUniversité de Liège Liège Belgium
| | - Laurent Mottron
- Département de PsychiatrieUniversité de Montréal, et Hôpital Rivière‐des‐Prairies, CIUSSS‐NIM Montréal Quebec Canada
| | - Steve Majerus
- Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research UnitUniversité de Liège Liège Belgium
- Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique F.R.S.‐FNRS Brussels Belgium
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26
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Lindström R, Lepistö-Paisley T, Makkonen T, Reinvall O, Nieminen-von Wendt T, Alén R, Kujala T. Atypical perceptual and neural processing of emotional prosodic changes in children with autism spectrum disorders. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:2411-2420. [PMID: 30278390 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study explored the processing of emotional speech prosody in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) but without marked language impairments (children with ASD [no LI]). METHODS The mismatch negativity (MMN)/the late discriminative negativity (LDN), reflecting pre-attentive auditory discrimination processes, and the P3a, indexing involuntary orienting to attention-catching changes, were recorded to natural word stimuli uttered with different emotional connotations (neutral, sad, scornful and commanding). Perceptual prosody discrimination was addressed with a behavioral sound-discrimination test. RESULTS Overall, children with ASD (no LI) were slower in behaviorally discriminating prosodic features of speech stimuli than typically developed control children. Further, smaller standard-stimulus event related potentials (ERPs) and MMN/LDNs were found in children with ASD (no LI) than in controls. In addition, the amplitude of the P3a was diminished and differentially distributed on the scalp in children with ASD (no LI) than in control children. CONCLUSIONS Processing of words and changes in emotional speech prosody is impaired at various levels of information processing in school-aged children with ASD (no LI). SIGNIFICANCE The results suggest that low-level speech sound discrimination and orienting deficits might contribute to emotional speech prosody processing impairments observed in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Lindström
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
| | - T Lepistö-Paisley
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Pediatric Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - T Makkonen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - O Reinvall
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland; Department of Pediatric Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - T Nieminen-von Wendt
- Neuropsychiatric Rehabilitation and Medical Centre NeuroMental, Helsinki, Finland
| | - R Alén
- Department of Child Neurology, Central Finland Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - T Kujala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland
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27
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Huotilainen M, Tervaniemi M. Planning music-based amelioration and training in infancy and childhood based on neural evidence. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2018; 1423:146-154. [PMID: 29727038 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2017] [Revised: 02/01/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Music-based amelioration and training of the developing auditory system has a long tradition, and recent neuroscientific evidence supports using music in this manner. Here, we present the available evidence showing that various music-related activities result in positive changes in brain structure and function, becoming helpful for auditory cognitive processes in everyday life situations for individuals with typical neural development and especially for individuals with hearing, learning, attention, or other deficits that may compromise auditory processing. We also compare different types of music-based training and show how their effects have been investigated with neural methods. Finally, we take a critical position on the multitude of error sources found in amelioration and training studies and on publication bias in the field. We discuss some future improvements of these issues in the field of music-based training and their potential results at the neural and behavioral levels in infants and children for the advancement of the field and for a more complete understanding of the possibilities and significance of the training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minna Huotilainen
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit and CICERO Learning Network, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mari Tervaniemi
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit and CICERO Learning Network, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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28
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Yu L, Wang S, Huang D, Wu X, Zhang Y. Role of inter-trial phase coherence in atypical auditory evoked potentials to speech and nonspeech stimuli in children with autism. Clin Neurophysiol 2018; 129:1374-1382. [PMID: 29729592 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2018.04.599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Revised: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This autism study investigated how inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) drives abnormalities in auditory evoked potential (AEP) responses for speech and nonspeech stimuli. METHODS Auditory P1-N2 responses and ITPCs in the theta band (4-7 Hz) for pure tones and words were assessed with EEG data from 15 school-age children with autism and 16 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls. RESULTS The autism group showed enhanced P1 and reduced N2 for both speech and nonspeech stimuli in comparison with the TD group. Group differences were also found with enhanced theta ITPC for P1 followed by ITPC reduction for N2 in the autism group. The ITPC values were significant predictors of P1 and N2 amplitudes in both groups. CONCLUSIONS Abnormal trial-to-trial phase synchrony plays an important role in AEP atypicalities in children with autism. ITPC-driven enhancement as well as attenuation in different AEP components may coexist, depending on the stage of information processing. SIGNIFICANCE It is necessary to examine the time course of auditory evoked potentials and the corresponding inter-trial coherence of neural oscillatory activities to better understand hyper- and hypo- sensitive responses in autism, which has important implications for sensory based treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luodi Yu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Suiping Wang
- School of 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
| | - Xueyuan Wu
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism, Guangzhou Cana School, Guangzhou 510540, 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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29
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Schwartz S, Shinn-Cunningham B, Tager-Flusberg H. Meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature characterizing auditory mismatch negativity in individuals with autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2018; 87:106-117. [PMID: 29408312 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
A number of past studies have used mismatch negativity (MMN) to identify auditory processing deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our meta-analysis compared MMN responses for individuals with ASD and typically developing controls (TD). We analyzed 67 experiments across 22 publications that employed passive, auditory-based MMN paradigms with ASD and TD participants. Most studies lacked design characteristics that would lead to an accurate description of the MMN. Variability between experiments measuring MMN amplitude was smaller when limited to studies that counterbalanced stimuli. Reduced MMN amplitude was found among young children with ASD compared to controls and in experiments that used nonspeech sounds. Still, few studies included adolescents or those with below-average verbal IQ. Most studies suffered from small sample sizes, and aggregating these data did not reveal significant group differences. This analysis points to a need for research focused specifically on understudied ASD samples using carefully designed MMN experiments. Study of individual differences in MMN may provide further insights into distinct subgroups within the heterogeneous ASD population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Schwartz
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States.
| | | | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
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30
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Lortie M, Proulx-Bégin L, Saint-Amour D, Cousineau D, Théoret H, Lepage JF. Brief Report: Biological Sound Processing in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 47:1904-1909. [PMID: 28283845 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3093-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
There is debate whether social impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are truly domain-specific, or if they reflect generalized deficits in lower-level cognitive processes. To solve this issue, we used auditory-evoked EEG responses to assess novelty detection (MMN component) and involuntary attentional orientation (P3 component) induced by socially-relevant, human-produced, biological sounds and acoustically-matched control stimuli in children with ASD and controls. Results show that early sensory and novelty processing of biological stimuli are preserved in ASD, but that automatic attentional orientation for biological sounds is markedly altered. These results support the notion that at least some cognitive processes of ASD are specifically altered when it comes to processing social stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Lortie
- Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Léa Proulx-Bégin
- Department of Pediatrics, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.,Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Canada
| | - Dave Saint-Amour
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and Department of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Dominique Cousineau
- Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.,CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Montréal, Canada
| | - Hugo Théoret
- CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center and Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Jean-François Lepage
- Department of Pediatrics, Sherbrooke University, CHU Sherbrooke Research Center, 3001, 12e Avenue Nord, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada.
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31
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Foss-Feig JH, Stavropoulos KKM, McPartland JC, Wallace MT, Stone WL, Key AP. Electrophysiological response during auditory gap detection: Biomarker for sensory and communication alterations in autism spectrum disorder? Dev Neuropsychol 2018; 43:109-122. [PMID: 29436853 PMCID: PMC5972824 DOI: 10.1080/87565641.2017.1365869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Sensory symptoms, including auditory processing deficits, are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Processing of temporal aspects of auditory input is understudied; yet, deficits in this domain could contribute to language-related impairments. In children with ASD and well-matched controls, this study examined electrophysiological response to silent gaps in auditory stimuli. Results revealed attenuated amplitude of the P2 event-related potential (ERP) component in ASD. The P2 amplitude reduction was also associated with sensory, language, and diagnostic features. These results suggest that neural response during auditory gap detection is a promising ASD biomarker that could be useful for stratifying subgroups and evaluating treatment response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer H Foss-Feig
- a Department of Psychiatry , Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital , One Gustave Levy Place, New York , New York
- b Seaver Autism Center , Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital , One Gustave Levy Place, New York , New York
| | | | - James C McPartland
- d Child Study Center , Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven , Connecticut
- e Department of Psychology , Yale University , New Haven , Connecticut
| | - Mark T Wallace
- f Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences , Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , Tennessee
- g Kennedy Center , Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , Tennessee
- h Department of Psychology , Vanderbilt University , Nashville , Tennessee
| | - Wendy L Stone
- i Department of Psychology , University of Washington , Seattle , Washington
| | - Alexandra P Key
- f Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences , Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , Tennessee
- g Kennedy Center , Vanderbilt University Medical Center , Nashville , Tennessee
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32
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Magnetoencephalography shows atypical sensitivity to linguistic sound sequences in autism spectrum disorder. Neuroreport 2017; 27:982-6. [PMID: 27468112 DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000000643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Neuroscientific evidence points toward atypical auditory processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and yet, the consequences of this for receptive language remain unclear. Using magnetoencephalography and a passive listening task, we test for cascading effects on speech sound processing. Children with ASD and age-matched control participants (8-12 years old) listened to nonce linguistic stimuli that either did or did not conform to the phonological rules that govern consonant sequences in English (e.g. legal 'vimp' vs. illegal 'vimk'). Beamformer source analysis was used to isolate evoked responses (0.1-30 Hz) to these stimuli in the left and the right auditory cortex. Right auditory responses from participants with ASD, but not control participants, showed an attenuated response to illegal sequences relative to legal sequences that emerged around 330 ms after the onset of the critical phoneme. These results suggest that phonological processing is impacted in ASD, perhaps because of cascading effects from disrupted initial acoustic processing.
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33
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Foss-Feig JH, Schauder KB, Key AP, Wallace MT, Stone WL. Audition-specific temporal processing deficits associated with language function in children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2017; 10:1845-1856. [PMID: 28632303 PMCID: PMC6007978 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Revised: 05/11/2017] [Accepted: 05/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Sensory processing alterations are highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Neurobiologically-based theories of ASD propose that abnormalities in the processing of temporal aspects of sensory input could underlie core symptoms of ASD. For example, rapid auditory temporal processing is critical for speech perception, and language difficulties are central to the social communication deficits defining the disorder. This study assessed visual and auditory temporal processing abilities and tested their relation to core ASD symptoms. 53 children (26 ASD, 27 TD) completed visual and auditory psychophysical gap detection tasks to measure gap detection thresholds (i.e., the minimum interval between sequential stimuli needed for individuals to perceive an interruption between the stimuli) in each domain. Children were also administered standardized language assessments such that the relation between individual differences in auditory gap detection thresholds and degree of language and communication difficulties among children with ASD could be assessed. Children with ASD had substantially higher auditory gap detection thresholds compared to children with TD, and auditory gap detection thresholds were correlated significantly with several measures of language processing in this population. No group differences were observed in the visual temporal processing. Results indicate a domain-specific impairment in rapid auditory temporal processing in ASD that is associated with greater difficulties in language processing. Findings provide qualified support for temporal processing theories of ASD and highlight the need for future research testing the nature, extent, and universality of auditory temporal processing deficits in this population. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1845-1856. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY Sensory symptoms are common in ASD. Temporal processing alterations are often implicated, but understudied. The ability to process rapid sensory information, particularly auditory input, is critical for language functioning. This study tested auditory and visual temporal processing in ASD and controls. Findings suggest that rapid auditory (but not visual) processing is impaired in ASD and related to language functioning. These results could provide mechanistic clues to understanding core symptoms and lead to novel intervention targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer H. Foss-Feig
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, Department of Psychiatry
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital, Seaver Autism Center
| | | | - Alexandra P. Key
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
| | - Mark T. Wallace
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology
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34
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Huang D, Yu L, Wang X, Fan Y, Wang S, Zhang Y. Distinct patterns of discrimination and orienting for temporal processing of speech and nonspeech in Chinese children with autism: an event-related potential study. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 47:662-668. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Revised: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dan Huang
- School of Psychology; South China Normal University; Guangzhou 510631 China
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism; Guangzhou Cana School; Guangzhou China
| | - Luodi Yu
- School of Psychology; South China Normal University; Guangzhou 510631 China
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis MN 55455 USA
| | - Xiaoyue Wang
- School of Psychology; South China Normal University; Guangzhou 510631 China
| | - Yuebo Fan
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism; Guangzhou Cana School; Guangzhou China
| | - Suiping Wang
- School of Psychology; South China Normal University; Guangzhou 510631 China
- Center for Studies of Psychological Application; South China Normal University; Guangzhou China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science; South China Normal University; Guangzhou 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 USA
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35
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Galilee A, Stefanidou C, McCleery JP. Atypical speech versus non-speech detection and discrimination in 4- to 6- yr old children with autism spectrum disorder: An ERP study. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0181354. [PMID: 28738063 PMCID: PMC5524336 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0181354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous event-related potential (ERP) research utilizing oddball stimulus paradigms suggests diminished processing of speech versus non-speech sounds in children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, brain mechanisms underlying these speech processing abnormalities, and to what extent they are related to poor language abilities in this population remain unknown. In the current study, we utilized a novel paired repetition paradigm in order to investigate ERP responses associated with the detection and discrimination of speech and non-speech sounds in 4- to 6-year old children with ASD, compared with gender and verbal age matched controls. ERPs were recorded while children passively listened to pairs of stimuli that were either both speech sounds, both non-speech sounds, speech followed by non-speech, or non-speech followed by speech. Control participants exhibited N330 match/mismatch responses measured from temporal electrodes, reflecting speech versus non-speech detection, bilaterally, whereas children with ASD exhibited this effect only over temporal electrodes in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, while the control groups exhibited match/mismatch effects at approximately 600 ms (central N600, temporal P600) when a non-speech sound was followed by a speech sound, these effects were absent in the ASD group. These findings suggest that children with ASD fail to activate right hemisphere mechanisms, likely associated with social or emotional aspects of speech detection, when distinguishing non-speech from speech stimuli. Together, these results demonstrate the presence of atypical speech versus non-speech processing in children with ASD when compared with typically developing children matched on verbal age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alena Galilee
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Chrysi Stefanidou
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph P. McCleery
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
- Center for Autism Research, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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36
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Wang X, Wang S, Fan Y, Huang D, Zhang Y. Speech-specific categorical perception deficit in autism: An Event-Related Potential study of lexical tone processing in Mandarin-speaking children. Sci Rep 2017; 7:43254. [PMID: 28225070 PMCID: PMC5320551 DOI: 10.1038/srep43254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 01/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies reveal that tonal language speakers with autism have enhanced neural sensitivity to pitch changes in nonspeech stimuli but not to lexical tone contrasts in their native language. The present ERP study investigated whether the distinct pitch processing pattern for speech and nonspeech stimuli in autism was due to a speech-specific deficit in categorical perception of lexical tones. A passive oddball paradigm was adopted to examine two groups (16 in the autism group and 15 in the control group) of Chinese children’s Mismatch Responses (MMRs) to equivalent pitch deviations representing within-category and between-category differences in speech and nonspeech contexts. To further examine group-level differences in the MMRs to categorical perception of speech/nonspeech stimuli or lack thereof, neural oscillatory activities at the single trial level were further calculated with the inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) measure for the theta and beta frequency bands. The MMR and ITPC data from the children with autism showed evidence for lack of categorical perception in the lexical tone condition. In view of the important role of lexical tones in acquiring a tonal language, the results point to the necessity of early intervention for the individuals with autism who show such a speech-specific categorical perception deficit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyue Wang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Suiping Wang
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.,Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, 510631, China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
| | - Yuebo Fan
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism, Guangzhou Cana School, Guangzhou, 510540, China
| | - Dan Huang
- Guangzhou Rehabilitation and Research Center for Children with Autism, Guangzhou Cana School, Guangzhou, 510540, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA.,Center for Neurobehavioral Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
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37
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Modi ME, Sahin M. Translational use of event-related potentials to assess circuit integrity in ASD. Nat Rev Neurol 2017; 13:160-170. [DOI: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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38
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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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39
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Nagode DA, Meng X, Winkowski DE, Smith E, Khan-Tareen H, Kareddy V, Kao JPY, Kanold PO. Abnormal Development of the Earliest Cortical Circuits in a Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cell Rep 2017; 18:1100-1108. [PMID: 28147267 PMCID: PMC5488290 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Revised: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves deficits in speech and sound processing. Cortical circuit changes during early development likely contribute to such deficits. Subplate neurons (SPNs) form the earliest cortical microcircuits and are required for normal development of thalamocortical and intracortical circuits. Prenatal valproic acid (VPA) increases ASD risk, especially when present during a critical time window coinciding with SPN genesis. Using optical circuit mapping in mouse auditory cortex, we find that VPA exposure on E12 altered the functional excitatory and inhibitory connectivity of SPNs. Circuit changes manifested as "patches" of mostly increased connection probability or strength in the first postnatal week and as general hyper-connectivity after P10, shortly after ear opening. These results suggest that prenatal VPA exposure severely affects the developmental trajectory of cortical circuits and that sensory-driven activity may exacerbate earlier, subtle connectivity deficits. Our findings identify the subplate as a possible common pathophysiological substrate of deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Nagode
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Xiangying Meng
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Daniel E Winkowski
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Ed Smith
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Hamza Khan-Tareen
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | | | - Joseph P Y Kao
- Center for Biomedical Engineering and Technology, and Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
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40
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Mamashli F, Khan S, Bharadwaj H, Michmizos K, Ganesan S, Garel KLA, Ali Hashmi J, Herbert MR, Hämäläinen M, Kenet T. Auditory processing in noise is associated with complex patterns of disrupted functional connectivity in autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2016; 10:631-647. [PMID: 27910247 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Revised: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with difficulty in processing speech in a noisy background, but the neural mechanisms that underlie this deficit have not been mapped. To address this question, we used magnetoencephalography to compare the cortical responses between ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals to a passive mismatch paradigm. We repeated the paradigm twice, once in a quiet background, and once in the presence of background noise. We focused on both the evoked mismatch field (MMF) response in temporal and frontal cortical locations, and functional connectivity with spectral specificity between those locations. In the quiet condition, we found common neural sources of the MMF response in both groups, in the right temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). In the noise condition, the MMF response in the right IFG was preserved in the TD group, but reduced relative to the quiet condition in ASD group. The MMF response in the right IFG also correlated with severity of ASD. Moreover, in noise, we found significantly reduced normalized coherence (deviant normalized by standard) in ASD relative to TD, in the beta band (14-25 Hz), between left temporal and left inferior frontal sub-regions. However, unnormalized coherence (coherence during deviant or standard) was significantly increased in ASD relative to TD, in multiple frequency bands. Our findings suggest increased recruitment of neural resources in ASD irrespective of the task difficulty, alongside a reduction in top-down modulations, usually mediated by the beta band, needed to mitigate the impact of noise on auditory processing. Autism Res 2016,. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 631-647. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fahimeh Mamashli
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Hari Bharadwaj
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Konstantinos Michmizos
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Santosh Ganesan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Keri-Lee A Garel
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Javeria Ali Hashmi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Martha R Herbert
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science Espoo, Finland
| | - Matti Hämäläinen
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Tal Kenet
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, MGH/MIT/Harvard, Boston, Massachusetts.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
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41
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KAMUTHE video microanalysis system for use in Brazil: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and evidence of validity and reliability. HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY REPORT 2016. [DOI: 10.5114/hpr.2017.63574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
<b>Background</b><br />
KAMUTHE is a video microanalysis system which observes preverbal communication within the music therapy setting. This system is indicated for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or multiple disabilities. The purpose of this study was to translate, adapt to Brazilian Portuguese language and analyze some psychometric properties (reliability and validity evidence) of KAMUTHE administration in Brazil for individuals with ASD.<br />
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<b>Participants and procedure</b><br />
Translation, back translation, analysis by judges, and pilot application were performed to obtain evidence of content and face validity. The second part of this study was to administer KAMUTHE in 39 consecutive children with ASD. An individual session of improvisational music therapy was applied to assess the different behaviors included in KAMUTHE. The intra-rater reliability, concurrent validity and convergent validity were analyzed.<br />
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<b>Results</b><br />
Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were followed and some cultural adaptations were needed. Inter-rater reliability was very good (ICCs 0.95-0.99) for the three child’s behaviors analyzed. Criteria validity with a moderate negative association was found (r = –.38, p = .017) comparing the behavior “Gazes at therapist” and the level of ASD along with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Convergent validity was established between the behavior “Gazes at therapist” and the two nonlinguistic communication scales (social interaction and interests) of the Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC) with a moderate correlation (r = –.43, p = .005).<br />
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<b>Conclusions</b><br />
The administration of the KAMUTHE video microanalysis system showed positive results in children with ASD. Further studies are needed to improve the reliability and validity of the instrument in Brazil.
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42
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Environmental Enrichment Therapy for Autism: Outcomes with Increased Access. Neural Plast 2016; 2016:2734915. [PMID: 27721995 PMCID: PMC5046013 DOI: 10.1155/2016/2734915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Revised: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 08/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
We have previously shown in two randomized clinical trials that environmental enrichment is capable of ameliorating symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and in the present study, we determined whether this therapy could be effective under real-world circumstances. 1,002 children were given daily Sensory Enrichment Therapy, by their parents, using personalized therapy instructions given over the Internet. Parents were asked to assess the symptoms of their child every 2 weeks for up to 7 months. An intention-to-treat analysis showed significant overall gains for a wide range of symptoms in these children, including learning, memory, anxiety, attention span, motor skills, eating, sleeping, sensory processing, self-awareness, communication, social skills, and mood/autism behaviors. The children of compliant caregivers were more likely to experience a significant improvement in their symptoms. The treatment was effective across a wide age range and there was equal progress reported for males and females, for USA and international subjects, for those who paid and those who did not pay for the therapy, and for individuals at all levels of initial symptom severity. Environmental enrichment, delivered via an online system, therefore appears to be an effective, low-cost means of treating the symptoms of ASD.
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Sperdin HF, Schaer M. Aberrant Development of Speech Processing in Young Children with Autism: New Insights from Neuroimaging Biomarkers. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:393. [PMID: 27610073 PMCID: PMC4997090 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/10/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
From the time of birth, a newborn is continuously exposed and naturally attracted to human voices, and as he grows, he becomes increasingly responsive to these speech stimuli, which are strong drivers for his language development and knowledge acquisition about the world. In contrast, young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often insensitive to human voices, failing to orient and respond to them. Failure to attend to speech in turn results in altered development of language and social-communication skills. Here, we review the critical role of orienting to speech in ASD, as well as the neural substrates of human voice processing. Recent functional neuroimaging and electroencephalography studies demonstrate that aberrant voice processing could be a promising marker to identify ASD very early on. With the advent of refined brain imaging methods, coupled with the possibility of screening infants and toddlers, predictive brain function biomarkers are actively being examined and are starting to emerge. Their timely identification might not only help to differentiate between phenotypes, but also guide the clinicians in setting up appropriate therapies, and better predicting or quantifying long-term outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger F. Sperdin
- Office Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva School of MedicineGeneva, Switzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Office Médico-Pédagogique, Department of Psychiatry, University of Geneva School of MedicineGeneva, Switzerland
- Stanford Cognitive & Systems Neuroscience Laboratory, Stanford University School of MedicinePalo Alto, CA, USA
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Lindström R, Lepistö-Paisley T, Vanhala R, Alén R, Kujala T. Impaired neural discrimination of emotional speech prosody in children with autism spectrum disorder and language impairment. Neurosci Lett 2016; 628:47-51. [PMID: 27291458 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.06.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by deficient social and communication skills, including difficulties in perceiving speech prosody. The present study addressed processing of emotional prosodic changes (sad, scornful and commanding) in natural word stimuli in typically developed school-aged children and in children with ASD and language impairment. We found that the responses to a repetitive word were diminished in amplitude in the children with ASD, reflecting impaired speech encoding. Furthermore, the amplitude of the MMN/LDN component, reflecting cortical discrimination of sound changes, was diminished in the children with ASD for the scornful deviant. In addition, the amplitude of the P3a, reflecting involuntary orienting to attention-catching changes, was diminished in the children with ASD for the scornful deviant and tended to be smaller for the sad deviant. These results suggest that prosody processing in ASD is impaired at various levels of neural processing, including deficient pre-attentive discrimination and involuntary orientation to speech prosody.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Lindström
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
| | - T Lepistö-Paisley
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Child Neurology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - R Vanhala
- Department of Child Neurology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
| | - R Alén
- Department of Child Neurology, Central Finland Central Hospital, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - T Kujala
- Cognitive Brain Research Unit, Institute of Behavioural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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45
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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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46
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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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47
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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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48
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Kargas N, López B, Morris P, Reddy V. Relations Among Detection of Syllable Stress, Speech Abnormalities, and Communicative Ability in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2016; 59:206-215. [PMID: 26985778 DOI: 10.1044/2015_jslhr-s-14-0237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To date, the literature on perception of affective, pragmatic, and grammatical prosody abilities in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been sparse and contradictory. It is interesting to note that the primary perception of syllable stress within the word structure, which is crucial for all prosody functions, remains relatively unexplored in ASD. Thus, in the current study, we explored syllable stress perception sensitivity and its relationship to speech production abnormalities and communicative ability in adults with ASD. METHOD A same-different syllable stress perception task using pairs of identical 4-syllable words was delivered to 42 adults with/without high-functioning ASD, matched for age, to investigate primary speech perception ability in ASD. Speech production and communicative ability in ASD was measured using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (Lord et al., 2000). RESULTS As predicted, the results showed that adults with ASD were less sensitive in making judgments about syllable stress relative to controls. Also, partial correlations revealed a key association of speech production abnormalities with stress perception sensitivity, rather than communicative ability. CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide empirical evidence for deficits on primary syllable stress perception in ASD and its role on sociocommunicative difficulties. This information could facilitate the development of effective interventions for speech and language therapy and social communication.
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49
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Zmigrod L, Zmigrod S. On the Temporal Precision of Thought: Individual Differences in the Multisensory Temporal Binding Window Predict Performance on Verbal and Nonverbal Problem Solving Tasks. Multisens Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/22134808-00002532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Although psychology is greatly preoccupied by the tight link between the way that individuals perceive the world and their intelligent, creative behavior, there is little experimental work on the relationship between individual differences in perception and cognitive ability in healthy populations. Here, individual differences in problem solving ability were examined in relation to multisensory perception as measured by tolerance for temporal asynchrony between auditory and visual inputs, i.e., the multisensory temporal binding window. The results demonstrated that enhanced performance in both verbal and nonverbal problem solving tasks (the Remote Associates Test and Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices Task) is predicted by a narrower audio-visual temporal binding window, which reflects greater sensitivity to subtle discrepancies in sensory inputs. This suggests that the precision of individuals’ temporal window of multisensory integration might mirror their capacities for complex reasoning and thus the precision of their thoughts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leor Zmigrod
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sharon Zmigrod
- Institute for Psychological Research & Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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50
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The motor way: Clinical implications of understanding and shaping actions with the motor system in autism and drug addiction. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2015; 16:191-206. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-015-0399-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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