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Johnson AJ, Shankland E, Richards T, Corrigan N, Shusterman D, Edden R, Estes A, St John T, Dager S, Kleinhans NM. Relationships between GABA, glutamate, and GABA/glutamate and social and olfactory processing in children with autism spectrum disorder. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2023; 336:111745. [PMID: 37956467 PMCID: PMC10841920 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2023.111745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Theories of altered inhibitory/excitatory signaling in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggest that gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu) abnormalities may underlie social and sensory challenges in ASD. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure Glu and GABA+ levels in the amygdala-hippocampus region and cerebellum in autistic children (n = 30), a clinical control group with sensory abnormalities (SA) but not ASD (n = 30), and children with typical development (n = 37). All participants were clinically assessed using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale-2, and the Child Sensory Profile-2. The Social Responsiveness Scale-2, Sniffin Sticks Threshold Test, and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test were administered to assess social impairment and olfactory processing. Overall, autistic children showed increased cerebellar Glu levels compared to TYP children. Evidence for altered excitatory/inhibitory signaling in the cerebellum was more clear-cut when analyses were restricted to male participants. Further, lower cerebellar GABA+/Glu ratios were correlated to more severe social impairment in both autistic and SA males, suggesting that the cerebellum may play a transdiagnostic role in social impairment. Future studies of inhibitory/excitatory neural markers, powered to investigate the role of sex, may aid in parsing out disorder-specific neurochemical profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allegra J Johnson
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, USA; Integrated Brain Imaging Center (IBIC), University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | - Todd Richards
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, USA; Integrated Brain Imaging Center (IBIC), University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Neva Corrigan
- Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), University of Washington, USA
| | - Dennis Shusterman
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Richard Edden
- Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA; F.M. Kirby Center for Functional MRI, Kennedy Krieger Institute, USA
| | - Annette Estes
- Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), University of Washington, USA; Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, USA; University of Washington Autism Center, USA
| | - Tanya St John
- University of Washington Autism Center, USA; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, USA
| | - Stephen Dager
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, USA; Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), University of Washington, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Washington, USA
| | - Natalia M Kleinhans
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, USA; Integrated Brain Imaging Center (IBIC), University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific St, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Institute on Human Development and Disability (IHDD), University of Washington, USA.
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Schramm M, Goregliad Fjaellingsdal T, Aslan B, Jung P, Lux S, Schulze M, Philipsen A. Electrophysiological evidence for increased auditory crossmodal activity in adult ADHD. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1227767. [PMID: 37706153 PMCID: PMC10495991 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1227767] [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: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms of inattention, and/or impulsivity and hyperactivity. In order to understand the basis for this multifaceted disorder, the investigation of sensory processing aberrancies recently reaches more interest. For example, during the processing of auditory stimuli comparable low sensory thresholds account for symptoms like higher distractibility and auditory hypersensitivity in patients with ADHD. It has further been shown that deficiencies not only exist on an intramodal, but also on a multimodal level. There is evidence that the visual cortex shows more activation during a focused auditory task in adults with ADHD than in healthy controls. This crossmodal activation is interpreted as the reallocation of more attentional resources to the visual domain as well as deficient sensory inhibition. In this study, we used, for the first time, electroencephalography to identify a potential abnormal regulated crossmodal activation in adult ADHD. Methods 15 adult subjects with clinically diagnosed ADHD and 14 healthy controls comparable in age and gender were included. ERP components P50, P100, N100, P200 and N200 were measured during the performance of a unimodal auditory and visual discrimination task in a block design. Sensory profiles and ADHD symptoms were assessed with inattention as well as childhood ADHD scores. For evaluating intramodal and crossmodal activations, we chose four EEG channels for statistical analysis and group-wise comparison. Results At the occipital channel O2 that reflects possible crossmodal activations, a significantly enhanced P200 amplitude was measured in the patient group. At the intramodal channels, a significantly enhanced N200 amplitude was observed in the control group. Statistical analysis of behavioral data showed poorer performance of subjects with ADHD as well as higher discrimination thresholds. Further, the correlation of the assessed sensory profiles with the EEG parameters revealed a negative correlation between the P200 component and sensation seeking behavior. Conclusion Our findings show increased auditory crossmodal activity that might reflect an altered stimulus processing resource allocation in ADHD. This might induce consequences for later, higher order attentional deployment. Further, the enhanced P200 amplitude might reflect more sensory registration and therefore deficient inhibition mechanisms in adults with ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mia Schramm
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Tatiana Goregliad Fjaellingsdal
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
- Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Behrem Aslan
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Paul Jung
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Silke Lux
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Marcel Schulze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexandra Philipsen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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Sapey-Triomphe LA, Dierckx J, Vettori S, van Overwalle J, Wagemans J. A multilevel investigation of sensory sensitivity and responsivity in autistic adults. Autism Res 2023; 16:1299-1320. [PMID: 37272695 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Atypical sensory processing is a core symptom of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We aimed at better characterizing visual sensitivity and responsivity in ASD at the self-reported, behavioral and neural levels, and at describing the relationships between these levels. We refer to sensory sensitivity as the ability to detect sensory stimuli and to sensory responsivity as an affective response to sensory stimuli. Participants were 25 neurotypical and 24 autistic adults. At the self-reported level, autistic participants had higher scores of sensory sensitivity and responsivity than neurotypicals. The behavioral and neural tasks involved contrast-reversing gratings which became progressively (in)visible as their contrast or spatial frequency evolved. At the behavioral level, autistic participants had higher detection and responsivity thresholds when gratings varied in spatial frequency, but their thresholds did not differ from neurotypicals when gratings varied in contrast. At the neural level, we used fast periodic visual stimulations and electroencephalography to implicitly assess detection thresholds for contrast and spatial frequency, and did not reveal any group difference. Higher self-reported responsivity was associated with higher behavioral responsivity, more intolerance of uncertainty and anxiety, in particular in ASD. At the self-reported level, higher sensitivity was associated with more responsivity in both groups, contrary to the behavioral level where these relationships were not found. These heterogeneous results suggest that sensitivity and responsivity per se are not simply increased in ASD, but may be modulated by other factors such as environmental predictability. Multi-level approaches can shed light on the mechanisms underlying sensory issues in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie-Anne Sapey-Triomphe
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joke Dierckx
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sofie Vettori
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod UMR5229, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique & Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Bron, France
| | - Jaana van Overwalle
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Johan Wagemans
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Gonçalves AM, Monteiro P. Autism Spectrum Disorder and auditory sensory alterations: a systematic review on the integrity of cognitive and neuronal functions related to auditory processing. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2023; 130:325-408. [PMID: 36914900 PMCID: PMC10033482 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-023-02595-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/15/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition with a wide spectrum of symptoms, mainly characterized by social, communication, and cognitive impairments. Latest diagnostic criteria according to DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, 2013) now include sensory issues among the four restricted/repetitive behavior features defined as "hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of environment". Here, we review auditory sensory alterations in patients with ASD. Considering the updated diagnostic criteria for ASD, we examined research evidence (2015-2022) of the integrity of the cognitive function in auditory-related tasks, the integrity of the peripheral auditory system, and the integrity of the central nervous system in patients diagnosed with ASD. Taking into account the different approaches and experimental study designs, we reappraise the knowledge on auditory sensory alterations and reflect on how these might be linked with behavior symptomatology in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Margarida Gonçalves
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
- ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4710-057, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Patricia Monteiro
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
- ICVS/3B's-PT Government Associate Laboratory, 4710-057, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal.
- Experimental Biology Unit, Department of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
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Shifting attention between modalities: Revisiting the modality-shift effect in autism. Atten Percept Psychophys 2021; 83:2498-2509. [PMID: 33939157 PMCID: PMC8302542 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-021-02302-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Selective attention to a sensory modality has been observed experimentally in studies of the modality-shift effect – a relative performance benefit for targets preceded by a target in the same modality, compared to a different modality. Differences in selective attention are commonly observed in autism and we investigated whether exogenous (automatic) shift costs between modalities are increased. Autistic adults and neurotypical controls made speeded discrimination responses to simple visual, tactile and auditory targets. Shift costs were observed for each target modality in participant response times and were largest for auditory targets, reflective of fast responses on auditory repeat trials. Critically, shift costs were similar between the groups. However, integrating speed and accuracy data using drift-diffusion modelling revealed that shift costs in drift rates (reflecting the quality of information extracted from the stimulus) were reduced for autistic participants compared with neurotypicals. It may be that, unlike neurotypicals, there is little difference between attention within and between sensory modalities for autistic people. This finding also highlights the benefit of combining reaction time and accuracy data using decision models to better characterise selective attention in autism.
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Convergent Validity of Behavioural and Subjective Sensitivity in Relation to Autistic Traits. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:758-770. [PMID: 33770325 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04974-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Sensory issues are highly prevalent in autism and previous findings support a relationship between questionnaires of sensitivity and autistic symptoms and traits, whereas studies that examine this relationship through behavioural assessments of sensitivity are less consistent. The current study explores these differences and suggests that behavioural thresholds for sensitivity and subjective sensitivity are distinct constructs. One hundred and eighteen adults completed a visual and auditory detection task and questionnaires on sensory processing and autistic traits. Visual thresholds and subjective visual sensitivity were not correlated, but both were related to autistic traits. Auditory thresholds and subjective auditory sensitivity were also unrelated. Overall, sensitivity is highly associated with autistic traits, however, behavioural and questionnaire assessments lack convergent validity and therefore, likely assess distinct constructs.
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Mihali A, Young AG, Adler LA, Halassa MM, Ma WJ. A Low-Level Perceptual Correlate of Behavioral and Clinical Deficits in ADHD. COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHIATRY (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2018; 2:141-163. [PMID: 30381800 PMCID: PMC6184361 DOI: 10.1162/cpsy_a_00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
In many studies of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), stimulus encoding and processing (perceptual function) and response selection (executive function) have been intertwined. To dissociate deficits in these functions, we introduced a task that parametrically varied low-level stimulus features (orientation and color) for fine-grained analysis of perceptual function. It also required participants to switch their attention between feature dimensions on a trial-by-trial basis, thus taxing executive processes. Furthermore, we used a response paradigm that captured task-irrelevant motor output (TIMO), reflecting failures to use the correct stimulus-response rule. ADHD participants had substantially higher perceptual variability than controls, especially for orientation, as well as higher TIMO. In both ADHD and controls, TIMO was strongly affected by the switch manipulation. Across participants, the perceptual variability parameter was correlated with TIMO, suggesting that perceptual deficits are associated with executive function deficits. Based on perceptual variability alone, we were able to classify participants into ADHD and controls with a mean accuracy of about 77%. Participants' self-reported General Executive Composite score correlated not only with TIMO but also with the perceptual variability parameter. Our results highlight the role of perceptual deficits in ADHD and the usefulness of computational modeling of behavior in dissociating perceptual from executive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andra Mihali
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Allison G. Young
- Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lenard A. Adler
- Department of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael M. Halassa
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science, MIT, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
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Smith D, Ropar D, Allen HA. The Integration of Occlusion and Disparity Information for Judging Depth in Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47:3112-3124. [PMID: 28688073 PMCID: PMC5602035 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3234-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In autism spectrum disorder (ASD), atypical integration of visual depth cues may be due to flattened perceptual priors or selective fusion. The current study attempts to disentangle these explanations by psychophysically assessing within-modality integration of ordinal (occlusion) and metric (disparity) depth cues while accounting for sensitivity to stereoscopic information. Participants included 22 individuals with ASD and 23 typically developing matched controls. Although adults with ASD were found to have significantly poorer stereoacuity, they were still able to automatically integrate conflicting depth cues, lending support to the idea that priors are intact in ASD. However, dissimilarities in response speed variability between the ASD and TD groups suggests that there may be differences in the perceptual decision-making aspect of the task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Smith
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Danielle Ropar
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Harriet A Allen
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
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Schauder KB, Park WJ, Tadin D, Bennetto L. Larger Receptive Field Size as a Mechanism Underlying Atypical Motion Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Clin Psychol Sci 2017; 5:827-842. [PMID: 28989818 DOI: 10.1177/2167702617707733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Atypical visual motion perception has been widely observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The pattern of results, however, has been inconsistent. Emerging mechanistic hypotheses seek to explain these variable patterns of atypical motion sensitivity, each uniquely predicting specific patterns of performance across varying stimulus conditions. Here, we investigated the integrity of two such fundamental mechanisms-response gain control and receptive field size. Twenty children and adolescents with ASD and 20 typically developing (TD) age- and IQ-matched controls performed a motion discrimination task. To adequately model group differences in both mechanisms of interest, we tested a range of 23 stimulus conditions varying in size and contrast. Results revealed a motion perception impairment in ASD that was specific to the smallest sized stimuli (1°), irrespective of stimulus contrast. Model analyses provided evidence for larger receptive field size in ASD as the mechanism that explains this size-specific reduction of motion sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly B Schauder
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester
| | - Woon Ju Park
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester
| | - Duje Tadin
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine
| | - Loisa Bennetto
- Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology, University of Rochester
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester
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Haigh SM. Variable sensory perception in autism. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 47:602-609. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2016] [Revised: 04/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Haigh
- Clinical Neurophysiology Research Laboratory; Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic; Department of Psychiatry; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; 3501 Forbes Avenue Suite 420 Pittsburgh PA 15213 USA
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