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Jertberg RM, Wienicke FJ, Andruszkiewicz K, Begeer S, Chakrabarti B, Geurts HM, Vries RD, der Burg EV. Differences Between Autistic and Non-Autistic Individuals in Audiovisual Speech Integration: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024:105787. [PMID: 38945419 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105787] [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: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Research has indicated unique challenges in audiovisual integration of speech among autistic individuals, although methodological differences have led to divergent findings. We conducted a systematic literature search to identify studies that measured audiovisual speech integration among both autistic and non-autistic individuals. Across the 18 identified studies (combined N = 952), autistic individuals showed impaired audiovisual integration compared to their non-autistic peers (g = 0.69, 95% CI [0.53, 0.85], p <.001). This difference was not found to be influenced by participants' mean ages, studies' sample sizes, risk-of-bias scores, or paradigms investigated. However, a subgroup analysis suggested that child studies may show larger between-group differences than adult ones. The prevailing pattern of impaired audiovisual speech integration in autism may have cascading effects on communicative and social behavior. However, small samples and inconsistency in design/analysis translated into considerable heterogeneity in findings and opacity regarding the influence of underlying unisensory and attentional factors. We recommend three key directions for future research: larger samples, more research with adults, and standardization of methodology and analytical approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Jertberg
- Department of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Frederik J Wienicke
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Krystian Andruszkiewicz
- Department of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sander Begeer
- Department of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK; India Autism Center, Kolkata, India; Department of Psychology, Ashoka University, India
| | - Hilde M Geurts
- Department of Psychology, Universiteit van Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Leo Kannerhuis (Youz/Parnassiagroup), the Netherlands
| | - Ralph de Vries
- Medical Library, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Erik Van der Burg
- Department of Psychology, Universiteit van Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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2
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Jertberg RM, Begeer S, Geurts HM, Chakrabarti B, Van der Burg E. Age, not autism, influences multisensory integration of speech stimuli among adults in a McGurk/MacDonald paradigm. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:2979-2994. [PMID: 38570828 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in perception of the temporal relationships between sights and sounds are theorized to underlie difficulties in integrating relevant sensory information. These, in turn, are thought to contribute to problems with speech perception and higher level social behaviour. However, the literature establishing this connection often involves limited sample sizes and focuses almost entirely on children. To determine whether these differences persist into adulthood, we compared 496 autistic and 373 non-autistic adults (aged 17 to 75 years). Participants completed an online version of the McGurk/MacDonald paradigm, a multisensory illusion indicative of the ability to integrate audiovisual speech stimuli. Audiovisual asynchrony was manipulated, and participants responded both to the syllable they perceived (revealing their susceptibility to the illusion) and to whether or not the audio and video were synchronized (allowing insight into temporal processing). In contrast with prior research with smaller, younger samples, we detected no evidence of impaired temporal or multisensory processing in autistic adults. Instead, we found that in both groups, multisensory integration correlated strongly with age. This contradicts prior presumptions that differences in multisensory perception persist and even increase in magnitude over the lifespan of autistic individuals. It also suggests that the compensatory role multisensory integration may play as the individual senses decline with age is intact. These findings challenge existing theories and provide an optimistic perspective on autistic development. They also underline the importance of expanding autism research to better reflect the age range of the autistic population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Jertberg
- Department of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Sander Begeer
- Department of Clinical and Developmental Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Hilde M Geurts
- Dutch Autism and ADHD Research Center (d'Arc), Brain & Cognition, Department of Psychology, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Leo Kannerhuis (Youz/Parnassiagroup), Den Haag, The Netherlands
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK
- India Autism Center, Kolkata, India
- Department of Psychology, Ashoka University, Sonipat, India
| | - Erik Van der Burg
- Dutch Autism and ADHD Research Center (d'Arc), Brain & Cognition, Department of Psychology, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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3
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Kausel L, Michon M, Soto-Icaza P, Aboitiz F. A multimodal interface for speech perception: the role of the left superior temporal sulcus in social cognition and autism. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:84-93. [PMID: 38696598 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Multimodal integration is crucial for human interaction, in particular for social communication, which relies on integrating information from various sensory modalities. Recently a third visual pathway specialized in social perception was proposed, which includes the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) playing a key role in processing socially relevant cues and high-level social perception. Importantly, it has also recently been proposed that the left STS contributes to audiovisual integration of speech processing. In this article, we propose that brain areas along the right STS that support multimodal integration for social perception and cognition can be considered homologs to those in the left, language-dominant hemisphere, sustaining multimodal integration of speech and semantic concepts fundamental for social communication. Emphasizing the significance of the left STS in multimodal integration and associated processes such as multimodal attention to socially relevant stimuli, we underscore its potential relevance in comprehending neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by challenges in social communication such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Further research into this left lateral processing stream holds the promise of enhancing our understanding of social communication in both typical development and ASD, which may lead to more effective interventions that could improve the quality of life for individuals with atypical neurodevelopment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie Kausel
- Centro de Estudios en Neurociencia Humana y Neuropsicología (CENHN), Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Diego Portales, Chile, Vergara 275, 8370076 Santiago, Chile
| | - Maëva Michon
- Praxiling Laboratory, Joint Research Unit (UMR 5267), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier, France, Route de Mende, 34199 Montpellier cedex 5, France
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, Marcoleta 391, 2do piso, 8330024 Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Evolutiva, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, Marcoleta 391, 2do piso, 8330024 Santiago, Chile
| | - Patricia Soto-Icaza
- Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (CICS), Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile, Av. Las Condes 12461, edificio 3, piso 3, 7590943, Las Condes Santiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, Marcoleta 391, 2do piso, 8330024 Santiago, Chile
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Cognitiva y Evolutiva, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile, Marcoleta 391, 2do piso, 8330024 Santiago, Chile
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4
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Regener P, Heffer N, Love SA, Petrini K, Pollick F. Differences in audiovisual temporal processing in autistic adults are specific to simultaneity judgments. Autism Res 2024; 17:1041-1052. [PMID: 38661256 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Research has shown that children on the autism spectrum and adults with high levels of autistic traits are less sensitive to audiovisual asynchrony compared to their neurotypical peers. However, this evidence has been limited to simultaneity judgments (SJ) which require participants to consider the timing of two cues together. Given evidence of partly divergent perceptual and neural mechanisms involved in making temporal order judgments (TOJ) and SJ, and given that SJ require a more global type of processing which may be impaired in autistic individuals, here we ask whether the observed differences in audiovisual temporal processing are task and stimulus specific. We examined the ability to detect audiovisual asynchrony in a group of 26 autistic adult males and a group of age and IQ-matched neurotypical males. Participants were presented with beep-flash, point-light drumming, and face-voice displays with varying degrees of asynchrony and asked to make SJ and TOJ. The results indicated that autistic participants were less able to detect audiovisual asynchrony compared to the control group, but this effect was specific to SJ and more complex social stimuli (e.g., face-voice) with stronger semantic correspondence between the cues, requiring a more global type of processing. This indicates that audiovisual temporal processing is not generally different in autistic individuals and that a similar level of performance could be achieved by using a more local type of processing, thus informing multisensory integration theory as well as multisensory training aimed to aid perceptual abilities in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Regener
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Naomi Heffer
- School of Sciences, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Scott A Love
- INRAE, CNRS, Université de Tours, PRC, Nouzilly, France
| | - Karin Petrini
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- The Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA), Bath, UK
| | - Frank Pollick
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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5
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Ahlfors SP, Graham S, Bharadwaj H, Mamashli F, Khan S, Joseph RM, Losh A, Pawlyszyn S, McGuiggan NM, Vangel M, Hämäläinen MS, Kenet T. No Differences in Auditory Steady-State Responses in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typically Developing Children. J Autism Dev Disord 2024; 54:1947-1960. [PMID: 36932270 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-05907-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) has been studied as a potential biomarker for abnormal auditory sensory processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with mixed results. Motivated by prior somatosensory findings of group differences in inter-trial coherence (ITC) between ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals at twice the steady-state stimulation frequency, we examined ASSR at 25 and 50 as well as 43 and 86 Hz in response to 25-Hz and 43-Hz auditory stimuli, respectively, using magnetoencephalography. Data were recorded from 22 ASD and 31 TD children, ages 6-17 years. ITC measures showed prominent ASSRs at the stimulation and double frequencies, without significant group differences. These results do not support ASSR as a robust ASD biomarker of abnormal auditory processing in ASD. Furthermore, the previously observed atypical double-frequency somatosensory response in ASD did not generalize to the auditory modality. Thus, the hypothesis about modality-independent abnormal local connectivity in ASD was not supported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seppo P Ahlfors
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Rm. 2301, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
| | - Steven Graham
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hari Bharadwaj
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Speech, Language, & Hearing Sciences and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Fahimeh Mamashli
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Robert M Joseph
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ainsley Losh
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stephanie Pawlyszyn
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicole M McGuiggan
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark Vangel
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matti S Hämäläinen
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tal Kenet
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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6
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Li X, Li J, Zhao S, Liao Y, Zhu L, Mou Y. Magnitude representation of preschool children with autism spectrum condition. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2024; 28:866-880. [PMID: 37522624 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231185408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT The mathematical abilities of children with autism spectrum condition have been understudied. Magnitude representation (e.g. presenting the number of a collection of objects) is a fundamental numerical ability presented since early infancy and is correlated with children's later learning of formal mathematics. It remains unclear about whether children with autism spectrum condition differ from their peers without autism spectrum condition in precision of magnitude representations. This study compared preschool children with and without autism spectrum condition in their precision of magnitude representation with an approximate number comparison task, in which children compared two sets of dots without counting and chose the set with more dots. Children with autism spectrum condition exhibited the lower numerical comparison accuracy (i.e. the weaker magnitude representation) than their peers without autism spectrum condition. This difference existed even when multiple general cognitive abilities (working memory, inhibitory control, and nonverbal intelligence) and language abilities were statistically controlled. Moreover, the individual difference of the numerical comparison accuracy was larger in children with autism spectrum condition than without autism spectrum condition. These findings suggest that children with autism spectrum condition are at risk of weaker magnitude representation from an early age, emphasizing the need for specialized mathematics education or interventions to support their learning. In addition, the large variance in the precision of their magnitude representation suggests that individualized mathematics interventions are needed for children with autism spectrum condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueyan Li
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiaxi Li
- Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sijia Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yini Liao
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liqi Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Mou
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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7
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Vance DE, Del Bene VA, Kamath V, Frank JS, Billings R, Cho DY, Byun JY, Jacob A, Anderson JN, Visscher K, Triebel K, Martin KM, Li W, Puga F, Fazeli PL. Does Olfactory Training Improve Brain Function and Cognition? A Systematic Review. Neuropsychol Rev 2024; 34:155-191. [PMID: 36725781 PMCID: PMC9891899 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-022-09573-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Olfactory training (OT), or smell training,consists of repeated exposure to odorants over time with the intended neuroplastic effect of improving or remediating olfactory functioning. Declines in olfaction parallel declines in cognition in various pathological conditions and aging. Research suggests a dynamic neural connection exists between olfaction and cognition. Thus, if OT can improve olfaction, could OT also improve cognition and support brain function? To answer this question, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to determine whether there is evidence that OT translates to improved cognition or altered brain morphology and connectivity that supports cognition. Across three databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, & Embase), 18 articles were identified in this systematic review. Overall, the reviewed studies provided emerging evidence that OT is associated with improved global cognition, and in particular, verbal fluency and verbal learning/memory. OT is also associated with increases in the volume/size of olfactory-related brain regions, including the olfactory bulb and hippocampus, and altered functional connectivity. Interestingly, these positive effects were not limited to patients with smell loss (i.e., hyposmia & anosmia) but normosmic (i.e., normal ability to smell) participants benefitted as well. Implications for practice and research are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Vance
- School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1701 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, USA.
| | - Victor A Del Bene
- Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Vidyulata Kamath
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jennifer Sandson Frank
- School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1701 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Rebecca Billings
- UAB Libraries, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Do-Yeon Cho
- Department of Surgery, Veterans Affairs, University of Alabama at Birmingham, & Division of Otolaryngology, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Jun Y Byun
- School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1701 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Alexandra Jacob
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Joseph N Anderson
- School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Kristina Visscher
- Department of Neurobiology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Kristen Triebel
- School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Karli M Martin
- School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Frank Puga
- School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1701 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Pariya L Fazeli
- School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1701 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, USA
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8
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Isenstein EL, Freedman EG, Molholm S, Foxe JJ. Intact Somatosensory Temporal Sensitivity in Adults on the Autism Spectrum: A High-Density Electrophysiological Mapping Study Using the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) Sensory Memory Paradigm. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.05.578908. [PMID: 38370797 PMCID: PMC10871182 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.05.578908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Atypical reactivity to somatosensory inputs is common in autism spectrum disorder and carries considerable impact on downstream social communication and quality of life. While behavioral and survey work have established differences in the perception of somatosensory information, little has been done to elucidate the underlying neurophysiological processes that drive these characteristics. Here, we implemented a duration-based somatosensory mismatch negativity paradigm to examine the role of temporal sensitivity and sensory memory in the processing of vibrotactile information in autistic (n=30) and neurotypical (n=30) adults. To capture the variability in responses between groups across a range of duration discrepancies, we compared the electrophysiological responses to frequent standard vibrations (100 ms) and four infrequent deviant vibrations (115, 130, 145, and 160 ms). The same stimuli were used in a follow-up behavioral task to determine active detection of the infrequent vibrations. We found no differences between the two groups with regard to discrimination between standard and deviant vibrations, demonstrating comparable neurologic and behavioral temporal somatosensory perception. However, exploratory analyses yielded subtle differences in amplitude at the N1 and P220 time points. Together, these results indicate that the temporal mechanisms of somatosensory discrimination are conserved in adults on the autism spectrum, though more general somatosensory processing may be affected. We discuss these findings in the broader context of the MMN literature in autism, as well as the potential role of cortical maturity in somatosensory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Isenstein
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Edward G. Freedman
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
| | - John J. Foxe
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
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9
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Ross LA, Molholm S, Butler JS, Del Bene VA, Brima T, Foxe JJ. Neural correlates of audiovisual narrative speech perception in children and adults on the autism spectrum: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Autism Res 2024; 17:280-310. [PMID: 38334251 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Autistic individuals show substantially reduced benefit from observing visual articulations during audiovisual speech perception, a multisensory integration deficit that is particularly relevant to social communication. This has mostly been studied using simple syllabic or word-level stimuli and it remains unclear how altered lower-level multisensory integration translates to the processing of more complex natural multisensory stimulus environments in autism. Here, functional neuroimaging was used to examine neural correlates of audiovisual gain (AV-gain) in 41 autistic individuals to those of 41 age-matched non-autistic controls when presented with a complex audiovisual narrative. Participants were presented with continuous narration of a story in auditory-alone, visual-alone, and both synchronous and asynchronous audiovisual speech conditions. We hypothesized that previously identified differences in audiovisual speech processing in autism would be characterized by activation differences in brain regions well known to be associated with audiovisual enhancement in neurotypicals. However, our results did not provide evidence for altered processing of auditory alone, visual alone, audiovisual conditions or AV- gain in regions associated with the respective task when comparing activation patterns between groups. Instead, we found that autistic individuals responded with higher activations in mostly frontal regions where the activation to the experimental conditions was below baseline (de-activations) in the control group. These frontal effects were observed in both unisensory and audiovisual conditions, suggesting that these altered activations were not specific to multisensory processing but reflective of more general mechanisms such as an altered disengagement of Default Mode Network processes during the observation of the language stimulus across conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars A Ross
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - John S Butler
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Technological University Dublin, City Campus, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Victor A Del Bene
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
- Heersink School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Tufikameni Brima
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - John J Foxe
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
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10
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Yu L, Xu J. The Development of Multisensory Integration at the Neuronal Level. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1437:153-172. [PMID: 38270859 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-7611-9_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Multisensory integration is a fundamental function of the brain. In the typical adult, multisensory neurons' response to paired multisensory (e.g., audiovisual) cues is significantly more robust than the corresponding best unisensory response in many brain regions. Synthesizing sensory signals from multiple modalities can speed up sensory processing and improve the salience of outside events or objects. Despite its significance, multisensory integration is testified to be not a neonatal feature of the brain. Neurons' ability to effectively combine multisensory information does not occur rapidly but develops gradually during early postnatal life (for cats, 4-12 weeks required). Multisensory experience is critical for this developing process. If animals were restricted from sensing normal visual scenes or sounds (deprived of the relevant multisensory experience), the development of the corresponding integrative ability could be blocked until the appropriate multisensory experience is obtained. This section summarizes the extant literature on the development of multisensory integration (mainly using cat superior colliculus as a model), sensory-deprivation-induced cross-modal plasticity, and how sensory experience (sensory exposure and perceptual learning) leads to the plastic change and modification of neural circuits in cortical and subcortical areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liping Yu
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Jinghong Xu
- Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education and Shanghai), School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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Jones SA, Noppeney U. Multisensory Integration and Causal Inference in Typical and Atypical Populations. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1437:59-76. [PMID: 38270853 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-7611-9_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Multisensory perception is critical for effective interaction with the environment, but human responses to multisensory stimuli vary across the lifespan and appear changed in some atypical populations. In this review chapter, we consider multisensory integration within a normative Bayesian framework. We begin by outlining the complex computational challenges of multisensory causal inference and reliability-weighted cue integration, and discuss whether healthy young adults behave in accordance with normative Bayesian models. We then compare their behaviour with various other human populations (children, older adults, and those with neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders). In particular, we consider whether the differences seen in these groups are due only to changes in their computational parameters (such as sensory noise or perceptual priors), or whether the fundamental computational principles (such as reliability weighting) underlying multisensory perception may also be altered. We conclude by arguing that future research should aim explicitly to differentiate between these possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel A Jones
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
| | - Uta Noppeney
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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12
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Donadio DMDO, Simões-Zenari M, Santos THF, Sanchez MG, Molini-Avejonas DR, Cardilli-Dias D. Use of the Prompts for Reestructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (PROMPT) in Autism Spectrum Disorder: a case study. Codas 2023; 36:e20220299. [PMID: 38126591 PMCID: PMC10750890 DOI: 10.1590/2317-1782/20232022299pt] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is classified by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as a neurodevelopmental disorder, whose characteristics are mainly deficits in social communication and a restricted range of interests. There are several studies about autism, speech, and language in the literature, but few correlate speech and autism. This study aims to carry out a case study that will address autism, speech, and PROMPT (Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) and also to describe the speech improvement in the participant with autism using the method. The target words were defined for the entire intervention according to the System Analysis Observation (SAO) and Motor Speech Hierarchy (MSH), which are parts of the PROMPT evaluation. After the evaluation, the participant was attended for 16 sessions, once weekly, with the objective of improving their speech. After analyzing the data, it was possible to observe improvement in all aspects outlined according to the pre-treatment evaluation of the method such as phonatory control, mandibular control, lip-facial control and lingual control as well as in the sequenced movement although this was not the aim outlined in the evaluation. It was also possible to measure the improvement of an adequate number of words, an adequate number of phonemes, percentages of correct consonants - revised (PCC-R), and intelligibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcia Simões-Zenari
- Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo – USP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
| | - Thaís Helena Ferreira Santos
- Laboratório de Investigação Fonoaudiológica de Saúde Mental, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo – USP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
| | | | | | - Daniela Cardilli-Dias
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo – USP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
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13
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Todd JT, Bahrick LE. Individual Differences in Multisensory Attention Skills in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Predict Language and Symptom Severity: Evidence from the Multisensory Attention Assessment Protocol (MAAP). J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:4685-4710. [PMID: 36181648 PMCID: PMC10065966 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05752-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show atypical attention, particularly for social events. The new Multisensory Attention Assessment Protocol (MAAP) assesses fine-grained individual differences in attention disengagement, maintenance, and audiovisual matching for social and nonsocial events. We investigated the role of competing stimulation on attention, and relations with language and symptomatology in children with ASD and typical controls. Findings revealed: (1) the MAAP differentiated children with ASD from controls, (2) greater attention to social events predicted better language for both groups and lower symptom severity in children with ASD, (3) different pathways from attention to language were evident in children with ASD versus controls. The MAAP provides an ideal attention assessment for revealing diagnostic group differences and relations with outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Torrence Todd
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 South West 8 Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
| | - Lorraine E Bahrick
- Department of Psychology, Florida International University, 11200 South West 8 Street, Miami, FL, 33199, USA
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14
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Thompson E, Feldman JI, Valle A, Davis H, Keceli-Kaysili B, Dunham K, Woynaroski T, Tharpe AM, Picou EM. A Comparison of Listening Skills of Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth While Using and Not Using Remote Microphone Systems. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:4618-4634. [PMID: 37870877 PMCID: PMC10721240 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were to compare (a) listening-in-noise (accuracy and effort) and (b) remote microphone (RM) system benefits between autistic and non-autistic youth. DESIGN Groups of autistic and non-autistic youth that were matched on chronological age and biological sex completed listening-in-noise testing when wearing and not wearing an RM system. Listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort were evaluated simultaneously using a dual-task paradigm for stimuli varying in type (syllables, words, sentences, and passages). Several putative moderators of RM system effects on outcomes of interest were also evaluated. RESULTS Autistic youth outperformed non-autistic youth in some conditions on listening-in-noise accuracy; listening effort between the two groups was not significantly different. RM system use resulted in listening-in-noise accuracy improvements that were nonsignificantly different across groups. Benefits of listening-in-noise accuracy were all large in magnitude. RM system use did not have an effect on listening effort for either group. None of the putative moderators yielded effects of the RM system on listening-in-noise accuracy or effort for non-autistic youth that were significant and interpretable, indicating that RM system benefits did not vary according to any of the participant characteristics assessed. CONCLUSIONS Contrary to expectations, autistic youth did not demonstrate listening-in-noise deficits compared to non-autistic youth. Both autistic and non-autistic youth appear to experience RM system benefits marked by large gains in listening-in-noise performance. Thus, the use of this technology in educational and other noisy settings where speech perception needs enhancement might be beneficial for both groups of children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Thompson
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Jacob I. Feldman
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Nashville, TN
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Annalise Valle
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Hilary Davis
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Bahar Keceli-Kaysili
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Kacie Dunham
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, TN
| | - Tiffany Woynaroski
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Nashville, TN
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Anne Marie Tharpe
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
| | - Erin M. Picou
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
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15
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Ruiz Callejo D, Boets B. A systematic review on speech-in-noise perception in autism. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105406. [PMID: 37797728 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit atypical speech-in-noise (SiN) perception, but the scope of these impairments has not been clearly defined. We conducted a systematic review of the behavioural research on SiN perception in ASD, using a comprehensive search strategy across databases (Embase, Pubmed, Web of Science, APA PsycArticles, LLBA, clinicaltrials.gov and PsyArXiv). We withheld 20 studies that generally revealed intact speech perception in stationary noise, while impairments in speech discrimination were found in temporally modulated noise, concurrent speech, and audiovisual speech perception. An association with auditory temporal processing deficits, exacerbated by suboptimal language skills, is shown. Speech-in-speech perception might be further impaired due to deficient top-down processing of speech. Further research is needed to address remaining challenges and gaps in our understanding of these impairments, including the developmental aspects of SiN processing in ASD, and the impact of gender and social attentional orienting on this ability. Our findings have important implications for improving communication in ASD, both in daily interactions and in clinical and educational settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Ruiz Callejo
- University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Bart Boets
- University Psychiatric Center KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LauRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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16
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Feldman JI, Dunham K, DiCarlo GE, Cassidy M, Liu Y, Suzman E, Williams ZJ, Pulliam G, Kaiser S, Wallace MT, Woynaroski TG. A Randomized Controlled Trial for Audiovisual Multisensory Perception in Autistic Youth. J Autism Dev Disord 2023; 53:4318-4335. [PMID: 36028729 PMCID: PMC9417081 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05709-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Differences in audiovisual integration are commonly observed in autism. Temporal binding windows (TBWs) of audiovisual speech can be trained (i.e., narrowed) in non-autistic adults; this study evaluated a computer-based perceptual training in autistic youth and assessed whether treatment outcomes varied according to individual characteristics. Thirty autistic youth aged 8-21 were randomly assigned to a brief perceptual training (n = 15) or a control condition (n = 15). At post-test, the perceptual training group did not differ, on average, on TBWs for trained and untrained stimuli and perception of the McGurk illusion compared to the control group. The training benefited youth with higher language and nonverbal IQ scores; the training caused widened TBWs in youth with co-occurring cognitive and language impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob I Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
| | - Kacie Dunham
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Gabriella E DiCarlo
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Mass General Brigham Neurology Residency Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Margaret Cassidy
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yupeng Liu
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Washington University School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Evan Suzman
- Master's Program in Biomedical Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Southwestern School of Medicine, University of Texas, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Zachary J Williams
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Grace Pulliam
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sophia Kaiser
- Cognitive Studies Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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17
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Monti M, Molholm S, Cuppini C. Atypical development of causal inference in autism inferred through a neurocomputational model. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1258590. [PMID: 37927544 PMCID: PMC10620690 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1258590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
In everyday life, the brain processes a multitude of stimuli from the surrounding environment, requiring the integration of information from different sensory modalities to form a coherent perception. This process, known as multisensory integration, enhances the brain's response to redundant congruent sensory cues. However, it is equally important for the brain to segregate sensory inputs from distinct events, to interact with and correctly perceive the multisensory environment. This problem the brain must face, known as the causal inference problem, is strictly related to multisensory integration. It is widely recognized that the ability to integrate information from different senses emerges during the developmental period, as a function of our experience with multisensory stimuli. Consequently, multisensory integrative abilities are altered in individuals who have atypical experiences with cross-modal cues, such as those on the autistic spectrum. However, no research has been conducted on the developmental trajectories of causal inference and its relationship with experience thus far. Here, we used a neuro-computational model to simulate and investigate the development of causal inference in both typically developing children and those in the autistic spectrum. Our results indicate that higher exposure to cross-modal cues accelerates the acquisition of causal inference abilities, and a minimum level of experience with multisensory stimuli is required to develop fully mature behavior. We then simulated the altered developmental trajectory of causal inference in individuals with autism by assuming reduced multisensory experience during training. The results suggest that causal inference reaches complete maturity much later in these individuals compared to neurotypical individuals. Furthermore, we discuss the underlying neural mechanisms and network architecture involved in these processes, highlighting that the development of causal inference follows the evolution of the mechanisms subserving multisensory integration. Overall, this study provides a computational framework, unifying causal inference and multisensory integration, which allows us to suggest neural mechanisms and provide testable predictions about the development of such abilities in typically developed and autistic children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Monti
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sophie Molholm
- Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Cristiano Cuppini
- Department of Electrical, Electronic, and Information Engineering Guglielmo Marconi, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Hughes L, Kargas N, Wilhelm M, Meyerhoff HS, Föcker J. The Impact of Audio-Visual, Visual and Auditory Cues on Multiple Object Tracking Performance in Children with Autism. Percept Mot Skills 2023; 130:2047-2068. [PMID: 37452765 PMCID: PMC10552336 DOI: 10.1177/00315125231187984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have documented differences in processing multisensory information by children with autism compared to typically developing children. Furthermore, children with autism have been found to track fewer multiple objects on a screen than those without autism, suggesting reduced attentional control. In the present study, we investigated whether children with autism (n = 33) and children without autism (n = 33) were able to track four target objects moving amongst four indistinguishable distractor objects while sensory cues were presented. During tracking, we presented various types of cues - auditory, visual, or audio-visual or no cues while target objects bounced off the inner boundary of a centralized circle. We found that children with autism tracked fewer targets than children without autism. Furthermore, children without autism showed improved tracking performance in the presence of visual cues, whereas children with autism did not benefit from sensory cues. Whereas multiple object tracking performance improved with increasing age in children without autism, especially when using audio-visual cues, children with autism did not show age-related improvement in tracking. These results are in line with the hypothesis that attention and the ability to integrate sensory cues during tracking are reduced in children with autism. Our findings could contribute valuable insights for designing interventions that incorporate multisensory information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Hughes
- School of Psychology, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Niko Kargas
- School of Psychology, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
| | - Maximilian Wilhelm
- Center for Psychotherapy Research, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Julia Föcker
- School of Psychology, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
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Choi I, Demir I, Oh S, Lee SH. Multisensory integration in the mammalian brain: diversity and flexibility in health and disease. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220338. [PMID: 37545309 PMCID: PMC10404930 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Multisensory integration (MSI) occurs in a variety of brain areas, spanning cortical and subcortical regions. In traditional studies on sensory processing, the sensory cortices have been considered for processing sensory information in a modality-specific manner. The sensory cortices, however, send the information to other cortical and subcortical areas, including the higher association cortices and the other sensory cortices, where the multiple modality inputs converge and integrate to generate a meaningful percept. This integration process is neither simple nor fixed because these brain areas interact with each other via complicated circuits, which can be modulated by numerous internal and external conditions. As a result, dynamic MSI makes multisensory decisions flexible and adaptive in behaving animals. Impairments in MSI occur in many psychiatric disorders, which may result in an altered perception of the multisensory stimuli and an abnormal reaction to them. This review discusses the diversity and flexibility of MSI in mammals, including humans, primates and rodents, as well as the brain areas involved. It further explains how such flexibility influences perceptual experiences in behaving animals in both health and disease. This article is part of the theme issue 'Decision and control processes in multisensory perception'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilsong Choi
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Ilayda Demir
- Department of biological sciences, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seungmi Oh
- Department of biological sciences, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hee Lee
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of biological sciences, KAIST, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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20
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Ruiz Callejo D, Wouters J, Boets B. Speech-in-noise perception in autistic adolescents with and without early language delay. Autism Res 2023; 16:1719-1727. [PMID: 37318057 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Speech-in-noise perception seems aberrant in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Potential aggravating factors are the level of linguistic skills and impairments in auditory temporal processing. Here, we investigated autistic adolescents with and without language delay as compared to non-autistic peers, and we assessed speech perception in steady-state noise, temporally modulated noise, and concurrent speech. We found that autistic adolescents with intact language capabilities and not those with language delay performed worse than NT peers on words-in-stationary-noise perception. For the perception of sentences in stationary noise, we did not observe significant group differences, although autistic adolescents with language delay tend to perform worse in comparison to their TD peers. We also found evidence for a robust deficit in speech-in-concurrent-speech processing in ASD independent of language ability, as well as an association between early language delay in ASD and inadequate temporal speech processing. We propose that reduced voice stream segregation and inadequate social attentional orienting in ASD result in disproportional informational masking of the speech signal. These findings indicate a speech-in-speech processing deficit in autistic adolescents with broad implications for the quality of social communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Ruiz Callejo
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jan Wouters
- Research Group ExpORL, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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21
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Javaheripour N, Wagner G, de la Cruz F, Walter M, Szycik GR, Tietze FA. Altered brain network organization in adults with Asperger's syndrome: decreased connectome transitivity and assortativity with increased global efficiency. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1223147. [PMID: 37701094 PMCID: PMC10494541 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1223147] [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: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that persists into adulthood with both social and cognitive disturbances. Asperger's syndrome (AS) was a distinguished subcategory of autism in the DSM-IV-TR defined by specific symptoms including difficulties in social interactions, inflexible thinking patterns, and repetitive behaviour without any delay in language or cognitive development. Studying the functional brain organization of individuals with these specific symptoms may help to better understand Autism spectrum symptoms. Methods The aim of this study is therefore to investigate functional connectivity as well as functional network organization characteristics using graph-theory measures of the whole brain in male adults with AS compared to healthy controls (HC) (AS: n = 15, age range 21-55 (mean ± sd: 39.5 ± 11.6), HC: n = 15, age range 22-57 [mean ± sd: 33.5 ± 8.5]). Results No significant differences were found when comparing the region-by-region connectivity at the whole-brain level between the AS group and HC. However, measures of "transitivity," which reflect local information processing and functional segregation, and "assortativity," indicating network resilience, were reduced in the AS group compared to HC. On the other hand, global efficiency, which represents the overall effectiveness and speed of information transfer across the entire brain network, was increased in the AS group. Discussion Our findings suggest that individuals with AS may have alterations in the organization and functioning of brain networks, which could contribute to the distinctive cognitive and behavioural features associated with this condition. We suggest further research to explore the association between these altered functional patterns in brain networks and specific behavioral traits observed in individuals with AS, which could provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of its symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nooshin Javaheripour
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Gerd Wagner
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena, Germany
| | - Feliberto de la Cruz
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
- Center for Intervention and Research on Adaptive and Maladaptive Brain Circuits Underlying Mental Health (C-I-R-C), Jena, Germany
- Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Jena, Germany
| | - Gregor R. Szycik
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Fabian-Alexander Tietze
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jüdisches Krankenhaus Berlin—Berlin Jewish Hospital, Academic Teaching Hospital of the Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Wakim KM, Foxe JJ, Molholm S. Cued motor processing in autism and typical development: A high-density electrical mapping study of response-locked neural activity in children and adolescents. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 58:2766-2786. [PMID: 37340622 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Motor atypicalities are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are often evident prior to classical ASD symptoms. Despite evidence of differences in neural processing during imitation in autistic individuals, research on the integrity and spatiotemporal dynamics of basic motor processing is surprisingly sparse. To address this need, we analysed electroencephalography (EEG) data recorded from a large sample of autistic (n = 84) and neurotypical (n = 84) children and adolescents while they performed an audiovisual speeded reaction time (RT) task. Analyses focused on RTs and response-locked motor-related electrical brain responses over frontoparietal scalp regions: the late Bereitschaftspotential, the motor potential and the reafferent potential. Evaluation of behavioural task performance indicated greater RT variability and lower hit rates in autistic participants compared to typically developing age-matched neurotypical participants. Overall, the data revealed clear motor-related neural responses in ASD, but with subtle differences relative to typically developing participants evident over fronto-central and bilateral parietal scalp sites prior to response onset. Group differences were further parsed as a function of age (6-9, 9-12 and 12-15 years), sensory cue preceding the response (auditory, visual and bi-sensory audiovisual) and RT quartile. Group differences in motor-related processing were most prominent in the youngest group of children (age 6-9), with attenuated cortical responses observed for young autistic participants. Future investigations assessing the integrity of such motor processes in younger children, where larger differences may be present, are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn-Mary Wakim
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - John J Foxe
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA
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23
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Dunham-Carr K, Feldman JI, Simon DM, Edmunds SR, Tu A, Kuang W, Conrad JG, Santapuram P, Wallace MT, Woynaroski TG. The Processing of Audiovisual Speech Is Linked with Vocabulary in Autistic and Nonautistic Children: An ERP Study. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1043. [PMID: 37508976 PMCID: PMC10377472 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Explaining individual differences in vocabulary in autism is critical, as understanding and using words to communicate are key predictors of long-term outcomes for autistic individuals. Differences in audiovisual speech processing may explain variability in vocabulary in autism. The efficiency of audiovisual speech processing can be indexed via amplitude suppression, wherein the amplitude of the event-related potential (ERP) is reduced at the P2 component in response to audiovisual speech compared to auditory-only speech. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure P2 amplitudes in response to auditory-only and audiovisual speech and norm-referenced, standardized assessments to measure vocabulary in 25 autistic and 25 nonautistic children to determine whether amplitude suppression (a) differs or (b) explains variability in vocabulary in autistic and nonautistic children. A series of regression analyses evaluated associations between amplitude suppression and vocabulary scores. Both groups demonstrated P2 amplitude suppression, on average, in response to audiovisual speech relative to auditory-only speech. Between-group differences in mean amplitude suppression were nonsignificant. Individual differences in amplitude suppression were positively associated with expressive vocabulary through receptive vocabulary, as evidenced by a significant indirect effect observed across groups. The results suggest that efficiency of audiovisual speech processing may explain variance in vocabulary in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kacie Dunham-Carr
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Jacob I Feldman
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - David M Simon
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Sarah R Edmunds
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
- Department of Educational Studies, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
| | - Alexander Tu
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA
| | - Wayne Kuang
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Julie G Conrad
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- College of Medicine, University of Illinois Hospital, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Pooja Santapuram
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, NY 10032, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Tiffany G Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA
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24
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Xu S, Fan J, Zhang H, Zhang M, Zhao H, Jiang X, Ding H, Zhang Y. Hearing Assistive Technology Facilitates Sentence-in-Noise Recognition in Chinese Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023:1-21. [PMID: 37418749 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Hearing assistive technology (HAT) has been shown to be a viable solution to the speech-in-noise perception (SPIN) issue in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, little is known about its efficacy in tonal language speakers. This study compared sentence-level SPIN performance between Chinese children with ASD and neurotypical (NT) children and evaluated HAT use in improving SPIN performance and easing SPIN difficulty. METHOD Children with ASD (n = 26) and NT children (n = 19) aged 6-12 years performed two adaptive tests in steady-state noise and three fixed-level tests in quiet and steady-state noise with and without using HAT. Speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) and accuracy rates were assessed using adaptive and fixed-level tests, respectively. Parents or teachers of the ASD group completed a questionnaire regarding children's listening difficulty under six circumstances before and after a 10-day trial period of HAT use. RESULTS Although the two groups of children had comparable SRTs, the ASD group showed a significantly lower SPIN accuracy rate than the NT group. Also, a significant impact of noise was found in the ASD group's accuracy rate but not in that of the NT group. There was a general improvement in the ASD group's SPIN performance with HAT and a decrease in their listening difficulty ratings across all conditions after the device trial. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicated inadequate SPIN in the ASD group using a relatively sensitive measure to gauge SPIN performance among children. The markedly increased accuracy rate in noise during HAT-on sessions for the ASD group confirmed the feasibility of HAT for improving SPIN performance in controlled laboratory settings, and the reduced post-use ratings of listening difficulty further confirmed the benefits of HAT use in daily scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suyun Xu
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Juan Fan
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China
| | - Hua Zhang
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, China
| | - Minyue Zhang
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Hang Zhao
- Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai
| | - Xiaoming Jiang
- Institute of Linguistics, Shanghai International Studies University, China
| | - Hongwei Ding
- Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
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25
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Harwood V, Baron A, Kleinman D, Campanelli L, Irwin J, Landi N. Event-Related Potentials in Assessing Visual Speech Cues in the Broader Autism Phenotype: Evidence from a Phonemic Restoration Paradigm. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1011. [PMID: 37508944 PMCID: PMC10377560 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Revised: 06/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Audiovisual speech perception includes the simultaneous processing of auditory and visual speech. Deficits in audiovisual speech perception are reported in autistic individuals; however, less is known regarding audiovisual speech perception within the broader autism phenotype (BAP), which includes individuals with elevated, yet subclinical, levels of autistic traits. We investigate the neural indices of audiovisual speech perception in adults exhibiting a range of autism-like traits using event-related potentials (ERPs) in a phonemic restoration paradigm. In this paradigm, we consider conditions where speech articulators (mouth and jaw) are present (AV condition) and obscured by a pixelated mask (PX condition). These two face conditions were included in both passive (simply viewing a speaking face) and active (participants were required to press a button for a specific consonant-vowel stimulus) experiments. The results revealed an N100 ERP component which was present for all listening contexts and conditions; however, it was attenuated in the active AV condition where participants were able to view the speaker's face, including the mouth and jaw. The P300 ERP component was present within the active experiment only, and significantly greater within the AV condition compared to the PX condition. This suggests increased neural effort for detecting deviant stimuli when visible articulation was present and visual influence on perception. Finally, the P300 response was negatively correlated with autism-like traits, suggesting that higher autistic traits were associated with generally smaller P300 responses in the active AV and PX conditions. The conclusions support the finding that atypical audiovisual processing may be characteristic of the BAP in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa Harwood
- Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
| | - Alisa Baron
- Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA
| | | | - Luca Campanelli
- Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
| | - Julia Irwin
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
- Department of Psychology, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT 06515, USA
| | - Nicole Landi
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT 06519, USA
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA
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26
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Ainsworth K, Bertone A. Audiovisual temporal binding window narrows with age in autistic individuals. Autism Res 2023; 16:355-363. [PMID: 36426723 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Atypical sensory perception has been recognized in autistic individuals since its earliest descriptions and is now considered a key characteristic of autism. Although the integration of sensory information (multisensory integration; MSI) has been demonstrated to be altered in autism, less is known about how this perceptual process differs with age. This study aimed to assess the integration of audiovisual information across autistic children and adolescents. MSI was measured using a non-social, simultaneity judgment task. Variation in temporal sensitivity was evaluated via Gaussian curve fitting procedures, allowing us to compare the width of temporal binding windows (TBWs), where wider TBWs indicate less sensitivity to temporal alignment. We compared TBWs in age and IQ matched groups of autistic (n = 32) and neurotypical (NT; n = 73) children and adolescents. The sensory profile of all participants was also measured. Across all ages assessed (i.e., 6 through 18 years), TBWs were negatively correlated with age in the autistic group. A significant correlation was not found in the NT group. When compared as a function of child (6-12 years) and adolescent (13-18 years) age groups, a significant interaction of group (autism vs NT) by age group was found, whereby TBWs became narrower with age in the autistic, but not neurotypical group. We also found a significant main effect of age and no significant main effect of group. Results suggest that TBW differences between autistic and neurotypical groups diminishes with increasing age, indicating an atypical developmental profile of MSI in autism which ameliorates across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsty Ainsworth
- Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory (PNLab) for Autism and Development, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Armando Bertone
- Perceptual Neuroscience Laboratory (PNLab) for Autism and Development, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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27
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Schelinski S, von Kriegstein K. Responses in left inferior frontal gyrus are altered for speech-in-noise processing, but not for clear speech in autism. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e2848. [PMID: 36575611 PMCID: PMC9927852 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Autistic individuals often have difficulties with recognizing what another person is saying in noisy conditions such as in a crowded classroom or a restaurant. The underlying neural mechanisms of this speech perception difficulty are unclear. In typically developed individuals, three cerebral cortex regions are particularly related to speech-in-noise perception: the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the right insula, and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Here, we tested whether responses in these cerebral cortex regions are altered in speech-in-noise perception in autism. METHODS Seventeen autistic adults and 17 typically developed controls (matched pairwise on age, sex, and IQ) performed an auditory-only speech recognition task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Speech was presented either with noise (noise condition) or without noise (no noise condition, i.e., clear speech). RESULTS In the left IFG, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses were higher in the control compared to the autism group for recognizing speech-in-noise compared to clear speech. For this contrast, both groups had similar response magnitudes in the right insula and left IPL. Additionally, we replicated previous findings that BOLD responses in speech-related and auditory brain regions (including bilateral superior temporal sulcus and Heschl's gyrus) for clear speech were similar in both groups and that voice identity recognition was impaired for clear and noisy speech in autism. DISCUSSION Our findings show that in autism, the processing of speech is particularly reduced under noisy conditions in the left IFG-a dysfunction that might be important in explaining restricted speech comprehension in noisy environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Schelinski
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Max Planck Research Group Neural Mechanisms of Human Communication, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Katharina von Kriegstein
- Faculty of Psychology, Chair of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Max Planck Research Group Neural Mechanisms of Human Communication, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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28
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Alho J, Khan S, Mamashli F, Perrachione TK, Losh A, McGuiggan NM, Graham S, Nayal Z, Joseph RM, Hämäläinen MS, Bharadwaj H, Kenet T. Atypical cortical processing of bottom-up speech binding cues in children with autism spectrum disorders. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 37:103336. [PMID: 36724734 PMCID: PMC9898310 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly display speech processing abnormalities. Binding of acoustic features of speech distributed across different frequencies into coherent speech objects is fundamental in speech perception. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the cortical processing of bottom-up acoustic cues for speech binding may be anomalous in ASD. We recorded magnetoencephalography while ASD children (ages 7-17) and typically developing peers heard sentences of sine-wave speech (SWS) and modulated SWS (MSS) where binding cues were restored through increased temporal coherence of the acoustic components and the introduction of harmonicity. The ASD group showed increased long-range feedforward functional connectivity from left auditory to parietal cortex with concurrent decreased local functional connectivity within the parietal region during MSS relative to SWS. As the parietal region has been implicated in auditory object binding, our findings support our hypothesis of atypical bottom-up speech binding in ASD. Furthermore, the long-range functional connectivity correlated with behaviorally measured auditory processing abnormalities, confirming the relevance of these atypical cortical signatures to the ASD phenotype. Lastly, the group difference in the local functional connectivity was driven by the youngest participants, suggesting that impaired speech binding in ASD might be ameliorated upon entering adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jussi Alho
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
| | - Sheraz Khan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Fahimeh Mamashli
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Tyler K Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Ainsley Losh
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Nicole M McGuiggan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Steven Graham
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Zein Nayal
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Robert M Joseph
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord St, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Matti S Hämäläinen
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Hari Bharadwaj
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, and Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Tal Kenet
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th St, Boston, MA 02129, USA.
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29
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Wang Y, Liu C, Deng J, Xu Q, Lin J, Li H, Hu M, Hu C, Li Q, Xu X. Behavioral and Sensory Deficits Associated with Dysfunction of GABAergic System in a Novel shank2-Deficient Zebrafish Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:2208. [PMID: 36768529 PMCID: PMC9916955 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyper-reactivity to sensory inputs is a common and debilitating symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the underlying neural abnormalities remain unclear. Two of three patients in our clinical cohort screen harboring de novo SHANK2 mutations also exhibited high sensitivity to visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli, so we examined whether shank2 deficiencies contribute to sensory abnormalities and other ASD-like phenotypes by generating a stable shank2b-deficient zebrafish model (shank2b-/-). The adult shank2b-/- zebrafish demonstrated reduced social preference and kin preference as well as enhanced behavioral stereotypy, while larvae exhibited hyper-sensitivity to auditory noise and abnormal hyperactivity during dark-to-light transitions. This model thus recapitulated the core developmental and behavioral phenotypes of many previous genetic ASD models. Expression levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor subunit mRNAs and proteins were also reduced in shank2b-/- zebrafish, and these animals exhibited greater sensitivity to drug-induced seizures. Our results suggest that GABAergic dysfunction is a major contributor to the sensory hyper-reactivity in ASD, and they underscore the need for interventions that target sensory-processing disruptions during early neural development to prevent disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Wang
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Chunxue Liu
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Jingxin Deng
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Qiong Xu
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Jia Lin
- Center for Translational Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children’s Hopstial of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wangyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Huiping Li
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Meixin Hu
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Chunchun Hu
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Center for Translational Medicine, Institute of Pediatrics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Children’s Hopstial of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wangyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
| | - Xiu Xu
- Division of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, National Children’s Medical Center, 399 Wanyuan Road, Shanghai 201102, China
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30
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Dunham K, Zoltowski A, Feldman JI, Davis S, Rogers B, Failla MD, Wallace MT, Cascio CJ, Woynaroski TG. Neural Correlates of Audiovisual Speech Processing in Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth. Multisens Res 2023; 36:263-288. [PMID: 36731524 PMCID: PMC10121891 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Autistic youth demonstrate differences in processing multisensory information, particularly in temporal processing of multisensory speech. Extensive research has identified several key brain regions for multisensory speech processing in non-autistic adults, including the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and insula, but it is unclear to what extent these regions are involved in temporal processing of multisensory speech in autistic youth. As a first step in exploring the neural substrates of multisensory temporal processing in this clinical population, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with a simultaneity-judgment audiovisual speech task. Eighteen autistic youth and a comparison group of 20 non-autistic youth matched on chronological age, biological sex, and gender participated. Results extend prior findings from studies of non-autistic adults, with non-autistic youth demonstrating responses in several similar regions as previously implicated in adult temporal processing of multisensory speech. Autistic youth demonstrated responses in fewer of the multisensory regions identified in adult studies; responses were limited to visual and motor cortices. Group responses in the middle temporal gyrus significantly interacted with age; younger autistic individuals showed reduced MTG responses whereas older individuals showed comparable MTG responses relative to non-autistic controls. Across groups, responses in the precuneus covaried with task accuracy, and anterior temporal and insula responses covaried with nonverbal IQ. These preliminary findings suggest possible differences in neural mechanisms of audiovisual processing in autistic youth while highlighting the need to consider participant characteristics in future, larger-scale studies exploring the neural basis of multisensory function in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kacie Dunham
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Alisa Zoltowski
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jacob I. Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Samona Davis
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Baxter Rogers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Michelle D. Failla
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Mark T. Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Carissa J. Cascio
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Tiffany G. Woynaroski
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
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Zhai J, Li X, Zhou Y, Fan L, Xia W, Wang X, Li Y, Hou M, Wang J, Wu L. Correlation and predictive ability of sensory characteristics and social interaction in children with autism spectrum disorder. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1056051. [PMID: 37091701 PMCID: PMC10117963 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1056051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have different social characteristics and particular sensory processing patterns, and these sensory behaviors may affect their social functioning. The objective of our study is to investigate the sensory profiles of children with ASD and their association with social behavior. Specifically, we aim to identify the predictive role of sensory processing in social functioning. Methods The Short Sensory Profile (SSP) was utilized to analyze sensory differences between ASD children and their peers. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and other clinical scales were employed to assess the social functioning of children with ASD. Additionally, the predictive ability of sensory perception on social performance was discussed using random forest and support vector machine (SVM) models. Results The SSP scores of ASD children were lower than those of the control group, and there was a significant negative correlation between SSP scores and clinical scale scores (P < 0.05). The random forest and SVM models, using all the features, showed higher sensitivity, while the random forest model with 7-feature factors had the highest specificity. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for all the models was higher than 0.8. Conclusion Autistic children in our study have different patterns of sensory processing than their peers, which are significantly related to their patterns of social functioning. Sensory features can serve as a good predictor of social functioning in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinhe Zhai
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaoxue Li
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yong Zhou
- Heilongjiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin, China
| | - Lili Fan
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Wei Xia
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Xiaomin Wang
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Yutong Li
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Meiru Hou
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
| | - Jia Wang
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- *Correspondence: Jia Wang,
| | - Lijie Wu
- School of Public Health, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
- Lijie Wu,
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Hoffmann J, Travers-Podmaniczky G, Pelzl MA, Brück C, Jacob H, Hölz L, Martinelli A, Wildgruber D. Impairments in recognition of emotional facial expressions, affective prosody, and multisensory facilitation of response time in high-functioning autism. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1151665. [PMID: 37168084 PMCID: PMC10165112 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1151665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Deficits in emotional perception are common in autistic people, but it remains unclear to which extent these perceptual impairments are linked to specific sensory modalities, specific emotions or multisensory facilitation. Methods This study aimed to investigate uni- and bimodal perception of emotional cues as well as multisensory facilitation in autistic (n = 18, mean age: 36.72 years, SD: 11.36) compared to non-autistic (n = 18, mean age: 36.41 years, SD: 12.18) people using auditory, visual and audiovisual stimuli. Results Lower identification accuracy and longer response time were revealed in high-functioning autistic people. These differences were independent of modality and emotion and showed large effect sizes (Cohen's d 0.8-1.2). Furthermore, multisensory facilitation of response time was observed in non-autistic people that was absent in autistic people, whereas no differences were found in multisensory facilitation of accuracy between the two groups. Discussion These findings suggest that processing of auditory and visual components of audiovisual stimuli is carried out more separately in autistic individuals (with equivalent temporal demands required for processing of the respective unimodal cues), but still with similar relative improvement in accuracy, whereas earlier integrative multimodal merging of stimulus properties seems to occur in non-autistic individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonatan Hoffmann
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Jonatan Hoffmann,
| | | | - Michael Alexander Pelzl
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Carolin Brück
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Heike Jacob
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Lea Hölz
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anne Martinelli
- School of Psychology, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Dirk Wildgruber
- Department of General Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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33
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Feldman JI, Tu A, Conrad JG, Kuang W, Santapuram P, Woynaroski TG. The Impact of Singing on Visual and Multisensory Speech Perception in Children on the Autism Spectrum. Multisens Res 2022; 36:57-74. [PMID: 36731528 PMCID: PMC9924934 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Autistic children show reduced multisensory integration of audiovisual speech stimuli in response to the McGurk illusion. Previously, it has been shown that adults can integrate sung McGurk tokens. These sung speech tokens offer more salient visual and auditory cues, in comparison to the spoken tokens, which may increase the identification and integration of visual speech cues in autistic children. Forty participants (20 autism, 20 non-autistic peers) aged 7-14 completed the study. Participants were presented with speech tokens in four modalities: auditory-only, visual-only, congruent audiovisual, and incongruent audiovisual (i.e., McGurk; auditory 'ba' and visual 'ga'). Tokens were also presented in two formats: spoken and sung. Participants indicated what they perceived via a four-button response box (i.e., 'ba', 'ga', 'da', or 'tha'). Accuracies and perception of the McGurk illusion were calculated for each modality and format. Analysis of visual-only identification indicated a significant main effect of format, whereby participants were more accurate in sung versus spoken trials, but no significant main effect of group or interaction effect. Analysis of the McGurk trials indicated no significant main effect of format or group and no significant interaction effect. Sung speech tokens improved identification of visual speech cues, but did not boost the integration of visual cues with heard speech across groups. Additional work is needed to determine what properties of spoken speech contributed to the observed improvement in visual accuracy and to evaluate whether more prolonged exposure to sung speech may yield effects on multisensory integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob I. Feldman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Alexander Tu
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Present Address: Department of Otolaryngology and
Communication Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
| | - Julie G. Conrad
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Present Address: Department of Pediatrics, University of
Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Wayne Kuang
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Present Address: Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles
County and University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center, University of
Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pooja Santapuram
- Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Present Address: Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia
University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tiffany G. Woynaroski
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt
University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical
Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
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Ross LA, Molholm S, Butler JS, Bene VAD, Foxe JJ. Neural correlates of multisensory enhancement in audiovisual narrative speech perception: a fMRI investigation. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119598. [PMID: 36049699 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
This fMRI study investigated the effect of seeing articulatory movements of a speaker while listening to a naturalistic narrative stimulus. It had the goal to identify regions of the language network showing multisensory enhancement under synchronous audiovisual conditions. We expected this enhancement to emerge in regions known to underlie the integration of auditory and visual information such as the posterior superior temporal gyrus as well as parts of the broader language network, including the semantic system. To this end we presented 53 participants with a continuous narration of a story in auditory alone, visual alone, and both synchronous and asynchronous audiovisual speech conditions while recording brain activity using BOLD fMRI. We found multisensory enhancement in an extensive network of regions underlying multisensory integration and parts of the semantic network as well as extralinguistic regions not usually associated with multisensory integration, namely the primary visual cortex and the bilateral amygdala. Analysis also revealed involvement of thalamic brain regions along the visual and auditory pathways more commonly associated with early sensory processing. We conclude that under natural listening conditions, multisensory enhancement not only involves sites of multisensory integration but many regions of the wider semantic network and includes regions associated with extralinguistic sensory, perceptual and cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars A Ross
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA; Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA; The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA.
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA; The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA
| | - John S Butler
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA; School of Mathematical Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Kevin Street Campus, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Victor A Del Bene
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA; University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Birmingham, Alabama, 35233, USA
| | - John J Foxe
- The Frederick J. and Marion A. Schindler Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, 14642, USA; The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Departments of Pediatrics and Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA.
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Dwyer P, Takarae Y, Zadeh I, Rivera SM, Saron CD. Multisensory integration and interactions across vision, hearing, and somatosensation in autism spectrum development and typical development. Neuropsychologia 2022; 175:108340. [PMID: 36028085 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
Abstract
Most prior studies of multisensory integration (MSI) in autism have measured MSI in only a single combination of modalities - typically audiovisual integration. The present study used onset reaction times (RTs) and 125-channel electroencephalography (EEG) to examine different forms of bimodal and trimodal MSI based on combinations of auditory (noise burst), somatosensory (finger tap), and visual (flash) stimuli presented in a spatially-aligned manner using a custom desktop apparatus. A total of 36 autistic and 19 non-autistic adolescents between the ages of 11-14 participated. Significant RT multisensory facilitation relative to summed unisensory RT was observed in both groups, as were significant differences between summed unisensory and multisensory ERPs. Although the present study's statistical approach was not intended to test effect latencies, these interactions may have begun as early as ∼45 ms, constituting "early" (<100 ms) MSI. RT and ERP measurements of MSI appeared independent of one another. Groups did not significantly differ in multisensory RT facilitation, but we found exploratory evidence of group differences in the magnitude of audiovisual interactions in ERPs. Future research should make greater efforts to explore MSI in under-represented populations, especially autistic people with intellectual disabilities and nonspeaking/minimally-verbal autistic people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Dwyer
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, USA.
| | - Yukari Takarae
- Department of Neurosciences, UC San Diego, USA; Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, USA
| | | | - Susan M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, USA; Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, USA; MIND Institute, UC Davis, USA
| | - Clifford D Saron
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, USA; MIND Institute, UC Davis, USA
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36
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Crosse MJ, Foxe JJ, Tarrit K, Freedman EG, Molholm S. Resolution of impaired multisensory processing in autism and the cost of switching sensory modality. Commun Biol 2022; 5:601. [PMID: 35773473 PMCID: PMC9246932 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03519-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit alterations in multisensory processing, which may contribute to the prevalence of social and communicative deficits in this population. Resolution of multisensory deficits has been observed in teenagers with ASD for complex, social speech stimuli; however, whether this resolution extends to more basic multisensory processing deficits remains unclear. Here, in a cohort of 364 participants we show using simple, non-social audiovisual stimuli that deficits in multisensory processing observed in high-functioning children and teenagers with ASD are not evident in adults with the disorder. Computational modelling indicated that multisensory processing transitions from a default state of competition to one of facilitation, and that this transition is delayed in ASD. Further analysis revealed group differences in how sensory channels are weighted, and how this is impacted by preceding cross-sensory inputs. Our findings indicate that there is a complex and dynamic interplay among the sensory systems that differs considerably in individuals with ASD. Crosse et al. study a cohort of 364 participants with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and matched controls, and show that deficits in multisensory processing observed in high-functioning children and teenagers with ASD are not evident in adults with the disorder. Using computational modelling they go on to demonstrate that there is a delayed transition of multisensory processing from a default state of competition to one of facilitation in ASD, as well as differences in sensory weighting and the ability to switch between sensory modalities, which sheds light on the interplay among sensory systems that differ in ASD individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Crosse
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. .,The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. .,Trinity Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing & Biomedical Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - John J Foxe
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.,The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Katy Tarrit
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Edward G Freedman
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Sophie Molholm
- The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. .,The Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA. .,The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
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Tsurugizawa T. Translational Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Autism Spectrum Disorder From the Mouse Model to Human. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:872036. [PMID: 35585926 PMCID: PMC9108701 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.872036] [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: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by behavioral features such as impaired social communication, repetitive behavior patterns, and a lack of interest in novel objects. A multimodal neuroimaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with ASD shows highly heterogeneous abnormalities in function and structure in the brain associated with specific behavioral features. To elucidate the mechanism of ASD, several ASD mouse models have been generated, by focusing on some of the ASD risk genes. A specific behavioral feature of an ASD mouse model is caused by an altered gene expression or a modification of a gene product. Using these mouse models, a high field preclinical MRI enables us to non-invasively investigate the neuronal mechanism of the altered brain function associated with the behavior and ASD risk genes. Thus, MRI is a promising translational approach to bridge the gap between mice and humans. This review presents the evidence for multimodal MRI, including functional MRI (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and volumetric analysis, in ASD mouse models and in patients with ASD and discusses the future directions for the translational study of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomokazu Tsurugizawa
- Human Informatics and Interaction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
- *Correspondence: Tomokazu Tsurugizawa,
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38
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Jessica Tan SH, Kalashnikova M, Di Liberto GM, Crosse MJ, Burnham D. Seeing a Talking Face Matters: The Relationship between Cortical Tracking of Continuous Auditory-Visual Speech and Gaze Behaviour in Infants, Children and Adults. Neuroimage 2022; 256:119217. [PMID: 35436614 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
An auditory-visual speech benefit, the benefit that visual speech cues bring to auditory speech perception, is experienced from early on in infancy and continues to be experienced to an increasing degree with age. While there is both behavioural and neurophysiological evidence for children and adults, only behavioural evidence exists for infants - as no neurophysiological study has provided a comprehensive examination of the auditory-visual speech benefit in infants. It is also surprising that most studies on auditory-visual speech benefit do not concurrently report looking behaviour especially since the auditory-visual speech benefit rests on the assumption that listeners attend to a speaker's talking face and that there are meaningful individual differences in looking behaviour. To address these gaps, we simultaneously recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) and eye-tracking data of 5-month-olds, 4-year-olds and adults as they were presented with a speaker in auditory-only (AO), visual-only (VO), and auditory-visual (AV) modes. Cortical tracking analyses that involved forward encoding models of the speech envelope revealed that there was an auditory-visual speech benefit [i.e., AV > (A+V)], evident in 5-month-olds and adults but not 4-year-olds. Examination of cortical tracking accuracy in relation to looking behaviour, showed that infants' relative attention to the speaker's mouth (vs. eyes) was positively correlated with cortical tracking accuracy of VO speech, whereas adults' attention to the display overall was negatively correlated with cortical tracking accuracy of VO speech. This study provides the first neurophysiological evidence of auditory-visual speech benefit in infants and our results suggest ways in which current models of speech processing can be fine-tuned.
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Affiliation(s)
- S H Jessica Tan
- The MARCS Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University.
| | - Marina Kalashnikova
- The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science
| | | | - Michael J Crosse
- Trinity Center for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Manufacturing & Biomedical Engineering, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Denis Burnham
- The MARCS Institute of Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University
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Sturrock A, Guest H, Hanks G, Bendo G, Plack CJ, Gowen E. Chasing the conversation: Autistic experiences of speech perception. AUTISM & DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS 2022; 7:23969415221077532. [PMID: 36382084 PMCID: PMC9620672 DOI: 10.1177/23969415221077532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Humans communicate primarily through spoken language and speech perception is a core function of the human auditory system. Among the autistic community, atypical sensory reactivity and social communication difficulties are pervasive, yet the research literature lacks in-depth self-report data on speech perception in this population. The present study aimed to elicit detailed first-person accounts of autistic individuals' abilities and difficulties perceiving the spoken word. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine autistic adults. The interview schedule addressed interviewees' experiences of speech perception, factors influencing those experiences, and responses to those experiences. Resulting interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis. The six-person study team included two autistic researchers, to reduce risk of neurotypical 'overshadowing' of autistic voices. RESULTS Most interviewees reported pronounced difficulties perceiving speech in the presence of competing sounds. They emphasised that such listening difficulties are distinct from social difficulties, though the two can add and interact. Difficulties were of several varieties, ranging from powerful auditory distraction to drowning out of voices by continuous sounds. Contributing factors encompassed not only features of the soundscape but also non-acoustic factors such as multisensory processing and social cognition. Participants also identified compounding factors, such as lack of understanding of listening difficulties. Impacts were diverse and sometimes disabling, affecting socialising, emotions, fatigue, career, and self-image. A wide array of coping mechanisms was described. CONCLUSIONS The first in-depth qualitative investigation of autistic speech-perception experiences has revealed diverse and widespread listening difficulties. These can combine with other internal, interpersonal, and societal factors to induce profound impacts. Lack of understanding of such listening difficulties - by the self, by communication partners, by institutions, and especially by clinicians - appears to be a crucial exacerbating factor. Many autistic adults have developed coping strategies to lessen speech-perception difficulties or mitigate their effects, and these are generally self-taught due to lack of clinical support. IMPLICATIONS There is a need for carefully designed, adequately powered confirmatory research to verify, quantify, and disentangle the various forms of listening difficulty, preferably using large samples to explore heterogeneity. More immediate benefit might be obtained through development of self-help and clinical guidance materials, and by raising awareness of autistic listening experiences and needs, among the autistic community, communication partners, institutions, and clinicians.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hannah Guest
- Hannah Guest, Manchester Centre for
Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester,
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
| | - Graham Hanks
- Department of Psychology, The University of
Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - George Bendo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, UK ALMA
Regional Centre Node, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, The University of
Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Christopher J Plack
- Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness,
School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester,
UK
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Remote Microphone Systems Can Improve Listening-in-Noise Accuracy and Listening Effort for Youth With Autism. Ear Hear 2022; 43:436-447. [PMID: 35030553 PMCID: PMC8881266 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study examined whether remote microphone (RM) systems improved listening-in-noise performance in youth with autism. We explored effects of RM system use on both listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort in a well-characterized sample of participants with autism. We hypothesized that listening-in-noise accuracy would be enhanced and listening effort reduced, on average, when participants used the RM system. Furthermore, we predicted that effects of RM system use on listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort would vary according to participant characteristics. Specifically, we hypothesized that participants who were chronologically older, had greater nonverbal cognitive and language ability, displayed fewer features of autism, and presented with more typical sensory and multisensory profiles might exhibit greater benefits of RM system use than participants who were younger, had less nonverbal cognitive or language ability, displayed more features of autism, and presented with greater sensory and multisensory disruptions. DESIGN We implemented a within-subjects design to investigate our hypotheses, wherein 32 youth with autism completed listening-in-noise testing with and without an RM system. Listening-in-noise accuracy and listening effort were evaluated simultaneously using a dual-task paradigm for stimuli varying in complexity (i.e., syllable-, word-, sentence-, and passage-level). In addition, several putative moderators of RM system effects (i.e., sensory and multisensory function, language, nonverbal cognition, and broader features of autism) on outcomes of interest were evaluated. RESULTS Overall, RM system use resulted in higher listening-in-noise accuracy in youth with autism compared with no RM system use. The observed benefits were all large in magnitude, although the benefits on average were greater for more complex stimuli (e.g., key words embedded in sentences) and relatively smaller for less complex stimuli (e.g., syllables). Notably, none of the putative moderators significantly influenced the effects of the RM system on listening-in-noise accuracy, indicating that RM system benefits did not vary according to any of the participant characteristics assessed. On average, RM system use did not have an effect on listening effort across all youth with autism compared with no RM system use but instead yielded effects that varied according to participant profile. Specifically, moderated effects indicated that RM system use was associated with increased listening effort for youth who had (a) average to below-average nonverbal cognitive ability, (b) below-average language ability, and (c) reduced audiovisual integration. RM system use was also associated with decreased listening effort for youth with very high nonverbal cognitive ability. CONCLUSIONS This study extends prior work by showing that RM systems have the potential to boost listening-in-noise accuracy for youth with autism. However, this boost in accuracy was coupled with increased listening effort, as indexed by longer reaction times while using an RM system, for some youth with autism, perhaps suggesting greater engagement in the listening-in-noise tasks when using the RM system for youth who had lower cognitive abilities, were less linguistically able, and/or have difficulty integrating seen and heard speech. These findings have important implications for clinical practice, suggesting RM system use in classrooms could potentially improve listening-in-noise performance for some youth with autism.
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Beker S, Foxe JJ, Molholm S. Oscillatory entrainment mechanisms and anticipatory predictive processes in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:1783-1798. [PMID: 34644178 PMCID: PMC8794059 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00329.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Anticipating near-future events is fundamental to adaptive behavior, whereby neural processing of predictable stimuli is significantly facilitated relative to nonpredictable events. Neural oscillations appear to be a key anticipatory mechanism by which processing of upcoming stimuli is modified, and they often entrain to rhythmic environmental sequences. Clinical and anecdotal observations have led to the hypothesis that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have deficits in generating predictions, and as such, a candidate neural mechanism may be failure to adequately entrain neural activity to repetitive environmental patterns, to facilitate temporal predictions. We tested this hypothesis by interrogating temporal predictions and rhythmic entrainment using behavioral and electrophysiological approaches. We recorded high-density electroencephalography in children with ASD and typically developing (TD) age- and IQ-matched controls, while they reacted to an auditory target as quickly as possible. This auditory event was either preceded by predictive rhythmic visual cues or was not preceded by any cue. Both ASD and control groups presented comparable behavioral facilitation in response to the Cue versus No-Cue condition, challenging the hypothesis that children with ASD have deficits in generating temporal predictions. Analyses of the electrophysiological data, in contrast, revealed significantly reduced neural entrainment to the visual cues and altered anticipatory processes in the ASD group. This was the case despite intact stimulus-evoked visual responses. These results support intact behavioral temporal prediction in response to a cue in ASD, in the face of altered neural entrainment and anticipatory processes.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We examined behavioral and EEG indices of predictive processing in children with ASD to rhythmically predictable stimuli. Although behavioral measures of predictive processing and evoked neural responses were intact in the ASD group, neurophysiological measures of preparatory activity and entrainment were impaired. When sensory events are presented in a predictable temporal pattern, performance and neuronal responses in ASD may be governed more by the occurrence of the events themselves and less by their anticipated timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomit Beker
- Department of Pediatrics, The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
| | - John J Foxe
- Department of Pediatrics, The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
| | - Sophie Molholm
- Department of Pediatrics, The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.,Department of Neuroscience, The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, The Ernest J. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
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42
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Borgolte A, Roy M, Sinke C, Wiswede D, Stephan M, Bleich S, Münte TF, Szycik GR. Enhanced attentional processing during speech perception in adult high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: An ERP-study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 161:108022. [PMID: 34530026 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108022] [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: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in audiovisual speech perception have consistently been detected in patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Especially for patients with a highly functional subtype of ASD, it remains uncertain whether these deficits and underlying neural mechanisms persist into adulthood. Research indicates differences in audiovisual speech processing between ASD and healthy controls (HC) in the auditory cortex. The temporal dynamics of these differences still need to be characterized. Thus, in the present study we examined 14 adult subjects with high-functioning ASD and 15 adult HC while they viewed visual (lip movements) and auditory (voice) speech information that was either superimposed by white noise (condition 1) or not (condition 2). Subject's performance was quantified by measuring stimulus comprehension. In addition, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Results demonstrated worse speech comprehension for ASD subjects compared to HC under noisy conditions. Moreover, ERP-analysis revealed significantly higher P2 amplitudes over parietal electrodes for ASD subjects compared to HC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Borgolte
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany.
| | - Mandy Roy
- Asklepios, Psychiatric Hospital Ochsenzoll, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christopher Sinke
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Daniel Wiswede
- Dept. of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Michael Stephan
- Dept. of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - Stefan Bleich
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany; Center of Systems Neuroscience, Hanover, Germany
| | - Thomas F Münte
- Dept. of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Gregor R Szycik
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
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43
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Galigani M, Fossataro C, Gindri P, Conson M, Garbarini F. Monochannel Preference in Autism Spectrum Conditions Revealed by a Non-Visual Variant of Rubber Hand Illusion. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:4252-4260. [PMID: 34595575 PMCID: PMC9508008 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05299-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are less susceptible to multisensory delusions, such as rubber hand illusion (RHI). Here, we investigate whether a monochannel variant of RHI is more effective in inducing an illusory feeling of ownership in ASC. To this aim, we exploit a non-visual variant of the RHI that, excluding vision, leverages only on the somatosensory channel. While the visual-tactile RHI does not alter the perceived hand position in ASC individuals, the tacto-tactile RHI effectively modulates proprioception to a similar extent as that found in typical development individuals. These findings suggest a more effective integration of multiple inputs originating from the same sensory channel in ASC, revealing a monochannel preference in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattia Galigani
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Via Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy
| | - Carlotta Fossataro
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Via Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy.
| | | | - Massimiliano Conson
- Neuropsychology Laboratory, Psychology Department, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
| | - Francesca Garbarini
- Manibus Lab, Psychology Department, University of Turin, Via Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy.,Neuroscience Institute of Turin, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
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44
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Smyre SA, Wang Z, Stein BE, Rowland BA. Multisensory enhancement of overt behavior requires multisensory experience. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:4514-4527. [PMID: 34013578 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The superior colliculus (SC) is richly endowed with neurons that integrate cues from different senses to enhance their physiological responses and the overt behaviors they mediate. However, in the absence of experience with cross-modal combinations (e.g., visual-auditory), they fail to develop this characteristic multisensory capability: Their multisensory responses are no greater than their most effective unisensory responses. Presumably, this impairment in neural development would be reflected as corresponding impairments in SC-mediated behavioral capabilities such as detection and localization performance. Here, we tested that assumption directly in cats raised to adulthood in darkness. They, along with a normally reared cohort, were trained to approach brief visual or auditory stimuli. The animals were then tested with these stimuli individually and in combination under ambient light conditions consistent with their rearing conditions and home environment as well as under the opposite lighting condition. As expected, normally reared animals detected and localized the cross-modal combinations significantly better than their individual component stimuli. However, dark-reared animals showed significant defects in multisensory detection and localization performance. The results indicate that a physiological impairment in single multisensory SC neurons is predictive of an impairment in overt multisensory behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Smyre
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Zhengyang Wang
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Barry E Stein
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Benjamin A Rowland
- Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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45
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Roy D, Uddin LQ. Atypical core-periphery brain dynamics in autism. Netw Neurosci 2021; 5:295-321. [PMID: 34189366 PMCID: PMC8233106 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00181] [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] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The intrinsic function of the human brain is dynamic, giving rise to numerous behavioral subtypes that fluctuate distinctively at multiple timescales. One of the key dynamical processes that takes place in the brain is the interaction between core-periphery brain regions, which undergoes constant fluctuations associated with developmental time frames. Core-periphery dynamical changes associated with macroscale brain network dynamics span multiple timescales and may lead to atypical behavior and clinical symptoms. For example, recent evidence suggests that brain regions with shorter intrinsic timescales are located at the periphery of brain networks (e.g., sensorimotor hand, face areas) and are implicated in perception and movement. On the contrary, brain regions with longer timescales are core hub regions. These hubs are important for regulating interactions between the brain and the body during self-related cognition and emotion. In this review, we summarize a large body of converging evidence derived from time-resolved fMRI studies in autism to characterize atypical core-periphery brain dynamics and how they relate to core and contextual sensory and cognitive profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipanjan Roy
- Cognitive Brain Dynamics Lab, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, India
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
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46
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Kaganovich N, Schumaker J, Christ S. Impaired Audiovisual Representation of Phonemes in Children with Developmental Language Disorder. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11040507. [PMID: 33923647 PMCID: PMC8073635 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11040507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined whether children with developmental language disorder (DLD) differed from their peers with typical development (TD) in the degree to which they encode information about a talker’s mouth shape into long-term phonemic representations. Children watched a talker’s face and listened to rare changes from [i] to [u] or the reverse. In the neutral condition, the talker’s face had a closed mouth throughout. In the audiovisual violation condition, the mouth shape always matched the frequent vowel, even when the rare vowel was played. We hypothesized that in the neutral condition no long-term audiovisual memory traces for speech sounds would be activated. Therefore, the neural response elicited by deviants would reflect only a violation of the observed audiovisual sequence. In contrast, we expected that in the audiovisual violation condition, a long-term memory trace for the speech sound/lip configuration typical for the frequent vowel would be activated. In this condition then, the neural response elicited by rare sound changes would reflect a violation of not only observed audiovisual patterns but also of a long-term memory representation for how a given vowel looks when articulated. Children pressed a response button whenever they saw a talker’s face assume a silly expression. We found that in children with TD, rare auditory changes produced a significant mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related potential (ERP) component over the posterior scalp in the audiovisual violation condition but not in the neutral condition. In children with DLD, no MMN was present in either condition. Rare vowel changes elicited a significant P3 in both groups and conditions, indicating that all children noticed auditory changes. Our results suggest that children with TD, but not children with DLD, incorporate visual information into long-term phonemic representations and detect violations in audiovisual phonemic congruency even when they perform a task that is unrelated to phonemic processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalya Kaganovich
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038, USA;
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(765)-494-4233; Fax: +1-(765)-494-0771
| | - Jennifer Schumaker
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, 715 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038, USA;
| | - Sharon Christ
- Department of Statistics, Purdue University, 250 N. University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2066, USA;
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 1202 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2055, USA
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47
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Ujiie Y, Takahashi K. Weaker McGurk Effect for Rubin's Vase-Type Speech in People With High Autistic Traits. Multisens Res 2021; 34:1-17. [PMID: 33873157 DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
While visual information from facial speech modulates auditory speech perception, it is less influential on audiovisual speech perception among autistic individuals than among typically developed individuals. In this study, we investigated the relationship between autistic traits (Autism-Spectrum Quotient; AQ) and the influence of visual speech on the recognition of Rubin's vase-type speech stimuli with degraded facial speech information. Participants were 31 university students (13 males and 18 females; mean age: 19.2, SD: 1.13 years) who reported normal (or corrected-to-normal) hearing and vision. All participants completed three speech recognition tasks (visual, auditory, and audiovisual stimuli) and the AQ-Japanese version. The results showed that accuracies of speech recognition for visual (i.e., lip-reading) and auditory stimuli were not significantly related to participants' AQ. In contrast, audiovisual speech perception was less susceptible to facial speech perception among individuals with high rather than low autistic traits. The weaker influence of visual information on audiovisual speech perception in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was robust regardless of the clarity of the visual information, suggesting a difficulty in the process of audiovisual integration rather than in the visual processing of facial speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Ujiie
- Graduate School of Psychology, Chukyo University, 101-2 Yagoto Honmachi, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, 466-8666, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Kojimachi Business Center Building, 5-3-1 Kojimachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
- Research and Development Initiative, Chuo University, 1-13-27, Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112-8551, Japan
| | - Kohske Takahashi
- School of Psychology, Chukyo University, 101-2 Yagoto Honmachi, Showa-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, 466-8666, Japan
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48
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Pettine WW, Louie K, Murray JD, Wang XJ. Excitatory-inhibitory tone shapes decision strategies in a hierarchical neural network model of multi-attribute choice. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008791. [PMID: 33705386 PMCID: PMC7987200 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We are constantly faced with decisions between alternatives defined by multiple attributes, necessitating an evaluation and integration of different information sources. Time-varying signals in multiple brain areas are implicated in decision-making; but we lack a rigorous biophysical description of how basic circuit properties, such as excitatory-inhibitory (E/I) tone and cascading nonlinearities, shape attribute processing and choice behavior. Furthermore, how such properties govern choice performance under varying levels of environmental uncertainty is unknown. We investigated two-attribute, two-alternative decision-making in a dynamical, cascading nonlinear neural network with three layers: an input layer encoding choice alternative attribute values; an intermediate layer of modules processing separate attributes; and a final layer producing the decision. Depending on intermediate layer E/I tone, the network displays distinct regimes characterized by linear (I), convex (II) or concave (III) choice indifference curves. In regimes I and II, each option's attribute information is additively integrated. In regime III, time-varying nonlinear operations amplify the separation between offer distributions by selectively attending to the attribute with the larger differences in input values. At low environmental uncertainty, a linear combination most consistently selects higher valued alternatives. However, at high environmental uncertainty, regime III is more likely than a linear operation to select alternatives with higher value. Furthermore, there are conditions where readout from the intermediate layer could be experimentally indistinguishable from the final layer. Finally, these principles are used to examine multi-attribute decisions in systems with reduced inhibitory tone, leading to predictions of different choice patterns and overall performance between those with restrictions on inhibitory tone and neurotypicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren Woodrich Pettine
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States of America
| | - Kenway Louie
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | - John D. Murray
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, United States of America
| | - Xiao-Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
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49
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Irwin J, Avery T, Kleinman D, Landi N. Audiovisual Speech Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Evidence from Visual Phonemic Restoration. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:28-37. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04916-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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50
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Stevenson RA, Ruppel J, Sun SZ, Segers M, Zapparoli BL, Bebko JM, Barense MD, Ferber S. Visual working memory and sensory processing in autistic children. Sci Rep 2021; 11:3648. [PMID: 33574399 PMCID: PMC7878880 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-82777-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
While atypical sensory processing is one of the more ubiquitous symptoms in autism spectrum disorder, the exact nature of these sensory issues remains unclear, with different studies showing either enhanced or deficient sensory processing. Using a well-established continuous cued-recall task that assesses visual working memory, the current study provides novel evidence reconciling these apparently discrepant findings. Autistic children exhibited perceptual advantages in both likelihood of recall and recall precision relative to their typically-developed peers. When autistic children did make errors, however, they showed a higher probability of erroneously binding a given colour with the incorrect spatial location. These data align with neural-architecture models for feature binding in visual working memory, suggesting that atypical population-level neural noise in the report dimension (colour) and cue dimension (spatial location) may drive both the increase in probability of recall and precision of colour recall as well as the increase in proportion of binding errors when making an error, respectively. These changes are likely to impact core symptomatology associated with autism, as perceptual binding and working memory play significant roles in higher-order tasks, such as communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A. Stevenson
- grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6G 2K3 Canada ,grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON Canada ,grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, ON Canada ,grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, ON Canada ,grid.21100.320000 0004 1936 9430Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Justin Ruppel
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Sol Z. Sun
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Magali Segers
- grid.39381.300000 0004 1936 8884Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON N6G 2K3 Canada ,grid.21100.320000 0004 1936 9430Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Busisiwe L. Zapparoli
- grid.21100.320000 0004 1936 9430Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - James M. Bebko
- grid.21100.320000 0004 1936 9430Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Morgan D. Barense
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Susanne Ferber
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada ,grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Rotman Research Institute, Toronto, ON Canada
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