Judging emotions in lexical-prosodic congruent and incongruent speech stimuli by adolescents in the autism spectrum

Multichannel Perception of Emotion in Speech, Voice, Facial Expression, and Gesture in Individuals With Autism: A Scoping Review

PURPOSE

Numerous studies have identified individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with deficits in unichannel emotion perception and multisensory integration. However, only limited research is available on multichannel emotion perception in ASD. The purpose of this review was to seek conceptual clarification, identify knowledge gaps, and suggest directions for future research.

METHOD

We conducted a scoping review of the literature published between 1989 and 2021, following the 2005 framework of Arksey and O'Malley. Data relating to study characteristics, task characteristics, participant information, and key findings on multichannel processing of emotion in ASD were extracted for the review.

RESULTS

Discrepancies were identified regarding multichannel emotion perception deficits, which are related to participant age, developmental level, and task demand. Findings are largely consistent regarding the facilitation and compensation of congruent multichannel emotional cues and the interference and disruption of incongruent signals. Unlike controls, ASD individuals demonstrate an overreliance on semantics rather than prosody to decode multichannel emotion.

CONCLUSIONS

The existing literature on multichannel emotion perception in ASD is limited, dispersed, and disassociated, focusing on a variety of topics with a wide range of methodologies. Further research is necessary to quantitatively examine the impact of methodological choice on performance outcomes. An integrated framework of emotion, language, and cognition is needed to examine the mutual influences between emotion and language as well as the cross-linguistic and cross-cultural differences.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19386176.

Neural evidence for reduced automaticity in processing emotional prosody among men with high levels of autistic traits

This study aimed to examine individual differences in the integration of emotional prosody when processing semantic meaning in speech among men with high and low levels of autistic traits, as measured by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The behavioral and neural responses of high- and low-AQ men during semantic valence judgment were compared. The stimuli were positive or negative words spoken with either happy or sad prosody; in other words, the prosody was either congruous or incongruous to the valence of meaning. Participants were required to judge the (positive vs. negative) valence of word meaning as accurately and as quickly as possible while ignoring emotional prosody. Behavioral results showed that high-AQ men responded significantly more slowly than low-AQ men in all stimulus conditions, indicating lower automaticity in processing emotional speech. Neural data revealed that low-AQ men (but not high-AQ men) had significantly increased N200 and N400 amplitudes for incongruous (compared to congruous) stimuli spoken with happy prosody. Our findings supported our hypotheses that high levels of autistic traits are associated with reduced behavioral automaticity and less differential neural resources allocated to processing emotional speech stimuli with different cognitive demands.

Imaging appetite-regulating pathways in the central nervous system using manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

The global increase in obesity has led to a redoubling of efforts directed at understanding the control of energy homeostasis. Insight into the mechanisms which govern appetite regulation is central to understanding the pathophysiology of obesity and the design of effective therapeutic interventions. Exploitation of hormonal satiety signals secreted by the gut requires greater insight into their interaction with central nervous system (CNS) circuits of appetite control. Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging is a novel technique, recently adapted to investigate the effects of gut peptides on CNS appetite circuits. Using manganese ion accumulation as a marker of neuronal activity, changes in signal intensity in key appetite centres within the hypothalamus following peripheral injection of gut hormones have been demonstrated. Manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging offers several advantages over methodologies currently used for the study of gut hormone interactions with the CNS and has the potential for application in fields beyond appetite regulation.