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Norcia AM, Lee A, Meredith WJ, Kohler PJ, Pei F, Ghassan SA, Libove RA, Phillips JM, Hardan AY. A case-control study of visual, auditory and audio-visual sensory interactions in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Vis 2021; 21:5. [PMID: 33830169 PMCID: PMC8039569 DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.4.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
To assess the relative integrity of early visual and auditory processes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we used frequency-tagged visual and auditory stimulation and high-density electroencephalogram recordings of unimodal and dual-modality responses in a case-control design. To test for the specificity of effects on ASD, we recorded from a smaller group of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Horizontal 3 cycle per degree (cpd) gratings were presented at 5 Hz, and a random stream of /ba/, /da/, /ga/ syllables was presented at 6 Hz. Grating contrast response functions were measured unimodally and in the presence of a 64-dB auditory input. Auditory response functions were measured unimodally and in the presence of a 40% contrast grating. Children with ASD (n = 34) and ADHD (n = 13) showed a common lack of audio-visual interaction compared to typically developing children (n = 40) when measured at the first harmonic of the visual stimulus frequency. Both patient groups also showed depressed first harmonic responses at low contrast, but the ADHD group had consistently higher first-harmonic responses at high contrast. Children with ASD had a preferential loss of second-harmonic (transient) responses. The alteredtransient responses in ASD are likely to arise very early in the visual pathway and could thus have downstream consequences for many other visual mechanisms and processes. The alteration in audio-visual interaction could be a signature of a comorbid phenotype shared by ASD and ADHD, possibly due to alterations in attentional selection systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Azalea Lee
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | - Peter J Kohler
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Francesca Pei
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Stephanie A Ghassan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Robin A Libove
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer M Phillips
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Antonio Y Hardan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Siemann JK, Veenstra-VanderWeele J, Wallace MT. Approaches to Understanding Multisensory Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 13:1430-1449. [PMID: 32869933 PMCID: PMC7721996 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 07/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Abnormal sensory responses are a DSM-5 symptom of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and research findings demonstrate altered sensory processing in ASD. Beyond difficulties with processing information within single sensory domains, including both hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity, difficulties in multisensory processing are becoming a core issue of focus in ASD. These difficulties may be targeted by treatment approaches such as "sensory integration," which is frequently applied in autism treatment but not yet based on clear evidence. Recently, psychophysical data have emerged to demonstrate multisensory deficits in some children with ASD. Unlike deficits in social communication, which are best understood in humans, sensory and multisensory changes offer a tractable marker of circuit dysfunction that is more easily translated into animal model systems to probe the underlying neurobiological mechanisms. Paralleling experimental paradigms that were previously applied in humans and larger mammals, we and others have demonstrated that multisensory function can also be examined behaviorally in rodents. Here, we review the sensory and multisensory difficulties commonly found in ASD, examining laboratory findings that relate these findings across species. Next, we discuss the known neurobiology of multisensory integration, drawing largely on experimental work in larger mammals, and extensions of these paradigms into rodents. Finally, we describe emerging investigations into multisensory processing in genetic mouse models related to autism risk. By detailing findings from humans to mice, we highlight the advantage of multisensory paradigms that can be easily translated across species, as well as the potential for rodent experimental systems to reveal opportunities for novel treatments. LAY SUMMARY: Sensory and multisensory deficits are commonly found in ASD and may result in cascading effects that impact social communication. By using similar experiments to those in humans, we discuss how studies in animal models may allow an understanding of the brain mechanisms that underlie difficulties in multisensory integration, with the ultimate goal of developing new treatments. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1430-1449. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin K Siemann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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3
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McDaniel J, Camarata S, Yoder P. Comparing Auditory-Only and Audiovisual Word Learning for Children With Hearing Loss. JOURNAL OF DEAF STUDIES AND DEAF EDUCATION 2018; 23:382-398. [PMID: 29767759 PMCID: PMC6146754 DOI: 10.1093/deafed/eny016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 04/16/2018] [Accepted: 05/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Although reducing visual input to emphasize auditory cues is a common practice in pediatric auditory (re)habilitation, the extant literature offers minimal empirical evidence for whether unisensory auditory-only (AO) or multisensory audiovisual (AV) input is more beneficial to children with hearing loss for developing spoken language skills. Using an adapted alternating treatments single case research design, we evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a receptive word learning intervention with and without access to visual speechreading cues. Four preschool children with prelingual hearing loss participated. Based on probes without visual cues, three participants demonstrated strong evidence for learning in the AO and AV conditions relative to a control (no-teaching) condition. No participants demonstrated a differential rate of learning between AO and AV conditions. Neither an inhibitory effect predicted by a unisensory theory nor a beneficial effect predicted by a multisensory theory for providing visual cues was identified. Clinical implications are discussed.
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Stevenson RA, Sheffield SW, Butera IM, Gifford RH, Wallace MT. Multisensory Integration in Cochlear Implant Recipients. Ear Hear 2018; 38:521-538. [PMID: 28399064 DOI: 10.1097/aud.0000000000000435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Speech perception is inherently a multisensory process involving integration of auditory and visual cues. Multisensory integration in cochlear implant (CI) recipients is a unique circumstance in that the integration occurs after auditory deprivation and the provision of hearing via the CI. Despite the clear importance of multisensory cues for perception, in general, and for speech intelligibility, specifically, the topic of multisensory perceptual benefits in CI users has only recently begun to emerge as an area of inquiry. We review the research that has been conducted on multisensory integration in CI users to date and suggest a number of areas needing further research. The overall pattern of results indicates that many CI recipients show at least some perceptual gain that can be attributable to multisensory integration. The extent of this gain, however, varies based on a number of factors, including age of implantation and specific task being assessed (e.g., stimulus detection, phoneme perception, word recognition). Although both children and adults with CIs obtain audiovisual benefits for phoneme, word, and sentence stimuli, neither group shows demonstrable gain for suprasegmental feature perception. Additionally, only early-implanted children and the highest performing adults obtain audiovisual integration benefits similar to individuals with normal hearing. Increasing age of implantation in children is associated with poorer gains resultant from audiovisual integration, suggesting a sensitive period in development for the brain networks that subserve these integrative functions, as well as length of auditory experience. This finding highlights the need for early detection of and intervention for hearing loss, not only in terms of auditory perception, but also in terms of the behavioral and perceptual benefits of audiovisual processing. Importantly, patterns of auditory, visual, and audiovisual responses suggest that underlying integrative processes may be fundamentally different between CI users and typical-hearing listeners. Future research, particularly in low-level processing tasks such as signal detection will help to further assess mechanisms of multisensory integration for individuals with hearing loss, both with and without CIs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A Stevenson
- 1Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; 2Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; 3Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Audiology and Speech Pathology Center, London, Ontario, Canada; 4Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, Tennesse; 5Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennesse; 6Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennesse; 7Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennesse; and 8Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennesse
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Noel JP, Stevenson RA, Wallace MT. Atypical audiovisual temporal function in autism and schizophrenia: similar phenotype, different cause. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:1230-1241. [PMID: 29575155 PMCID: PMC5980744 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2017] [Revised: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Binding across sensory modalities yields substantial perceptual benefits, including enhanced speech intelligibility. The coincidence of sensory inputs across time is a fundamental cue for this integration process. Recent work has suggested that individuals with diagnoses of schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will characterize auditory and visual events as synchronous over larger temporal disparities than their neurotypical counterparts. Namely, these clinical populations possess an enlarged temporal binding window (TBW). Although patients with SZ and ASD share aspects of their symptomatology, phenotypic similarities may result from distinct etiologies. To examine similarities and variances in audiovisual temporal function in these two populations, individuals diagnosed with ASD (n = 46; controls n = 40) and SZ (n = 16, controls = 16) completed an audiovisual simultaneity judgment task. In addition to standard psychometric analyses, synchrony judgments were assessed using Bayesian causal inference modeling. This approach permits distinguishing between distinct causes of an enlarged TBW: an a priori bias to bind sensory information and poor fidelity in the sensory representation. Findings indicate that both ASD and SZ populations show deficits in multisensory temporal acuity. Importantly, results suggest that while the wider TBWs in ASD most prominently results from atypical priors, the wider TBWs in SZ results from a trend toward changes in prior and weaknesses in the sensory representations. Results are discussed in light of current ASD and SZ theories and highlight that different perceptual training paradigms focused on improving multisensory integration may be most effective in these two clinical populations and emphasize that similar phenotypes may emanate from distinct mechanistic causes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Noel
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ryan A. Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
- Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark T. Wallace
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing and Speech, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Odegaard B, Wozny DR, Shams L. A simple and efficient method to enhance audiovisual binding tendencies. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3143. [PMID: 28462016 PMCID: PMC5407282 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals vary in their tendency to bind signals from multiple senses. For the same set of sights and sounds, one individual may frequently integrate multisensory signals and experience a unified percept, whereas another individual may rarely bind them and often experience two distinct sensations. Thus, while this binding/integration tendency is specific to each individual, it is not clear how plastic this tendency is in adulthood, and how sensory experiences may cause it to change. Here, we conducted an exploratory investigation which provides evidence that (1) the brain’s tendency to bind in spatial perception is plastic, (2) that it can change following brief exposure to simple audiovisual stimuli, and (3) that exposure to temporally synchronous, spatially discrepant stimuli provides the most effective method to modify it. These results can inform current theories about how the brain updates its internal model of the surrounding sensory world, as well as future investigations seeking to increase integration tendencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Odegaard
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - David R Wozny
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Ladan Shams
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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Modi ME, Sahin M. Translational use of event-related potentials to assess circuit integrity in ASD. Nat Rev Neurol 2017; 13:160-170. [DOI: 10.1038/nrneurol.2017.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Krueger Fister J, Stevenson RA, Nidiffer AR, Barnett ZP, Wallace MT. Stimulus intensity modulates multisensory temporal processing. Neuropsychologia 2016; 88:92-100. [PMID: 26920937 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Revised: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
One of the more challenging feats that multisensory systems must perform is to determine which sensory signals originate from the same external event, and thus should be integrated or "bound" into a singular perceptual object or event, and which signals should be segregated. Two important stimulus properties impacting this process are the timing and effectiveness of the paired stimuli. It has been well established that the more temporally aligned two stimuli are, the greater the degree to which they influence one another's processing. In addition, the less effective the individual unisensory stimuli are in eliciting a response, the greater the benefit when they are combined. However, the interaction between stimulus timing and stimulus effectiveness in driving multisensory-mediated behaviors has never been explored - which was the purpose of the current study. Participants were presented with either high- or low-intensity audiovisual stimuli in which stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) were parametrically varied, and were asked to report on the perceived synchrony/asynchrony of the paired stimuli. Our results revealed an interaction between the temporal relationship (SOA) and intensity of the stimuli. Specifically, individuals were more tolerant of larger temporal offsets (i.e., more likely to call them synchronous) when the paired stimuli were less effective. This interaction was also seen in response time (RT) distributions. Behavioral gains in RTs were seen with synchronous relative to asynchronous presentations, but this effect was more pronounced with high-intensity stimuli. These data suggest that stimulus effectiveness plays an underappreciated role in the perception of the timing of multisensory events, and reinforces the interdependency of the principles of multisensory integration in determining behavior and shaping perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Krueger Fister
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, United States.
| | - Ryan A Stevenson
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, United States; Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Aaron R Nidiffer
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States
| | - Zachary P Barnett
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States
| | - Mark T Wallace
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, United States; Vanderbilt University Kennedy Center, United States; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, United States
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