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Neurophysiological evidence of an association between cognitive control and defensive reactivity processes in young children.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between cognitive control and affective processes, such as defensive reactivity, are intimately involved in healthy and unhealthy human development. However, cognitive control and defensive reactivity processes are often studied in isolation and rarely examined in early childhood. To address these gaps, we examined the relationships between multiple neurophysiological measures of cognitive control and defensive reactivity in young children. Specifically, we assessed two event-related potentials thought to index cognitive control processes--the error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe)--measured across two tasks, and two markers of defensive reactivity processes--startle reflex and resting parietal asymmetry--in a sample of 3- to 7-year old children. Results revealed that measures of cognitive control and defensive reactivity were related such that evidence of poor cognitive control (smaller ERN) was associated with high defensive reactivity (larger startle and greater right relative to left parietal activity). The strength of associations between the ERN and measures of defensive reactivity did not vary by age, providing evidence that poor cognitive control relates to greater defensive reactivity across early childhood years.

SUBMITTER: Lo SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4704697 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundUnusual behavioral reactions to sensory stimuli are frequently reported in individuals on the autism spectrum (AS). Despite the early emergence of sensory features (< age 3) and their potential impact on development and quality of life, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying sensory reactivity in early childhood autism.MethodsHere, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate tactile cortical processing in young children aged 3-6 years with autism and in neurotypical (NT) children. Scalp EEG was recorded from 33 children with autism, including those with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities, and 45 age- and sex-matched NT children during passive tactile fingertip stimulation. We compared properties of early and later somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) and their adaptation with repetitive stimulation between autistic and NT children and assessed whether these neural measures are linked to "real-world" parent-reported tactile reactivity.ResultsAs expected, we found elevated tactile reactivity in children on the autism spectrum. Our findings indicated no differences in amplitude or latency of early and mid-latency somatosensory-evoked potentials (P50, N80, P100), nor adaptation between autistic and NT children. However, latency of later processing of tactile information (N140) was shorter in young children with autism compared to NT children, suggesting faster processing speed in young autistic children. Further, correlational analyses and exploratory analyses using tactile reactivity as a grouping variable found that enhanced early neural responses were associated with greater tactile reactivity in autism.LimitationsThe relatively small sample size and the inclusion of a broad range of autistic children (e.g., with low cognitive and/or verbal abilities) may have limited our power to detect subtle group differences and associations. Hence, replications are needed to verify these results.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that electrophysiological somatosensory cortex processing measures may be indices of "real-world" tactile reactivity in early childhood autism. Together, these findings advance our understanding of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tactile reactivity in early childhood autism and, in the clinical context, may have therapeutic implications.

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Neurophysiological evidence of an association between cognitive control and defensive reactivity processes in young children.

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