Dataset Information

Associations between sensory processing and electrophysiological and neurochemical measures in children with ASD: an EEG-MRS study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with hyper- and/or hypo-sensitivity to sensory input. Spontaneous alpha power, which plays an important role in shaping responsivity to sensory information, is reduced across the lifespan in individuals with ASD. Furthermore, an excitatory/inhibitory imbalance has also been linked to sensory dysfunction in ASD and has been hypothesized to underlie atypical patterns of spontaneous brain activity. The present study examined whether resting-state alpha power differed in children with ASD as compared to TD children, and investigated the relationships between alpha levels, concentrations of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, and atypical sensory processing in ASD.

Methods

Participants included thirty-one children and adolescents with ASD and thirty-one age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) participants. Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) was used to obtain measures of alpha power. A subset of participants (ASD = 16; TD = 16) also completed a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) protocol in order to measure concentrations of excitatory (glutamate + glutamine; Glx) and inhibitory (GABA) neurotransmitters.

Results

Children with ASD evidenced significantly decreased resting alpha power compared to their TD peers. MRS estimates of GABA and Glx did not differ between groups with the exception of Glx in the temporal-parietal junction. Inter-individual differences in alpha power within the ASD group were not associated with region-specific concentrations of GABA or Glx, nor were they associated with sensory processing differences. However, atypically decreased Glx was associated with increased sensory impairment in children with ASD.

Conclusions

Although we replicated prior reports of decreased alpha power in ASD, atypically reduced alpha was not related to neurochemical differences or sensory symptoms in ASD. Instead, reduced Glx in the temporal-parietal cortex was associated with greater hyper-sensitivity in ASD. Together, these findings may provide insight into the neural underpinnings of sensory processing differences present in ASD.

SUBMITTER: Pierce S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7788714 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Associations between sensory processing and electrophysiological and neurochemical measures in children with ASD: an EEG-MRS study.

Pierce Sarah S Kadlaskar Girija G Edmondson David A DA McNally Keehn Rebecca R Dydak Ulrike U Keehn Brandon B

Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders 20210106 1

<h4>Background</h4>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with hyper- and/or hypo-sensitivity to sensory input. Spontaneous alpha power, which plays an important role in shaping responsivity to sensory information, is reduced across the lifespan in individuals with ASD. Furthermore, an excitatory/inhibitory imbalance has also been linked to sensory dysfunction in ASD and has been hypothesized to underlie atypical patterns of spontaneous brain activity. The present study examined whether re ...[more]

PMID: 33407072

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Project description:BackgroundMaladaptive reactivity to sensory inputs is commonly observed in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism, ADHD). Little is known, however, about the underlying neural mechanisms. For some children, atypical sensory reactivity is the primary complaint, despite absence of another identifiable neurodevelopmental diagnosis. Studying Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) may well provide a window into the neuropathology of these symptoms. It has been proposed that a deficit in sensory integration underlies the SPD phenotype, but objective quantification of sensory integration is lacking. Here we used neural and behavioral measures of multisensory integration (MSI), which would be affected by impaired sensory integration and for which there are well accepted objective measures, to test whether failure to integrate across the senses is associated with atypical sensory reactivity in SPD. An autism group served to determine if observed differences were unique to SPD.MethodsWe tested whether children aged 6-16 years with SPD (N = 14) integrate multisensory inputs differently from age-matched typically developing controls (TD: N = 54), or from children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD: N = 44). Participants performed a simple reaction-time task to the occurrence of auditory, visual, and audiovisual stimuli presented in random order, while high-density recordings of electrical brain activity were made.ResultsChildren with SPD showed large reductions in the extent to which they benefited from multisensory inputs compared to TDs. The ASD group showed similarly reduced response speeding to multisensory relative to unisensory inputs. Neural evidence for MSI was seen across all three groups, with the multisensory response differing from the sum of the unisensory responses. Post hoc tests suggested the possibility of enhanced MSI in SPD in timeframes consistent with cortical sensory registration (∼60 ms), followed by reduced MSI during a timeframe consistent with object formation (∼130 ms). The ASD group also showed reduced MSI in the later timeframe.ConclusionChildren with SPD showed reduction in their ability to benefit from redundant audio-visual inputs, similar to children with ASD. Neurophysiological recordings, on the other hand, showed that major indices of MSI were largely intact, although post hoc testing pointed to periods of potential differential processing. While these exploratory electrophysiological observations point to potential sensory-perceptual differences in multisensory processing in SPD, it remains equally plausible at this stage that later attentional processing differences may yet prove responsible for the multisensory behavioral deficits uncovered here.

Project description:Research with adults and older children indicates that verb biases are strong influences on listeners' interpretations when processing sentences, but they can be overruled. In this paper, we ask two questions: (i) are children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are high functioning sensitive to verb biases like their same age typically developing peers?, and (ii) do young children with ASD and young children with typical development (TD) override strong verb biases to consider alternative interpretations of ambiguous sentences? Participants were aged 5-9 years (mean age 6.65 years): children with ASD who were high functioning and children with TD. In task 1, biasing and neutral verbs were included (e.g., eat cake versus move cake). In task 2, the focus was on whether the prepositional phrase occurring with an instrument biasing verb (e.g., 'Chop the tree with the axe') was interpreted as an instrument even if the named item was an implausible instrument (e.g., candle in 'Cut the cake with the candle'). Overall, the results showed similarities between groups but the ASD group was generally slower. In task 1, both groups looked at the named object faster in the biasing than the non-biasing condition, and in the biasing condition the ASD group looked away from the target more quickly than the TD group. In task 2, both groups identified the target in the prepositional phrase. They were more likely to override the verb instrument bias and consider the alternative (modification) interpretation in the implausible condition (e.g., looking at the picture of a cake with a candle on it'). Our findings indicate that children of age 5 years and above can use context to override verb biases. Additionally, an important component of the sentence processing mechanism is largely intact for young children with ASD who are high functioning. Like children with TD, they draw on verb semantics and plausibility in integrating information. However, they are likely to be slower in processing the language they hear. Based on previous findings of associations between processing speed and cognitive functioning, the implication is that their understanding will be negatively affected, as will their academic outcomes.

Dataset Information

Associations between sensory processing and electrophysiological and neurochemical measures in children with ASD: an EEG-MRS study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Associations between sensory processing and electrophysiological and neurochemical measures in children with ASD: an EEG-MRS study.

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