Audio–visual and olfactory–visual integration in healthy participants and subjects with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

The human capacity to integrate sensory signals has been investigated with respect to different sensory modalities. A common denominator of the neural network underlying the integration of sensory clues has yet to be identified. Additionally, brain imaging data from patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not cover disparities in neuronal sensory processing. In this fMRI study, we compared the underlying neural networks of both olfactory–visual and auditory–visual integration in patients with ASD and a group of matched healthy participants. The aim was to disentangle sensory‐specific networks so as to derive a potential (amodal) common source of multisensory integration (MSI) and to investigate differences in brain networks with sensory processing in individuals with ASD. In both groups, similar neural networks were found to be involved in the olfactory–visual and auditory–visual integration processes, including the primary visual cortex, the inferior parietal sulcus (IPS), and the medial and inferior frontal cortices. Amygdala activation was observed specifically during olfactory–visual integration, with superior temporal activation having been seen during auditory–visual integration. A dynamic causal modeling analysis revealed a nonlinear top‐down IPS modulation of the connection between the respective primary sensory regions in both experimental conditions and in both groups. Thus, we demonstrate that MSI has shared neural sources across olfactory–visual and audio–visual stimulation in patients and controls. The enhanced recruitment of the IPS to modulate changes between areas is relevant to sensory perception. Our results also indicate that, with respect to MSI processing, adults with ASD do not significantly differ from their healthy counterparts.

Processing of Real‐World, Dynamic Natural Stimuli in Autism is Linked to Corticobasal Function

“…3). Regarding this somewhat surprising finding, the location of the left IPS ROI was in line with parietal ROIs reported in other studies investigating AV integration in ASD [Stickel et al, 2019]. The IPS is also reported to receive sensory input from other cortical areas, including visual information from the extrastriate body area (EBA), which is a primary region in the brain for processing human biological motion [Downing, Jiang, Shuman, & Kanwisher, 2001;Weiner & Grill-Spector, 2011].…”

Dynamic Causal Modeling Self-Connectivity Findings in the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neuropsychiatric Literature

“…Relative to the other types of disorders and considering prevalence, substance use disorder appear to be particularly under-represented among DCM results -not to mention also with zero reports of self-connectivity findings. In all likelihood, the representation of substance use disorders in this list will increase most notably in the future given renewed recent interest, awareness of prevalence and increasing public Sladky et al, 2015;Cha et al, 2016a;Minkova et al, 2017;Neufang et al, 2019 4 Autism 5 1 20% Sato et al, 2012Sato et al, , 2019Gu et al, 2015;Prat et al, 2016;Stickel et al, 2019 5 Bipolar disorder 7 0 0% Almeida, J. R. Wu et al, 2014;Radaelli et al, 2015;Vai et al, 2015b;Dima et al, 2016;Zhang et al, 2018 6 Cannabis use disorder 2 0 0% Ma et al, 2018aMa et al, , 2019b Cocaine use disorder 2 0 0% Ma et al, 2014Ma et al, , 2018b 8 Dementia 3 0 0% Sonty et al, 2007;Neufang et al, 2011;Rytsar et al, 2011 9 Depression 12 5 41.7% Schlösser et al, 2008;Almeida et al, 2011;Desseilles et al, 2011;Goulden et al, 2012;Hyett et al, 2015;Musgrove et al, 2015;Posner et al, 2016;Vai et al, 2016;Geng et al, 2018;Kandilarova et al, 2018;Zheng et al, 2018 10 Gambling/ Husárová et al, 2013;Trujillo et al, 2015;Nackaerts et al, 2018a,b,c;Jastrzȩ bowska et al, 2019 14 Post-traumatic stress disorder 3 1 33% Nicholson et al, 2...…”

Prefrontal Responses to Odors in Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Functional NIRS Measurement Combined With a Fragrance Pulse Ejection System

“…Functional neuroimaging studies investigating the neural basis of olfactory processing in individuals with ASD are scarce. To the best of our knowledge, only two recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies have probed the neural responses of individuals with ASD to odors ( Koehler et al, 2018 ; Stickel et al, 2019 ). Koehler et al (2018) examined the neural response of participants with ASD (18 participants aged 29.5 ± 2.51 years with HFA and AS; two women) to odor detection and identification in the olfactory cortex including the piriform cortex, amygdala, and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC).…”

“…They found impaired odor detection and odor identification in participants with ASD and reported, for the first time, significantly attenuated odor-induced brain response in the piriform cortex as well as a trend toward decreased activity in the OFC in participants with ASD compared to TD controls. Stickel et al (2019) did not directly examine brain function in individuals with ASD in response to odors; instead, they investigated olfactory- and auditory-visual integration (essentially multisensory integration). Similar neural networks, including the medial and inferior frontal cortices, were found to be involved in the multisensory integration processes, which were not significantly different between participants with ASD and their matched TD counterparts.…”