Contextual probability evaluation in autistic, receptive developmental language disorder, and control children: Event-related brain potential evidence

Lincoln, Alan J.; Courchesne, Eric; Harms, Lisa; Allen, Mark

doi:10.1007/bf01066417

Cited by 80 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Further, neither the acoustic complexity nor the ''speechness'' quality of these stimuli affected the sensory discrimination of pitch in the autism group, as shown by their normal MMN amplitudes. This finding is in good agreement with the generally good behavioral performance on auditory target (acoustically simple and complex) detection tasks by adults and adolescents with autism (6,7,11) and with the normal behavioral pitch discrimination abilities in adults with autism (18).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…They include abnormalities in spontaneous looking (3), focused attention (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11), and voluntary shifting of attention (12)(13)(14). Courchesne et al (12) proposed that the majority of the attentional deficits observed in autism might be caused by a cerebellar dysfunction that slows down the adaptation of the neural systems to the constantly changing neural processing demands.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Speech–sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: They can perceive but do not attend

Čėponiené

Lepistö

Шестакова

et al. 2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

339

273

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In autism, severe abnormalities in social behavior coexist with aberrant attention and deficient language. In the attentional domain, attention to people and socially relevant stimuli is impaired the most. Because socially meaningful stimulus events are physically complex, a deficiency in sensory processing of complex stimuli has been suggested to contribute to aberrant attention and language in autism. This study used event-related brain potentials (ERP) to examine the sensory and early attentional processing of sounds of different complexity in high-functioning children with autism. Acoustically matched simple tones, complex tones, and vowels were presented in separate oddball sequences, in which a repetitive ''standard'' sound was occasionally replaced by an infrequent ''deviant'' sound differing from the standard in frequency (by 10%). In addition to sensory responses, deviant sounds elicited an ERP index of automatic sound-change discrimination, the mismatch negativity, and an ERP index of attentional orienting, the P3a. The sensory sound processing was intact in the highfunctioning children with autism and was not affected by sound complexity or ''speechness.'' In contrast, their involuntary orienting was affected by stimulus nature. It was normal to both simpleand complex-tone changes but was entirely abolished by vowel changes. These results demonstrate that, first, auditory orienting deficits in autism cannot be explained by sensory deficits and, second, that orienting deficit in autism might be speech-sound specific.A utism (1) is a severely debilitating developmental disorder, characterized by aberrant social skills, deficient language, abnormal attention, stereotyped repetitive behaviors, and often also mental retardation.One of the components of the social communication deficits in autism is peculiar attentional behavior. Individuals with autism show attentional preference to objects over people and a lack of a drive to communicate (2). Consistent with this, Swettenham et al. (3) found that 20-month-old infants with autistic features made significantly fewer attention shifts than did their controls from person to person and between a person and an object. They also spent more time looking at objects and less time looking at people. Further, 5-year-old children with autism oriented more poorly to social (both speech and nonspeech) than to nonsocial stimuli (4). Their impaired orienting to social stimuli correlated with the impairment of joint attention, one of the key features of autism.The neurofunctional deficits underlying this pattern of behavior are not yet understood, although recent research revealed disorders in many aspects of attentional behavior in autism. They include abnormalities in spontaneous looking (3), focused attention (5-11), and voluntary shifting of attention (12)(13)(14). Courchesne et al. (12) proposed that the majority of the attentional deficits observed in autism might be caused by a cerebellar dysfunction that slows down the adaptation of the neural systems to the const...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Speech–sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: They can perceive but do not attend

Čėponiené

Lepistö

Шестакова

et al. 2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

339

273

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In a follow up study using a missing-stimulus paradigm (described previously), high functioning adolescents with autism showed a smaller P3b, despite normal performance on the task, when compared to age matched controls (Courchesne et al 1984(Courchesne et al , 1985aCourchesne et al 1989). Two further studies by the same group showed a similar pattern of smaller P3b despite normal performance (Ciesielski et al 1990;Lincoln et al 1993). Taken together, these findings suggest that while there are likely differences in novelty processing, because performance is normal, individuals with autism may be using "unusual or alternate physiological processes to detect target events" .…”

Section: Higher-level (Cognitive) Processing: P3b and Ncmentioning

confidence: 81%

Event Related Potentials in the Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Analytical Review

Jeste

Nelson

2008

J Autism Dev Disord

160

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In this paper we critically review the literature on the use of event related potentials (ERPs) to elucidate the neural sources of the core deficits in autism. We review auditory and visual ERP studies, and then review the use of ERPs in the investigation of executive function. We conclude that, in autism, impairments likely exist in both low and higher level auditory and visual processing, with prominent impairments in the processing of social stimuli. We also discuss the putative neural circuitry underlying these deficits. As we look to the future, we posit that tremendous insight can be gained by applying ERPs to the definition of endophenotypes, which, in turn, can facilitate early diagnosis and the creation of informed interventions for children with autism. KeywordsEvent related potential (ERP); Autism; Auditory processing; Visual processing Since autism was first described by Kanner over fifty years ago (Kanner 1943), the neurobiology of this disorder has become the focus of intense scientific investigation. While extensive efforts have been made in describing the behaviors that define autism, only in recent years has progress been made to elucidate the underlying neural circuitry involved in autism, through structural and, more recently, functional neuroimaging. Through these studies has come a heightened interest in aberrant neural circuitry in autism. Of the neuroimaging tools that have been used to elucidate brain circuitry, functional electrophysiology stands alone in capacity to define early (i.e. in infancy) neural markers and endophenotypes. This technique, therefore, warrants further scrutiny. Using functional electrophysiology, defined by evoked potentials and then by event related potentials (ERPs), researchers have begun to elucidate sources of the core deficits in autism

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“…Most studies carried out in autism on electrical responses associated with novelty processing have involved active novel-target detection. Results showed that the response is significantly smaller in children with autism compared to controls (Courchesne et al, 1984(Courchesne et al, , 1985Lincoln et al, 1993;Kemner et al 1995). P3a in response to novel speech stimuli in a no-task condition has been shown to be reduced in autism (Čeponienè et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Change detection in children with autism: An auditory event-related fMRI study

Gomot¹,

Bernard²,

Davis³

et al. 2006

NeuroImage

169

114

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Autism involves impairments in communication and social interaction, as well as high levels of repetitive, stereotypic and ritualistic behaviours, and extreme resistance to change. This latter dimension, whilst required for a diagnosis, has received less research attention. We hypothesise that this extreme resistance to change in autism is rooted in atypical processing of unexpected stimuli. We tested this using auditory event-related fMRI to determine regional brain activity associated with passive detection of infrequently occurring frequency-deviant and complex novel sounds in a no-task condition. Participants were twelve 10 to 15-year-old children with autism, and a group of 12 age-and sex-matched healthy controls.During deviance-detection, significant activation common to both groups was located in the superior temporal and inferior frontal gyri. During 'novelty-detection', both groups showed activity in the superior temporal gyrus, the temporo-parietal junction, the superior and inferior frontal gyri and the cingulate gyrus.Children with autism showed reduced activation of the left anterior cingulate cortex during both deviance and novelty detection. During 'novelty-detection' children with autism also showed reduced activation in the bilateral temporo-parietal region, and in the right inferior and middle frontal areas. This study confirms previous evidence from ERP studies of atypical brain function related to automatic change detection in autism. Abnormalities involved a cortical network known to have a role in attention-switching and attentional resource distribution. These results throw light on the neurophysiological processes underlying autistic 'resistance to change'. Change detection in children with autism: an auditory event-related fMRI study Marie Gomot et al: NIMG-05-251Dear Drs Toga and Fletcher, Thank you for inviting us to resubmit this manuscript to NeuroImage. We are grateful to the reviewers for their constructive comments. Especially we would like to thanks reviewer 2 who did insightful criticisms. We did take into account most of the remarks and we feel that the paper is improved as a result. Reviewer 2's observations allowed getting a better definition of the terms and concepts used. We corrected the text according to these criticisms, but we think that some of the modifications required regarding fundamental concepts on deviance processing would not serve the manuscript. We didn't wish for adding to many additional details about these fundamental concepts, in order to keep focus on the main aim of the study which was to study change processing in an autistic population. Moreover, we felt a bit disconcerted by some of the comments (See comments 5, 7, 19, 21, 24, 30 and 34 for example). We look forward to hearing from you about the acceptability of the revised manuscript for publication in NeuroImage. SUMMARY:Autism involves impairments in communication and social interaction, as well as high levels of repetitive, stereotypic and ritualistic behaviours, and extreme resistan...

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Contextual probability evaluation in autistic, receptive developmental language disorder, and control children: Event-related brain potential evidence

Cited by 80 publications

References 12 publications

Speech–sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: They can perceive but do not attend

Speech–sound-selective auditory impairment in children with autism: They can perceive but do not attend

Event Related Potentials in the Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Analytical Review

Change detection in children with autism: An auditory event-related fMRI study

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