Magnetoencephalographic Imaging of Auditory and Somatosensory Cortical Responses in Children with Autism and Sensory Processing Dysfunction

Abstract

This study compared magnetoencephalographic (MEG) imaging-derived indices of auditory and somatosensory cortical processing in children aged 8–12 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 18), those with sensory processing dysfunction (SPD; N = 13) who do not meet ASD criteria, and typically developing control (TDC; N = 19) participants. The magnitude of responses to both auditory and tactile stimulation was comparable across all three groups; however, the M200 latency response from the left auditory cortex was significantly delayed in the ASD group relative to both the TDC and SPD groups, whereas the somatosensory response of the ASD group was only delayed relative to TDC participants. The SPD group did not significantly differ from either group in terms of somatosensory latency, suggesting that participants with SPD may have an intermediate phenotype between ASD and TDC with regard to somatosensory processing. For the ASD group, correlation analyses indicated that the left M200 latency delay was significantly associated with performance on the WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Index as well as the DSTP Acoustic-Linguistic index. Further, these cortical auditory response delays were not associated with somatosensory cortical response delays or cognitive processing speed in the ASD group, suggesting that auditory delays in ASD are domain specific rather than associated with generalized processing delays. The specificity of these auditory delays to the ASD group, in addition to their correlation with verbal abilities, suggests that auditory sensory dysfunction may be implicated in communication symptoms in ASD, motivating further research aimed at understanding the impact of sensory dysfunction on the developing brain.

Multisensory Audiovisual Processing in Children With a Sensory Processing Disorder (I): Behavioral and Electrophysiological Indices Under Speeded Response Conditions

“…Of note, the present study was likely only powered to observe large effect sizes in comparisons made between TD and SPD cohorts, whereas considerably smaller effects could be detected in the ASD v. TD comparisons due to the substantially larger cohorts in those groups. Nevertheless, consistent with our findings, a recent magnetoencephalographic study found that early somatosensory and auditory evoked responses were highly similar across SPD and TD groups (Demopoulos et al, 2017). To test for subtle sensory processing differences in SPD, appropriately powered studies in which a greater density of high quality data is collected will be critical.…”

“…Although one must be cautious interpreting the functional significance of these findings, the data are consistent with pathways involved in the intraand inter-hemispheric processing of sensory information and multisensory integration (MSI). Interestingly however, when the same group looked at magnetoencephalographic recordings of early somatosensory and auditory evoked responses in SPD, they found these to be highly similar to those from a typically developing control group (Demopoulos et al, 2017). In a follow-up study comparing the implicated tracts in SPD versus individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there was a high degree of similarity between the clinical groups in terms of the posterior tracts, whereas the ASD group was selectively impaired in additionally tested tracts associated with socialemotional processing (Chang et al, 2014).…”

Auditory brainstem response in infants and children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta‐analysis of wave V

“…Another finding that may relate to wave V prolongation in ASD is impaired myelination in ASD [Wolff et al, ], which may also relate to prolonged auditory cortical responses in ASD using magneto‐encephalography (MEG) [Gage, Siegel, Callen, & Roberts, ; Gage, et al ; Oram Cardy, Flagg, Roberts, Brian, & Roberts, ; Oram Cardy et al, ; Roberts et al, ; Demopoulos et al, ; Demopoulos & Lewine, ; Edgar et al, ; Roberts et al, ]. Prolonged cortical response in children with ASD was also found in studies using Event‐Related Potential (ERP) of electroencephalogram (EEG), yet results are inconsistent across studies [Bruneau, Roux, Adrien, & Barthélémy, ; Courchesne, Kilman, Galambos, & Lincoln, ].…”

Sensory Processing and Attention Profiles Among Children With Sensory Processing Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The differences in the pattern of sensory processing and attention abilities in children with ASD and children with SPD highlight the distinctness of the two clinical conditions. Demopoulos et al (2017) examined auditory and somatosensory cortical processing using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) data and showed that children with ASD had greater auditory processing deficits than SPD and TD peers, while somatosensory processing was similar between ASD and SPD groups. These differences highlight the importance of understanding the difference between attention and sensory processing patterns between children with ASD and SPD using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods.…”