Neural Processing of Dynamic Animated Social Interactions in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A High-Density Electroencephalography Study

Abstract

Background: Atypical neural processing of social visual information contributes to impaired social cognition in autism spectrum disorder. However, evidence for early developmental alterations in neural processing of social contingencies is scarce. Most studies in the literature have been conducted in older children and adults. Here, we aimed to investigate alterations in neural processing of social visual information in children with autism spectrum disorder compared to age-matched typically developing peers. Methods: We used a combination of 129-channel electroencephalography and high-resolution eye-tracking to study differences in the neural processing of dynamic cartoons containing human-like social interactions between 14 male children with autism spectrum disorder and 14 typically developing male children, aged 2–5 years. Using a microstate approach, we identified four prototypical maps in both groups and compared the temporal characteristics and inverse solutions (activation of neural sources) of these maps between groups. Results: Inverse solutions of the group maps that were most dominant during free viewing of the dynamic cartoons indicated decreased prefrontal and cingulate activation, impaired activation of the premotor cortex, and increased activation of parietal, temporal, occipital, and cerebellar regions in children with autism spectrum disorder compared to their typically developing peers. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that impairments in brain regions involved in processing social contingencies embedded in dynamic cartoons are present from an early age in autism spectrum disorder. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate neural processing of social interactions of children with autism spectrum disorder using dynamic semi-naturalistic stimuli.

Early alterations of large-scale brain networks temporal dynamics in young children with autism

“…Recently, we published an exploratory study that combined eye-tracking and microstate analysis in a small sample of children (N = 28) (Jan et al, 2019). We found four group cluster maps, very similar to microstates classes A, B, C and D previously described in the literature (Jan et al, 2019).…”

“…Recently, we published an exploratory study that combined eye-tracking and microstate analysis in a small sample of children (N = 28) (Jan et al, 2019). We found four group cluster maps, very similar to microstates classes A, B, C and D previously described in the literature (Jan et al, 2019). To the best of our knowledge, only three other studies using a microstate approach in individuals with ASD have been published (D'Croz- Baron et al, 2019;Jia & Yu, 2019;Malaia et al, 2016).…”

Spontaneous thought and microstate activity modulation by social imitation

“…The impact of ongoing neuronal activity on task-related performances has been studied extensively in both animal models and humans 46,47 , yet the association between ongoing activity patterns and spontaneous thoughts has been more difficult to establish, due to the fleeting nature and unpredictability of spontaneous thoughts. In addition to our current findings linking ongoing patterns of microstate activity with dynamics and content of spontaneous thoughts, previous work showed that patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders with abnormal mind-wandering patterns have significant differences in microstate dynamics [48][49][50][51][52][53][54] .…”

Unraveling the Developmental Dynamic of Visual Exploration of Social Interactions in Autism

“…This cartoon was the first stimulus in an experiment that comprised simultaneous acquisition of High-density EEG recorded with a 129-channel Hydrocel Geodesic Sensor Net ® (Electrical Geodesics Inc., Eugene, OR, USA). The findings concerning the EEG data are published separately (Jan et al, 2019). This cartoon depicts human-like interactions between three donkey characters at a relatively slow pace.…”

“…We first measured the divergence from normative gaze patterns in autism both on a microstructural level (moment-to-moment) as well as over larger temporal scales, measuring the developmental change during early childhood. We quantified the divergence between gaze patterns among the two groups of children while watching a cartoon depicting social interaction using a custom data-driven approach used in our previous studies (Jan et al, 2019; Kojovic et al, 2019; Sperdin et al, 2018). We further measured the developmental change in visual exploration in young children with ASD and their TD peers using the follow-up eye-tracking recordings collected yearly.…”