Prolonged auditory brainstem responses in infants with autism

Abstract

Numerous studies have attempted to identify early physiological abnormalities in infants and toddlers who later develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One potential measure of early neurophysiology is the auditory brainstem response (ABR), which has been reported to exhibit prolonged latencies in children with ASD. We examined whether prolonged ABR latencies appear in infancy, before the onset of ASD symptoms, and irrespective of hearing thresholds. To determine how early in development these differences appear, we retrospectively examined clinical ABR recordings of infants who were later diagnosed with ASD. Of the 118 children in the participant pool, 48 were excluded due to elevated ABR thresholds, genetic aberrations, or old testing age, leaving a sample of 70 children: 30 of which were tested at 0-3 months, and 40 were tested at toddlerhood (1.5-3.5 years). In the infant group, the ABR wave-V was significantly prolonged in those who later developed ASD as compared with case-matched controls (n 5 30). Classification of infants who later developed ASD and case-matched controls using this measure enabled accurate identification of ASD infants with 80% specificity and 70% sensitivity. In the group of toddlers with ASD, absolute and interpeak latencies were prolonged compared to clinical norms. Findings indicate that ABR latencies are significantly prolonged in infants who are later diagnosed with ASD irrespective of their hearing thresholds; suggesting that abnormal responses might be detected soon after birth. Further research is needed to determine if ABR might be a valid marker for ASD risk. Autism Res 2016, 9: 689-695.

Click‐evoked auditory brainstem responses and autism spectrum disorder: A meta‐analytic review

“…We did not consider papers reporting only: 1) odds of ABR abnormality (N=2) (Cohen, Gardner et al 2013, Demopoulos and Lewine 2015), because definitions for abnormality were non-comparable across studies, or 2) ABRs acquired via binaural stimulation, which are non-comparable to ABRs acquired monaurally (N=1) (Rosenblum, Arick et al 1980). In total, we included 15 papers in this meta-analysis, all of which had a stated objective of assessing differences in ABR components between ASD and TD groups (Figure 1) (Taylor, Rosenblatt et al 1982, Gillberg and Gillberg 1983, Rumsey, Grimes et al 1984, Grillon, Courchesne et al 1989, Sersen, Heaney et al 1990, Wong and Wong 1991, Tharpe, Bess et al 2006, Kwon, Kim et al 2007, Tas, Yagiz et al 2007, Russo, Nicol et al 2009, Fujikawa-Brooks, Isenberg et al 2010, Magliaro, Scheuer et al 2010, Dabbous 2012, Roth, Muchnik et al 2012, Miron, Roth et al 2016). Because our analyses utilized published, aggregate-level data, our study is considered exempt by the Michigan State University Institutional Review Board.…”

“…To generate one estimate per parameter per study, effect sizes were weighted and averaged across all variable conditions (e.g., ear of stimulation) and subsets of participants (Card 2011). Exceptions included Fujikawa et al (2010), from which we only utilized the 61/sec condition, and Miron et al (2016), from which we only utilized infant data (see below). The first author abstracted the papers and calculated effect sizes (at the study- and component-level) on two separate occasions to identify and resolve any discrepancies.…”

“…A summary of the study characteristics and coding decisions, generated by two independent abstractors, is reported in Table 1. We did not model preterm delivery as a moderator because perinatal health information was reported in only three of the studies included here (1 excluded preterm infants, 1 included preterm infants, and 1 excluded children with “infective prenatal conditions”) (Tas, Yagiz et al 2007, Roth, Muchnik et al 2012, Miron, Roth et al 2016). A minimum of two studies was necessary to warrant interpretation of a specific moderator variable level.…”

“…When participant age ranges straddled this divide, the study was included in the ≥ 8 year old group. Miron et al (2016) included separate toddler and infant samples. We only utilized the infant data from this study given that ABRs were likely assessed prior to the manifestation of behavioral-level ASD symptoms.…”

On Specific ABR-markers in Psychiatry

“…A lesion in the surroundings of an area may influence activity of the auditory system as well as may the massive inhibitory, facilitatory and cross-correlated activity within the brainstem. It is anticipated that the method will have a great value in future translational studies to clarify pathoanatomical and pathophysiological profiles of psychiatric disorders [5][6][7].…”