Atypical event-related potentials revealed during the passive parts of a Go-NoGo task in autism spectrum disorder: a case-control study

Anne L Høyland,Stian Lydersen,Terje Nærland,Morten Engstrøm,Tonje Torske,Ole A Andreassen

doi:10.1186/s13229-019-0259-3

Abstract

BackgroundThe core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are easily recognizable in non-structured clinical and real-life situations. The features are often difficult to capture in structured laboratory settings, and the results from tests do not necessarily reflect symptom severity. We investigated neurophysiological processing in the passive parts of a cued Go-NoGo task, using the active parts of the test as a comparator.MethodsForty-nine adolescents diagnosed with ASD and 49 typically developing (TD) adolescents (age 12–21 years) were included. Daily life executive function was assessed with the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). We applied a visual cued Go-NoGo task and recorded event-related potentials (ERPs). We investigated occipital N1, a component related to early perception of visual stimuli, and P3a, a fronto-central component related to switching of attention, in the passive and active parts of the test.ResultsDuring the passive parts, the ASD group had statistically significantly longer N1 latency (p < 0.001, Cohens d = 0.75) and enhanced amplitude of P3a (p = 0.002, Cohens d = 0.64) compared to the TD, while no significant differences were observed in the active parts. Both components correlated significantly with the Behavioral Regulation Index of the BRIEF (partial correlation r = 0.35, p = 0.003).ConclusionDelayed N1 response, indicating altered visual perception, and enhanced P3a response, indicating increased neural activation related to attention allocation, were found during the passive parts of a Go-NoGo task in ASD participants. These abnormal ERP signals in the non-structured settings were associated with everyday executive function, suggesting that neurophysiolocal measures related to atypical control of alertness and “hyper-awareness” underlie daily life dysfunction in ASD. Assessments during passive settings have a potential to reveal core neurobiological substrates of ASD.

Highlights

The core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are recognizable in non-structured clinical and real-life situations
During the passive conditions, the N1 latency and the mean P3a amplitude were significantly increased in ASD (Table 3, Figs. 2 and 3)
These abnormal Event-related potentials (ERP) signals were associated with everyday executive function, suggesting that neurophysiolocal measures related to atypical control of alertness and “hyperawareness” underlie daily life dysfunction in ASD

Summary

Introduction

The core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are recognizable in non-structured clinical and real-life situations. Typical behavior is usually more apparent in complex real-life situations than in standardized laboratory settings [5], suggesting that un-structured or passive test situations are needed to reveal neurophysiological substrate for ASD. The ability to control sensory responsiveness through gating mechanisms, i.e., filtering irrelevant or interfering stimuli or impulses, is fundamental for normal functioning [8] Such information processing mediating selectivity is defined as attention [9,10,11,12,13]. Several studies support that individuals with ASD manifest unusual neural responses to task-irrelevant features [6, 22,23,24,25], suggesting that passive or unstructured test settings can reveal relevant neurobiological alterations

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