Abstract
Theories for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been formulated at different levels, ranging from physiological observations to perceptual and behavioral descriptions. Understanding the physiological underpinnings of perceptual traits in ASD remains a significant challenge in the field. Here we show how a recurrent neural circuit model that was optimized to perform sampling-based inference and displays characteristic features of cortical dynamics can help bridge this gap. The model was able to establish a mechanistic link between two descriptive levels for ASD: a physiological level, in terms of inhibitory dysfunction, neural variability, and oscillations, and a perceptual level, in terms of hypopriors in Bayesian computations. We took two parallel paths-inducing hypopriors in the probabilistic model, and an inhibitory dysfunction in the network model-which lead to consistent results in terms of the represented posteriors, providing support for the view that both descriptions might constitute two sides of the same coin.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a complex neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent challenges in social interaction and communicative skills, and restricted/repetitive behaviors 1
A variety of studies have linked reduced inhibitory signaling in the brain with ASD symptoms, either observing how behavior typically associated with ASD emerges in animals when inhibitory pathways are altered, or measuring gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration or GABA receptors in several brain regions
While ASD subjects show an altered performance in the paradoxical motion perception task, GABA receptor availability in the brain of those participants showed no significant difference from controls 7
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a complex neurodevelopmental condition involving persistent challenges in social interaction and communicative skills, and restricted/repetitive behaviors 1. A variety of studies have linked reduced inhibitory signaling in the brain with ASD symptoms, either observing how behavior typically associated with ASD emerges in animals when inhibitory pathways are altered, or measuring gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentration or GABA receptors in several brain regions (see Ref. 4 for a detailed review). While ASD subjects show an altered performance in the paradoxical motion perception task (a proxy measure of GABA signaling), GABA receptor availability in the brain of those participants showed no significant difference from controls 7 Both studies suggest an impairment in inhibitory signaling which cannot be explained by coarse differences in GABA concentration or receptor availability at the level of brain areas, and which might affect specific circuits instead. We will later make connections to another influential computational theory formulated in terms of predictive coding 12,13
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