Abstract
This research assessed event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited during the processing of different kinds of visual stimuli among children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (n = 15) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 19). Within a simple visual oddball paradigm, participating children passively viewed fruit and vegetable images that were used as standard stimuli in addition to images of these foods with their usual colors modified to create novel stimuli and cartoon depictions of these images (i.e., “deviant” stimuli). Analyses revealed significant main effect differences between the groups for P100, N100 and P300 components; ASD group children showing longer P100 latencies, weaker N100 amplitudes and larger P300 amplitudes than did the TD group. A Group x Hemisphere interaction also emerged for N400 amplitudes but differences were not significant in simple-effects analyses. Together these results suggested children with ASD may be characterized by lower attention resource allocation and engagement during early stages of processing visual stimuli. However, ERPs in later processing stages suggested children with ASD and TD children have similar neural responses in attending to visual images as stimulus presentations continue.
Highlights
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth Edition [1], Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a severe developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication in addition to stereotyped, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests
ASD participants were recruited from a rehabilitation center for children with autism at a local hospital and were diagnosed by a licensed clinician using the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R; mean Social, 27.3 ± 9; Communication, 19.3 ± 3; RRB, 7.9 ± 3) and Children’s Autism Rating Scale (CARS; mean standard deviation: 37.3 ± 2; threshold for ASD = 30)
For P100 amplitudes, the main effect for Group was not significant but there was a significant Group x Hemisphere interaction [p = 0.007, eta = 0.95]; simple effects analyses of this interaction indicated the ASD group displayed marginally smaller P100 amplitudes than typically developing (TD) children did in the right hemisphere [ASD: M = 2.44 (SD = 3.15) vs. TD: M = 4.53 (SD = 5.12), t = -2.375, p = 0.020) but there was no ASD group difference for the left hemisphere (ASD: M = 2.29 (SD = 3.01) vs. TD: M = 3.33 (SD = 4.83), t = -1.240, p = 0.218) [see Fig 2]
Summary
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth Edition [1], Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a severe developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication in addition to stereotyped, repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Within the oddball paradigm used in this study, children passively attended to visual stimuli and were not required to generate particular responses upon exposure to novel visual images Within this context of comparatively low task demands, children with ASD were not expected to differ from TD children on MMN. We expected these groups to show ERP differences in early stages of visual stimulus processing, with the former group showing longer latencies and/or weaker amplitudes on P100 and N100 components, reflecting possible deficits in orienting, allocation, and capture of initial attention. And late stage processing abnormalities in ASD: An ERP study reflecting sustained attention or responses to change and novelty (i.e., parietal-occipital P300, central-parietal MMN). As a reflection of possible differences in preferences for using imagery versus semantic strategies in late processing stages, children with ASD and controls were expected to differ on the N400 component in a manner suggesting the former group relied more heavily on visuospatial than semantic strategies in processing task-related images
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