Increased intra-subject variability of neural activity during speech production in people with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

BackgroundCommunication difficulties are a core deficit in many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study evaluated neural activation in participants with ASD and neurotypical (NT) controls during a speech production task. MethodsNeural activities of participants with ASD (N = 15, M = 16.7 years, language abilities ranged from low verbal abilities to verbally fluent) and NT controls (N = 12, M = 17.1 years) was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging with a sparse-sampling paradigm. ResultsThere were no differences between the ASD and NT groups in average speech activation or inter-subject run-to-run variability in speech activation. Intra-subject run-to-run neural variability was greater in the ASD group and was positively correlated with autism severity in cortical areas associated with speech. ConclusionsThese findings highlight the importance of understanding intra-subject neural variability in participants with ASD.