Mismatch Negativity in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Mismatch Negativity in Autism Spectrum Disorder Ulrich Schall1, 2*, Benjamin Weismueller3, 4, Renate Thienel2, 3, Anne-Marie Youlden5 and Ross Fulham3 1 University of Newcastle, PRC Translational Neuroscience & Mental Health Research, Australia 2 Schizophrenia Research Institute, Australia 3 University of Newcastle, Australia 4 University of Bremen, Germany 5 Educare, Australia Background: Growing evidence suggests impaired low-level sound processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Mismatch Negativity (MMN) represents a psychophysiological measure of low-level sound processing in primary auditory cortex. A reduction of the MMN event-related potential has been repeatedly reported in children diagnosed with ASD. However, previous studies did not sufficiently take into account developmental changes in sensory processing of auditory information. We hypothesized that the ability to process complex auditory information improves with brain development but not in ASD. Methods: Study participants were 18 boys aged between 6 to 15 years meeting DSM-IV ASD criteria. Data were compared to 15 age-matched healthy boys. All study participants were neuropsychologically assessed including IQ (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence). MMN was recorded in response to pitch, intensity, and stimulus duration deviance as well as in response to complex sounds (i.e. phonemes). Results: ASD children presented with lower IQ and impaired performance in verbal fluency and social cognition. Verbal fluency performance significantly correlated with MMN amplitudes in response to phoneme deviants. A strong differential association of MMN with age depending on stimulus complexity was equally found in both groups. Conclusion: These findings suggest that MMN captures brain maturation of low-level auditory information in 6 to 15 year old boys but does not discriminate children with ASD from their healthy counterparts despite ASD children were presenting with poor verbal fluency, lower IQ, and impaired social cognition. Keywords: mismatch negativity, brain maturation, verbal fluency, Austism, phonems Conference: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Cognition and Executive Processes Citation: Schall U, Weismueller B, Thienel R, Youlden A and Fulham R (2015). Mismatch Negativity in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Conference Abstract: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00387 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Feb 2015; Published Online: 24 Apr 2015. * Correspondence: Prof. Ulrich Schall, University of Newcastle, PRC Translational Neuroscience & Mental Health Research, Newcastle, Australia, Ulrich.schall@newcastle.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Ulrich Schall Benjamin Weismueller Renate Thienel Anne-Marie Youlden Ross Fulham Google Ulrich Schall Benjamin Weismueller Renate Thienel Anne-Marie Youlden Ross Fulham Google Scholar Ulrich Schall Benjamin Weismueller Renate Thienel Anne-Marie Youlden Ross Fulham PubMed Ulrich Schall Benjamin Weismueller Renate Thienel Anne-Marie Youlden Ross Fulham Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.