Abstract
High-density electroencephalography (EEG) was used to examine the utility of the P1 event-related potential (ERP) as a marker of visual motion sensitivity to luminance defined low-spatial frequency drifting gratings in 16 children with autism and 16 neurotypical children. Children with autism displayed enhanced sensitivity to large, high-contrast low-spatial frequency stimuli as indexed by significantly shorter P1 response latencies to large vs. small gratings. The current study also found that children with autism had larger amplitude responses to large gratings irrespective of contrast. A linear regression established that P1 adaptive mean amplitude for large, high-contrast sinusoidal gratings significantly predicted hyperresponsiveness item mean scores on the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire for children with autism, but not for neurotypical children. We conclude that children with autism have differences in the mechanisms that underlie low-level visual processing potentially related to altered visual spatial suppression or contrast gain control.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, and the presence of stereotypic behaviors or restricted interests [1].One of the diagnostic criteria set forth by the DSM-5 includes the presence of hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input(s), or unusual interests in sensory input(s) [1]
A two-way ANOVA was conducted to examine the effect of group (ASD, NT) and condition (Small, Large) on number of usable trials in the high‐contrast experiment
Shorter P1 latencies in conditions of large, high-contrast stimuli for children with ASD could lend support to the excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) imbalance theory of ASD, since weakened neural inhibition or increased neural excitation could result in a diminished spatial suppression effect resulting in enhanced processing of large, high-contrast stimuli [40]
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication, and the presence of stereotypic behaviors or restricted interests [1]. One of the diagnostic criteria set forth by the DSM-5 includes the presence of hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory input(s), or unusual interests in sensory input(s) [1]. This may include a heightened or attenuated response to temperature, auditory input, texture, smell, visual input, or movement. It is estimated that between 42% and 88% of individuals with ASD have some impairment in sensory processing [2]. Visual sensory differences are perhaps the most widely researched sensory issue in ASD, with abnormalities in multiple domains having been documented.
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