Increased subcortical neural responses to repeating auditory stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder

Recent research has highlighted atypical reactivity to sensory stimulation as a core symptom in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the dysfunctional neurological mechanisms underlying these aberrant sensitivities. Here we tested the hypothesis that the abili...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Font-Alaminos, Marta, Cornella Gifrul, Miriam, Costa Faidella, Jordi, Hervás, Amaia, Leung, Sumie, Rueda, Isabel, Escera i Micó, Carles
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/207333
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/207333
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Infants autistes
Neurologia pediàtrica
Percepció auditiva
Estimulació del cervell
Autistic children
Pediatric neurology
Auditory perception
Brain stimulation
Descripción
Sumario:Recent research has highlighted atypical reactivity to sensory stimulation as a core symptom in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, little is known about the dysfunctional neurological mechanisms underlying these aberrant sensitivities. Here we tested the hypothesis that the ability to filter out auditory repeated information is deficient in children with ASD already from subcortical levels, yielding to auditory sensitivities. We recorded the frequency-following response (FFR), a non-invasive measure of the neural tracking of the periodic characteristics of a sound in the subcortical auditory system, to compare repetition related effects in children with ASD and typically developing children. Results revealed an increase of the FFR with stimulus repetition in children with ASD compared to their peers. Moreover, such defective early sensory encoding of stimulus redundancy was associated with sensory overload. These results highlight that auditory sensitivities in ASD emerge already at the level of the subcortical auditory system.