Children with autism spectrum disorder have unstable neural responses to sound
Children with autism spectrum disorder have unstable neural responses to sound
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diverse, manifesting in a wide array of phenotypes. However, a consistent theme is
reduced communicative and social abilities. Auditory processing deficits have been shown in individuals with ASD—these
deficits may play a role in the communication difficulties ASD individuals experience. Specifically, children with ASD
have delayed neural timing and poorer tracking of a changing pitch relative to their typically developing peers. Given that
accurate processing of sound requires highly coordinated and consistent neural activity, we hypothesized that these auditory
processing deficits stem from a failure to respond to sound in a consistent manner. Therefore, we predicted that individuals
with ASD have reduced neural stability in response to sound. We recorded the frequency-following response (FFR), an
evoked response that mirrors the acoustic features of its stimulus, of high-functioning children with ASD age 7–13 years.
Evident across multiple speech stimuli, children with ASD have less stable FFRs to speech sounds relative to their typically
developing peers. This reduced auditory stability could contribute to the language and communication profiles observed in
individuals with ASD.
Autism spectrum disorder · Neural stability · Neural variability · FFR · Auditory · Sound processing
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diverse, manifesting in a wide array of phenotypes. However, a consistent theme is
reduced communicative and social abilities. Auditory processing deficits have been shown in individuals with ASD—these
deficits may play a role in the communication difficulties ASD individuals experience. Specifically, children with ASD
have delayed neural timing and poorer tracking of a changing pitch relative to their typically developing peers. Given that
accurate processing of sound requires highly coordinated and consistent neural activity, we hypothesized that these auditory
processing deficits stem from a failure to respond to sound in a consistent manner. Therefore, we predicted that individuals
with ASD have reduced neural stability in response to sound. We recorded the frequency-following response (FFR), an
evoked response that mirrors the acoustic features of its stimulus, of high-functioning children with ASD age 7–13 years.
Evident across multiple speech stimuli, children with ASD have less stable FFRs to speech sounds relative to their typically
developing peers. This reduced auditory stability could contribute to the language and communication profiles observed in
individuals with ASD.
Autism spectrum disorder · Neural stability · Neural variability · FFR · Auditory · Sound processing