Sensory registration in children with high functioning autism
Date
2015
Authors
Crasta, Jewel Elias, author
Davies, Patricia L., advisor
Gavin, William J., committee member
LaGasse, Blythe, committee member
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Abstract
Auditory processing is one of the most commonly reported sensory processing impairments in autism spectrum disorders. This study sought to determine whether children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFA) differ from typically developing children on neurophysiological measures of auditory information processing. We hypothesized that children with HFA would have significant different brain activity when listening to auditory stimuli compared to typically developing children. A cross-sectional quasi-experimental quantitative study design with convenience sampling procedures was employed to compare two groups. Nineteen children with HFA and 19 age- and gender-matched typically developing children, ages 5 to 12 years, participated in this study. Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings were made while participants watched a silent movie and heard random presentations of four auditory stimuli at two different frequencies (1 and 3 kHz) and at two different intensities (50 and 70 dB). The stimuli were presented in 4 blocks of 100 trials each, with 25 trials of each of the stimuli in random order with a 2-second inter-stimulus interval. Amplitude and latency measures were obtained for the P1, N1, P2, N2, and P3 components from the averaged event-related potentials (ERPs) for each of the four auditory stimuli. An analysis of variance for the ERP components, revealed that children with HFA had significantly smaller N2 amplitudes for the low frequency low intensity tone, and significantly smaller P3 amplitudes to the high intensity at both frequencies stimuli compared to typically developing children. This finding suggests that children with HFA have increased difficulty in automatic stimuli discrimination and reduced cognitive processing to these auditory stimuli. Children with HFA also had significantly longer P2 latencies for the high intensity high frequency tone compared to typically developing peers, suggesting delayed auditory processing. In conclusion, this study shows that children with HFA display different brain processing mechanisms to auditory sensory stimuli compared to typically developing children. These differences suggest that the auditory processing deficits observed in children with HFA may arise from atypical neurophysiological functioning related to stimuli discrimination and processing. These results can help practitioners understand the neurophysiological basis of behavioral manifestations of ASD, especially those atypical behaviors that occur in response to sensory experiences in everyday activities. Understanding the specific aspects of sensory processing that are a challenge for children with HFA may provide guidance to the types of treatment strategies that will be most effective.
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Subject
autism spectrum disorder
EEG
sensory processing
auditory processing