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Dwyer P, Williams ZJ, Vukusic S, Saron CD, Rivera SM. Habituation of auditory responses in young autistic and neurotypical children. Autism Res 2023; 16:1903-1923. [PMID: 37688470 PMCID: PMC10651062 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Prior studies suggest that habituation of sensory responses is reduced in autism and that diminished habituation could be related to atypical autistic sensory experiences, for example, by causing brain responses to aversive stimuli to remain strong over time instead of being suppressed. While many prior studies exploring habituation in autism have repeatedly presented identical stimuli, other studies suggest group differences can still be observed in habituation to intermittent stimuli. The present study explored habituation of electrophysiological responses to auditory complex tones of varying intensities (50-80 dB SPL), presented passively in an interleaved manner, in a well-characterized sample of 127 autistic (MDQ = 65.41, SD = 20.54) and 79 typically developing (MDQ = 106.02, SD = 11.50) children between 2 and 5 years old. Habituation was quantified as changes in the amplitudes of single-trial responses to tones of each intensity over the course of the experiment. Habituation of the auditory N2 response was substantially reduced in autistic participants as compared to typically developing controls, although diagnostic groups did not clearly differ in habituation of the P1 response. Interestingly, the P1 habituated less to loud 80 dB sounds than softer sounds, whereas the N2 habituated less to soft 50 dB sounds than louder sounds. No associations were found between electrophysiological habituation and cognitive ability or participants' caregiver-reported sound tolerance (Sensory Profile Hyperacusis Index). The results present study results extend prior research suggesting habituation of certain sensory responses is reduced in autism; however, they also suggest that habituation differences observed using this study's paradigm might not be a primary driver of autistic participants' real-world sound intolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Dwyer
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Zachary J. Williams
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
- Department of Hearing & Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University
Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN,
USA
- Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center,
Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Svjetlana Vukusic
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of General Practice, Melbourne Medical School, the
University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Clifford D. Saron
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Susan M. Rivera
- Department of Psychology, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- Center for Mind and Brain, UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
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Merchie A, Gomot M. Habituation, Adaptation and Prediction Processes in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Comprehensive Review. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1110. [PMID: 37509040 PMCID: PMC10377027 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Habituation, the simplest form of learning preserved across species and evolution, is characterized by a response decrease as a stimulus is repeated. This adaptive function has been shown to be altered in some psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or schizophrenia. At the brain level, habituation is characterized by a decrease in neural activity as a stimulation is repeated, referred to as neural adaptation. This phenomenon influences the ability to make predictions and to detect change, two processes altered in some neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders. In this comprehensive review, the objectives are to characterize habituation, neural adaptation, and prediction throughout typical development and in neurodevelopmental disorders; and to evaluate their implication in symptomatology, specifically in sensitivity to change or need for sameness. A summary of the different approaches to investigate adaptation will be proposed, in which we report the contribution of animal studies as well as electrophysiological studies in humans to understanding of underlying neuronal mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marie Gomot
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, INSERM, 37000 Tours, France
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3
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Scaramella C, Alzagatiti JB, Creighton C, Mankatala S, Licea F, Winter GM, Emtage J, Wisnieski JR, Salazar L, Hussain A, Lee FM, Mammootty A, Mammootty N, Aldujaili A, Runnberg KA, Hernandez D, Zimmerman-Thompson T, Makwana R, Rouvere J, Tahmasebi Z, Zavradyan G, Campbell CS, Komaranchath M, Carmona J, Trevitt J, Glanzman D, Roberts AC. Bisphenol A Exposure Induces Sensory Processing Deficits in Larval Zebrafish during Neurodevelopment. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0020-22.2022. [PMID: 35508370 PMCID: PMC9116930 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0020-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Because of their ex utero development, relatively simple nervous system, translucency, and availability of tools to investigate neural function, larval zebrafish are an exceptional model for understanding neurodevelopmental disorders and the consequences of environmental toxins. Furthermore, early in development, zebrafish larvae easily absorb chemicals from water, a significant advantage over methods required to expose developing organisms to chemical agents in utero Bisphenol A (BPA) and BPA analogs are ubiquitous environmental toxins with known molecular consequences. All humans have measurable quantities of BPA in their bodies. Most concerning, the level of BPA exposure is correlated with neurodevelopmental difficulties in people. Given the importance of understanding the health-related effects of this common toxin, we have exploited the experimental advantages of the larval zebrafish model system to investigate the behavioral and anatomic effects of BPA exposure. We discovered that BPA exposure early in development leads to deficits in the processing of sensory information, as indicated by BPA's effects on prepulse inhibition (PPI) and short-term habituation (STH) of the C-start reflex. We observed no changes in locomotion, thigmotaxis, and repetitive behaviors (circling). Despite changes in sensory processing, we detected no regional or whole-brain volume changes. Our results show that early BPA exposure can induce sensory processing deficits, as revealed by alterations in simple behaviors that are mediated by a well-defined neural circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney Scaramella
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Joseph B Alzagatiti
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106
| | - Christopher Creighton
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Samandeep Mankatala
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Fernando Licea
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Gabriel M Winter
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Jasmine Emtage
- Department of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125
| | - Joseph R Wisnieski
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Luis Salazar
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Anjum Hussain
- Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
| | - Faith M Lee
- Department of Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Asma Mammootty
- Saint Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63104
| | | | - Andrew Aldujaili
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Kristine A Runnberg
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Daniela Hernandez
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | | | - Rikhil Makwana
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720
| | - Julien Rouvere
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Zahra Tahmasebi
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - Gohar Zavradyan
- Department of Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
| | | | - Meghna Komaranchath
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Javier Carmona
- Department of Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Jennifer Trevitt
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
| | - David Glanzman
- Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Adam C Roberts
- Department of Psychology, California State University at Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831
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Jamal W, Cardinaux A, Haskins AJ, Kjelgaard M, Sinha P. Reduced Sensory Habituation in Autism and Its Correlation with Behavioral Measures. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 51:3153-3164. [PMID: 33179147 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04780-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Autism is strongly associated with sensory processing difficulties. We investigate sensory habituation, given its relevance for understanding important phenotypic traits like hyper- and hypo-sensitivities. We collected electroencephalography data from 22 neuro-typical(NT) and 13 autistic(ASD) children during the presentation of visual and auditory sequences of repeated stimuli. Our data show that the ASD children have significantly reduced habituation relative to the NT children for both auditory and visual stimuli. These results point to impaired habituation as a modality-general phenomenon in ASD. Additionally, the rates of habituation are correlated with several clinical scores associated with competence along diverse phenotypic dimensions. These data suggest that the sensory difficulties in autism are likely to be associated with reduced habituation and are related to clinical symptomology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wasifa Jamal
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Annie Cardinaux
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Amanda J Haskins
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Margaret Kjelgaard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA, USA.,Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pawan Sinha
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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5
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Font-Alaminos M, Cornella M, Costa-Faidella J, Hervás A, Leung S, Rueda I, Escera C. Increased subcortical neural responses to repeating auditory stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Biol Psychol 2020; 149:107807. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 10/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/30/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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6
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Nordt M, Hoehl S, Weigelt S. The use of repetition suppression paradigms in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Cortex 2016; 80:61-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2016.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Roux S, Adrien JL, Bruneau N, Malvy J, Barthelemy C. Behaviour Profiles within a Population of 145 Children with Autism Using the Behaviour Summarized Evaluation Scale. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361398024003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Clinicians and researchers have observed a degree of heterogeneity within the autistic syndrome which suggests different pathophysiological mechanisms. Greater understanding of this heterogeneity was sought by studying more homogeneous subpopulations according to developmental age (DA) within a large population of children with autism. The sample consisted of 145 children with autism (population P), and two subpopulations were determined according to DA criteria: DA < 2 years, population PDA-; DA? 2 years, population PDA+. An original multivariate descriptive statistical method, correspondence analysis, was applied to 13 behavioural data, followed by a classical hierarchical clustering method. In population P, four behaviour profiles were distinguished on the basis of three main functions: auditory perception, imitation and sensorimotility. The study of more homogeneous subpopulations according to DA revealed differences in the factorial structure of both subpopulations. In population PDA+ the main relevant behaviours defining profiles in autism were first abnormal reactivity to auditory stimuli, followed by imitation deficiences. However in population PDA-the main relevant behaviours were first stereotypies, followed by abnormal reactivity to auditory stimuli. Modification of the organization of behaviours in autism according to developmental age is clarified; unlike the auditory perception dimension, imitation and sensorimotor dimensions may be dependent on development. These results thus support the heterogeneity of the autistic syndrome and clarify some aspects of change and continuity in the expression of the disorders contained in this syndrome.
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Sacco R, Lintas C, Persico AM. Autism genetics: Methodological issues and experimental design. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2015; 58:946-57. [PMID: 26335734 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-012-4315-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Autism is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder of developmental origin, where multiple genetic and environmental factors likely interact resulting in a clinical continuum between "affected" and "unaffected" individuals in the general population. During the last two decades, relevant progress has been made in identifying chromosomal regions and genes in linkage or association with autism, but no single gene has emerged as a major cause of disease in a large number of patients. The purpose of this paper is to discuss specific methodological issues and experimental strategies in autism genetic research, based on fourteen years of experience in patient recruitment and association studies of autism spectrum disorder in Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Sacco
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Neurogenetics, University "Campus Bio-Medico", Rome, I-00128, Italy.,Department of Experimental Neurosciences, I.R.C.C.S. "Fondazione Santa Lucia", Rome, I-00143, Italy
| | - Carla Lintas
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Neurogenetics, University "Campus Bio-Medico", Rome, I-00128, Italy.,Department of Experimental Neurosciences, I.R.C.C.S. "Fondazione Santa Lucia", Rome, I-00143, Italy
| | - Antonio M Persico
- Department of Child Neuropsychiatry and Laboratory of Molecular Psychiatry and Neurogenetics, University "Campus Bio-Medico", Rome, I-00128, Italy. .,Department of Experimental Neurosciences, I.R.C.C.S. "Fondazione Santa Lucia", Rome, I-00143, Italy.
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9
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Seery A, Tager-Flusberg H, Nelson CA. Event-related potentials to repeated speech in 9-month-old infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2014; 6:43. [PMID: 25937843 PMCID: PMC4416338 DOI: 10.1186/1866-1955-6-43] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Atypical neural responses to repeated auditory and linguistic stimuli have been reported both in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their first-degree relatives. Recent work suggests that the younger siblings of children with ASD have atypical event-related potentials (ERPs) to repeated tones at 9 months of age; however, the functional significance is unclear, and it is unknown whether this atypicality is also present in response to linguistic stimuli. Methods We analyzed ERPs to repetitive and deviant consonant-vowel stimuli at 9 months in 35 unaffected high-risk-for-autism (HRA) infant siblings of children with ASD and 45 low-risk control (LRC) infants. We examined a positive component, the P150, over frontal and central electrode sites and investigated the relationships between this component and later behavior. Results Over frontal electrodes, HRA infants had larger-amplitude ERPs to repetitions of the standard than LRC infants, whereas ERPs to the deviant did not differ between HRA and LRC infants. Furthermore, for HRA infants, the amplitude of ERPs to the standards was positively correlated with later language ability. Conclusions Our work suggests that atypical ERPs to repeated speech during infancy are a possible endophenotype of ASD but that this atypicality is associated with beneficial, rather than disordered, language development. Potential mechanisms driving these relationships and implications for development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Seery
- Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016 USA
| | - Helen Tager-Flusberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 USA
| | - Charles A Nelson
- Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02215 USA ; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 USA
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10
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Cheliout-Heraut F, Lemaitre A, Lemorvan N, Khemliche H, Bour F, Elmassioui F. Étude normative de l’électrorétinogramme chez l’enfant. Application dans l’autisme infantile. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurenf.2008.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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11
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Bruneau N, Roux S, Adrien JL, Barthélémy C. Auditory associative cortex dysfunction in children with autism: evidence from late auditory evoked potentials (N1 wave-T complex). Clin Neurophysiol 1999; 110:1927-34. [PMID: 10576489 DOI: 10.1016/s1388-2457(99)00149-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Auditory processing at the cortical level was investigated with late auditory evoked potentials (N1 wave-T complex) in 4-8-year-old autistic children with mental retardation and compared to both age-matched normal and mentally retarded children (16 children in each group). METHODS Two negative peaks which occurred in the 80-200 ms latency range were analyzed according to stimulus intensity level (50 to 80 dB SPL): the first culminated at fronto-central sites (N1b) and the second at bitemporal sites (N1c, equivalent to Tb of the T complex). The latter wave was the most prominent and reliable response in normal children at this age. RESULTS Our results in autistic children indicated abnormalities of this wave with markedly smaller amplitude at bitemporal sites and pronounced peak latency delay (around 20 ms). Moreover, in both reference groups the intensity effect was found on both sides whereas in autistic children it was absent on the left side but present on the right. CONCLUSION These findings in autistic children showing very disturbed verbal communication argue for dysfunction in brain areas involved in N1c generation i.e., the auditory associative cortex in the lateral part of the superior temporal gyrus, with more specific left side defects when auditory stimulus have to be processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Bruneau
- INSERM Unité 316, Service Universitaire d'Explorations Fonctionnelles et de Neurophysiologie en Pédopsychiatrie, Tours, France.
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Caston J, Yon E, Mellier D, Godfrey HP, Delhaye-bouchaud N, Mariani J. An animal model of autism: behavioural studies in the GS guinea-pig. Eur J Neurosci 1998; 10:2677-84. [PMID: 9767397 DOI: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.1998.00272.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Autism is a human behavioural pathology marked by major difficulties in abnormal socialization, language comprehension and stereotypic motor patterns. These behavioural abnormalities have been associated with corticocerebral and cerebellar abnormalities in autistic patients, particularly in vermal folia VI and VII. Progress in understanding this disease has been hindered by the absence of a non-primate animal model. GS guinea-pigs are a partially inbred, non-ataxic guinea-pig strain with cerebellar and corticocerebral abnormalities similar to those reported to exist in human patients with autism. In order to determine if GS guinea-pigs represent an animal model of autism, their behaviour was compared with that of Hartley strain guinea-pigs. GS animals learned a motor task significantly more rapidly than Hartley guinea-pigs, but performed it in a more stereotypic manner and were less influenced by environmental stimuli than Hartleys. GS animals exhibited significantly less exploratory behaviour in a novel environment and were significantly less responsive to 50-95 dBA pure tones than Hartley guinea-pigs. In a social interaction assay, GS guinea-pigs interacted significantly less frequently with each other or with Hartley guinea-pigs than Hartleys did under the same conditions. GS behaviour thus exhibits autistic-like behaviour patterns: motor stereotypy, lack of exploration and response to environment and poor social interaction. Coupled with the neuropathological findings, this abnormal behaviour suggests that GS guinea-pigs could be a useful animal model of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Caston
- Université de Rouen, Faculté des Sciences, Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de l'Apprentissage, 76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan Cedex, France
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13
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Adrien JL, Martineau J, Barthélémy C, Bruneau N, Garreau B, Sauvage D. Disorders of regulation of cognitive activity in autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 1995; 25:249-63. [PMID: 7559291 DOI: 10.1007/bf02179287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Infantile autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by disturbances concerning not only the areas of socialization and communication ("aloneness") but also the ability to modify and change behavior ("need for sameness"). In most recent studies, various abnormal and deviant cognitive activities, such as the ability to regulate one's behavior, were considered as accounting for these signs. In this report, we examined the regulation of cognitive activity, from a developmental perspective in comparing autistic with mentally retarded children matched in a pairwise manner by global, verbal, and nonverbal developmental ages. All children were tested with tasks adapted from the Object Permanence Test which corresponds to Piaget's sensorimotor development Stages IV to VI. Results showed that autistic children had a pervasive difficulty in maintenance set, made more perseverative errors when the abstraction degree of task was higher, and were more variable in their behavioral strategies. Discussion is focused on the interests and limits of these tasks for the examination of regulation activity from diagnostic and developmental perspectives. Finally, interpretations about recent neuropsychological and neurophysiological works, and additional interdisciplinary studies are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Adrien
- Département de Psychopathologie de l'Enfant et de Neurophysiologie du Développement, C.H.U. Bretonneau, Tours, France
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14
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Taylor MJ, Pourcelot L. [Cognitive evoked potentials in children: normal and abnormal development]. Neurophysiol Clin 1995; 25:130-45. [PMID: 8524208 DOI: 10.1016/0987-7053(96)80166-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The first part of this review on event-related potentials (ERPs) in children summarizes the role of ERPs in the study of normal cognitive development. The ERPs vary both as a function of the age of the child and also as a function of the cognitive processes that are required by the tasks. Topographical studies allow one to identify cortical regions involved in specific cognitive processes, and monitor their age-related changes. The second part of this paper reviews two examples of abnormal cognitive development (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and childhood autism) where the ERPs allow a better understanding of the dysfunction underlying the observed cognitive disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Taylor
- Inserm U 316, CHU Bretonneau, Tours, France
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15
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Oades RD, Eggers C. Childhood autism: An appeal for an integrative and psychobiological approach. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1994; 3:159-175. [PMID: 29871423 DOI: 10.1007/bf02720323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The difficulty that a person with autism has in establishing relationships, maintaining them (communicating and responding appropriately) is a common experience of those close to them., That impaired perceptual and cognitive processing can underlie this difficulty and the interactions of people with autism with the material environment has been established in the laboratory. The consequences at a psychological level of analysis may converge in the inadequacy of second-order representations of the world. An attenuation of such endogenous monitoring processes could also indirectly account for features of withdrawal and the stereotypies often observed. At another level of analysis there are delays in neurotransmission, in the CNS and a lack of flexibility of physiological response shown by evoked potential recordings. Tomographic studies of blood flow and metabolism illustrate a lack of correlation between information processing centres in the brain that may sometimes arise from diffuse gray matter atrophy. A "stop-go" form of modulation of central processing is mediated by anomalous ascending serotonergic and dopaminergic function (transmitters with inhibitory and switching functions). On these bases it is no wonder that representations are not formed and inappropriate and repetitive behaviors follow, although the link remains somewhat speculative. Both levels of analysis are useful for an explanation. As behavioral and pharmacotherapy, though helpful, are severely limited in their efficacy, more effort is required to synthesize the different levels of analysis into a psycho-biological approach, to remedial programs and new forms of therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Eggers
- Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (RLHK), Pf 103 043, 45030, Essen, Germany
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