Cited by 88Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Children with ASD show links between aberrant sound processing, social symptoms, and atypical auditory interhemispheric and thalamocortical functional connectivity

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Linke, Annika C., Jao Keehn, R. Joanne, Pueschel, Ellyn B., Fishman, Inna, Müller, Ralph-Axel·2018·Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex and prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social and communicative deficits, as well as repetitive behaviors and atypical sensitivity to sensory stimulation. Alterations in network connectivity are widely recognized, but their interplay with social and sensory symptoms remains largely unclear. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging and diagnostic and behavioral assessments were used in a cohort of children and adolescents with ASD (n=40) and matched typically developing (TD, n=38) controls to examine the relation between auditory processing, interhemispheric and thalamocortical network connectivity, and social-behavioral symptom severity. We found that atypical processing of sounds was related to social, cognitive, and communicative impairments. Additionally, severity of sensory processing deficits and lower verbal IQ were related to reduced interhemispheric connectivity of auditory cortices in ASD. Increased connectivity between the thalamus and auditory cortex in ASD, however, was associated with reduced cognitive and behavioral symptomatology, suggesting that thalamocortical overconnectivity might reflect a compensatory mechanism in ASD. These findings provide novel evidence for links between auditory sensory deficits and impairments in social interaction and communication.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.01.007

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  • Severity of sensory processing deficits in ASD is correlated with reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity of auditory cortices and lower verbal IQ.

    “The severity of sensory processing deficits in ASD also seems to be correlated with reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity of auditory cortices (Linke et al. 2018; Tanigawa et al. 2018) and lower verbal IQ (Linke et al. 2018).”

    From Autism Spectrum Disorder and auditory sensory alterations: a systematic review on the integrity of cognitive and neuronal functions related to auditory processing (2023) · cites this paper as Linke et al. 2018

    The Results (Interhemispheric connectivity; page not provided) link reduced auditory interhemispheric connectivity with greater auditory sensory deficits and lower verbal IQ across all participants. The connectivity–sensory-score correlation was not significant when tested in the ASD group alone, and the passage does not establish a direct correlation between sensory-deficit severity and verbal IQ. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Increased connectivity between the thalamus and the auditory cortex is found in patients with reduced cognitive and behavioral symptomatology.

    “Interestingly, increased connectivity between the thalamus and the auditory cortex was found in patients with reduced cognitive and behavioral symptomatology (Linke et al. 2018; Tanigawa et al. 2018), which suggests high thalamocortical connectivity as a potential compensatory mechanism in ASD (Linke et al. 2018).”

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Cited by

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Authors
Linke, A. C., Jao Keehn, R. J., Pueschel, E. B., Fishman, I., & Müller, R.-A.
Affiliations
San Diego State University (US)
Corresponding author
Linke, Annika C.
Venue
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2018-01
Volume
29
Pages
117-126
ISSN
1878-9293 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2571969900
Cited by
88
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 2
FWCI
4.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2020-10-01)
Open access
Locations
  • Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (R01 MH081023, K01 MH097972, R01 MH101173)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, auditory processing, interhemispheric connectivity, thalamocortical connections, social symptoms, sensory processing deficits, auditory cortex, children and adolescents, compensatory mechanisms, verbal IQ, social communication deficits
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Adolescent, Auditory Cortex, Auditory Perception, Child, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Social Behavior, Thalamus, Cohort Studies

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