Disordered visual processing and oscillatory brain activity in autism and Williams syndrome
Abstract
Two developmental disorders, autism and Williams syndrome, are both commonly described as having difficulties in integrating perceptual features, i.e. binding spatially separate elements into a whole. It is already known that healthy adults and infants display electroencephalographic (EEG) gamma-band bursts (around 40 Hz) when the brain is required to achieve such binding. Here we explore gamma-band EEG in autism and Williams Syndrome and demonstrate differential abnormalities in the two phenotypes. We show that despite putative processing similarities at the cognitive level, binding in Williams syndrome and autism can be dissociated at the neurophysiological level by different abnormalities in underlying brain oscillatory activity. Our study is the first to identify that binding-related gamma EEG can be disordered in humans.
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Abnormal gamma-band oscillations are atypical in individuals with ASD in response to face stimuli.
“abnormal gamma-band oscillations, thought to be involved in perceptual binding of sensory information, is atypical in individuals with ASD in response to both face (Grice et al., 2001)”
From Behavioral, Perceptual, and Neural Alterations in Sensory and Multisensory Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Grice et al., 2001
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- Authors
- Grice, S. J., Spratling, M. W., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Halit, H., Csibra, G., de Haan, M., & Johnson, M. H.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Birkbeck, University of London (GB)
- Central European University (AT)
- Venue
- Neuroreport
- Published
- 2001-08
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2697-2700
- ISSN
- 0959-4965 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2101204882
- Cited by
- 322
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 2.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroreport (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- BIROn (Birkbeck, University of London) (submittedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Williams Syndrome Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, Williams syndrome, visual binding, gamma oscillations, EEG, perceptual integration, developmental disorders, neurophysiological abnormalities
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Autistic Disorder, Biological Clocks, Brain, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Field Dependence-Independence, Humans, Photic Stimulation, Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted, Visual Perception, Williams Syndrome
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