Cited by 26Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchNeural dynamics and brain functionGenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Magnetoencephalography Studies of the Envelope Following Response During Amplitude-Modulated Sweeps: Diminished Phase Synchrony in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Roberts, Timothy P. L., Bloy, Luke, Liu, Song, Ku, Matthew, Blaskey, Lisa, Jackel, Carissa·2021·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Abstract

Prevailing theories of the neural basis of at least a subset of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include an imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. These circuitry imbalances are commonly probed in adults using auditory steady-state responses (ASSR, driven at 40 Hz) to elicit coherent electrophysiological responses (EEG/MEG) from intact circuitry. Challenges to the ASSR methodology occur during development, where the optimal ASSR driving frequency may be unknown. An alternative approach (more agnostic to driving frequency) is the amplitude-modulated (AM) sweep in which the amplitude of a tone (with carrier frequency 500 Hz) is modulated as a sweep from 10 to 100 Hz over the course of ∼15 s. Phase synchrony of evoked responses, measured via intra-trial coherence, is recorded (by EEG or MEG) as a function of frequency. We applied such AM sweep stimuli bilaterally to 40 typically developing and 80 children with ASD, aged 6–18 years. Diagnoses were confirmed by DSM-5 criteria as well as autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) observational assessment. Stimuli were presented binaurally during MEG recording and consisted of 20 AM swept stimuli (500 Hz carrier; sweep 10–100 Hz up and down) with a duration of ∼30 s each. Peak intra-trial coherence values and peak response frequencies of source modeled responses (auditory cortex) were examined. First, the phase synchrony or inter-trial coherence (ITC) of the ASSR is diminished in ASD; second, hemispheric bias in the ASSR, observed in typical development (TD), is maintained in ASD, and third, that the frequency at which the peak response is obtained varies on an individual basis, in part dependent on age, and with altered developmental trajectories in ASD vs. TD. Finally, there appears an association between auditory steady-state phase synchrony (taken as a proxy of neuronal circuitry integrity) and clinical assessment of language ability/impairment. We concluded that (1) the AM sweep stimulus provides a mechanism for probing ASSR in an unbiased fashion, during developmental maturation of peak response frequency, (2) peak frequencies vary, in part due to developmental age, and importantly, (3) ITC at this peak frequency is diminished in ASD, with the degree of ITC disturbance related to clinically assessed language impairment.

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  1. Semel E. M. Wiig E. H. Secord W. (2006). CELF 4: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals 4. San Antonio, TX: Pearson Education Inc.

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Authors
Roberts, T. P. L., Bloy, L., Liu, S., Ku, M., Blaskey, L., & Jackel, C.
Affiliations
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (US)
Corresponding author
Roberts, Timothy P. L.
Venue
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Published
2021-12-15
Volume
15
Pages
787229-787229
ISSN
1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4200279494
Cited by
26
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7
FWCI
2.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (HD105354)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01DC008871)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P50HD105354)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, auditory steady-state response, phase synchronization, inter-trial phase coherence, auditory cortex, excitatory-inhibitory imbalance, hemispheric lateralization, language impairment, developmental trajectories, children and adolescents, source modeling, MEG, EEG, auditory development

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