Speech perception in autism spectrum disorder: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech and Hearing Sciences

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with atypical language and auditory processing, impacting communication.
• Identifying reliable neurobiological markers for speech perception in ASD is challenging due to inconsistent findings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the functional neural basis of speech perception in individuals with ASD compared to typical development (TD).
• To identify common and distinct patterns of brain activation during speech processing between ASD and TD groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.
• Analyzed 18 qualifying neuroimaging studies.
• Conducted separate analyses for TD and ASD groups to compare within-group and between-group brain activation patterns.

Main Results:

• Both ASD and TD groups exhibited common speech processing activation in the bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG) and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG).
• The TD group showed additional activation in higher-order areas, including the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG), left medial frontal gyrus (MFG), and right IFG.

Conclusions:

• This meta-analysis provides a more reliable neural characterization of speech processing in ASD than previous studies.
• Findings highlight shared and distinct neural pathways for speech perception in ASD and TD.
• Future research should explore the relationship between these brain signatures and behavioral measures of speech processing in ASD.