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Updated: Dec 31, 2025
Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Binaural interaction component of the auditory brainstem response in children with autism spectrum disorder
Doaa ElMoazen1, Ossama Sobhy1, Rania Abdou2
1Audio-vestibular Medicine Unit, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Insights
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit reduced binaural interaction component (BIC) amplitudes, indicating auditory processing differences. Higher BIC amplitudes correlate with better communication skills in ASD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Audiology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Auditory dysfunction is frequently observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- The binaural interaction component (BIC) is a validated auditory brainstem response (ABR) measure reflecting binaural processing.
- Investigating BIC offers insights into auditory pathway function in ASD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare ABR-BIC amplitudes between children with ASD and neurotypical children.
- To explore the relationship between ABR-BIC amplitudes and communication abilities in children with ASD.
Main Methods:
- ASD diagnosis was confirmed using DSM-V criteria.
- Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) were recorded using monaural and binaural click stimulation.
- ABR-BIC was calculated by comparing binaural and summed monaural ABRs, focusing on waves IV-VI.
Main Results:
- Children with ASD showed significantly lower ABR-BIC amplitudes compared to controls.
- A positive correlation was found between ABR-BIC amplitude and scores on the Test of Acquired Communication Skills (TACS) in ASD.
Conclusions:
- The study provides objective evidence of binaural processing deficits in children with ASD.
- ABR-BIC may serve as a biomarker for auditory processing challenges in ASD.
- Findings suggest a link between binaural processing and communication development in ASD.
Introduction:
There is ample evidence that auditory dysfunction is a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Binaural interaction component (BIC) manifests binaural interaction and is valid and proven response which reflects ongoing binaural processing.
Objectives:
To investigate the differences in binaural interaction component of auditory brainstem response (ABR-BIC) between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and normal peers and to correlate between ABR-BIC amplitudes and the acquired communication skills in ASD children.
Methods:
ASD was diagnosed according to the criteria of 5th edition of diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V) and all children with ASD underwent test of acquired communication skills (TACS). Click evoked ABRs were elicited by left monaural, right monaural and binaural stimulation at intensity of 65 dBnHL in all participants. ABR-BIC was then calculated as the difference between the binaurally evoked ABR waveform and a predicted binaural waveform created by algebraically summing the left and right monaurally evoked ABRs. The difference in amplitudes that gives rise to ABR-BIC is at IV-VI waves.
Results:
ABR-BIC amplitudes were demonstrated to be significantly reduced in the ASD group compared to the control group. There was significant positive correlation between ABR-BIC amplitude and the language and social scores in TACS.
Conclusion:
This study provided an objective evidence of binaural processing disorder in children with ASD.
