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Updated: Nov 4, 2025
Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Early differences in auditory processing relate to Autism Spectrum Disorder traits in infants with Neurofibromatosis
Jannath Begum-Ali1, Anna Kolesnik-Taylor2,3, Isabel Quiroz2
1Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, Henry Wellcome Building, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK. jannath.begum@bbk.ac.uk.
Insights
Infants with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) show atypical auditory brain responses by 5-10 months, suggesting early sensory processing differences may predict later Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) traits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Genetics
Background:
- Sensory modulation difficulties are prevalent in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- These sensory processing differences may contribute to social and non-social symptoms observed in ASD.
- Prospective studies are crucial to establish a causal link between early sensory reactivity and later developmental outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate auditory processing in infants with and without Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1).
- To examine auditory repetition suppression and change detection at 5 and 10 months of age.
- To explore the relationship between early auditory neural responses and later ASD traits.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design.
- Assessment of auditory repetition suppression and change detection using electrophysiological measures in infants.
- Comparison between infants with NF1 and typically developing infants.
Main Results:
- Typically developing infants showed age-related changes in auditory processing, shifting from posterior to frontal regions.
- Infants with NF1 exhibited diminished age-related changes in auditory responses.
- While both groups detected auditory changes, the NF1 group showed delayed neural differentiation, correlating with later ASD traits.
Conclusions:
- This study provides the first evidence of atypical auditory brain responses in infants with NF1.
- These early auditory processing differences in infants with NF1 may be an indicator for the likelihood of developing ASD.
- Findings highlight the potential of early auditory assessments in predicting neurodevelopmental trajectories.
Background:
Sensory modulation difficulties are common in children with conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and could contribute to other social and non-social symptoms. Positing a causal role for sensory processing differences requires observing atypical sensory reactivity prior to the emergence of other symptoms, which can be achieved through prospective studies.
Methods:
In this longitudinal study, we examined auditory repetition suppression and change detection at 5 and 10 months in infants with and without Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), a condition associated with higher likelihood of developing ASD.
Results:
In typically developing infants, suppression to vowel repetition and enhanced responses to vowel/pitch change decreased with age over posterior regions, becoming more frontally specific; age-related change was diminished in the NF1 group. Whilst both groups detected changes in vowel and pitch, the NF1 group were largely slower to show a differentiated neural response. Auditory responses did not relate to later language, but were related to later ASD traits.
Conclusions:
These findings represent the first demonstration of atypical brain responses to sounds in infants with NF1 and suggest they may relate to the likelihood of later ASD.
