Enhanced attentional processing during speech perception in adult high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: An...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Audiology

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with audiovisual speech perception deficits.
• These deficits and their neural underpinnings in adults with high-functioning ASD require further investigation.
• Previous research highlights differences in auditory cortex processing between ASD and healthy controls (HC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate audiovisual speech processing in adults with high-functioning ASD compared to HC.
• To characterize the temporal dynamics of neural differences during speech perception.
• To examine the impact of noise on speech comprehension and neural responses in ASD.

Main Methods:

• Examined 14 adult high-functioning ASD subjects and 15 adult HC.
• Presented visual (lip movements) and auditory (voice) speech stimuli, with and without white noise.
• Measured stimulus comprehension and recorded event-related brain potentials (ERPs).

Main Results:

• ASD subjects exhibited significantly worse speech comprehension than HC under noisy conditions.
• ERP analysis revealed significantly higher P2 amplitudes over parietal electrodes in ASD subjects compared to HC.
• These findings suggest distinct neural processing of audiovisual speech in adults with high-functioning ASD.

Conclusions:

• Adults with high-functioning ASD experience challenges in audiovisual speech perception, particularly when noise interferes.
• Neural differences, indicated by P2 amplitudes, are present in the auditory cortex during speech processing in this population.
• The study underscores the need for tailored interventions addressing sensory processing in ASD.