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Differential Maturation of Auditory Cortex Activity in Young Children with Autism and Typical Development
Heather L Green1, Guannan Shen2, Rose E Franzen2
1Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA. greenhl@chop.edu.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|August 12, 2022
Summary
Auditory cortex maturation in children with autism shows an initial rapid phase, earlier than typical development (TD). Later, TD shows faster maturation, altering group differences over time.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Auditory Processing
Background:
- Neural encoding in the auditory cortex undergoes significant maturation during childhood.
- Understanding developmental trajectories in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the maturation patterns of auditory cortex neural encoding in children with typical development (TD) and autism.
- To examine longitudinal changes in auditory processing over approximately 36 months.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design tracking children aged 6-9 years at baseline.
- Assessment of auditory cortex neural encoding at three time points over 36 months.
- Comparison of maturation trajectories between children with TD and autism.
Main Results:
- Children with autism exhibited an initial rapid phase of auditory cortex maturation, preceding or concurrent with Time 1.
- Typical development showed a faster maturation rate between Time 1 and Time 3 compared to autism.
- Group differences in post-stimulus activity observed at Time 1 diminished by Time 3.
- Stronger pre-stimulus activity in autism compared to TD remained consistent across all time points.
Conclusions:
- Auditory cortex maturation follows distinct developmental trajectories in autism compared to TD.
- Early maturation in autism is followed by a period where TD children's auditory processing matures more rapidly.
- Pre-stimulus brain activity may serve as a stable neural marker in autism across development.
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