Sensorimotor processing in autism and typical development: a
high-density electrical mapping study of response-locked neural activity
in children and adolescents
Abstract
Sensorimotor atypicalities are common in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
and are often evident prior to classical ASD symptoms. Despite evidence
of differences in neural processing during imitation in ASD, research on
integrity of basic sensorimotor processing is surprisingly sparce. To
address this gap in the literature, here we examined basic sensorimotor
processing in autism by analyzing EEG data recorded from a large sample
of children and adolescents while they performed an audio-visual speeded
reaction time task. Using response-locked signal averaging, we
investigated the neural processes associated with execution of a cued
movement in a large sample of children and adolescents with ASD (n=84)
and without ASD (n=84). Analyses focused on motor related brain
responses that are well-characterized in adults: the late berichtsheft
potential, the motor potential, and the reafferent potential. Group
differences were examined in data parsed by age (6-9 years, 9-12 years,
12-15 years), sensory cue preceding the response (auditory, visual,
bi-sensory audio-visual), and reaction time quartile. Overall, the data
revealed robust sensorimotor neural responses in ASD. Nevertheless,
subtle sensorimotor atypicalities were present in autistic children
across all parcellations, and these differences were most prominent in
the youngest group of children (age 6-9). Future studies focused on
younger children are needed to understand if differences in basic
sensorimotor processing are more prominent earlier in development in
autism.