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Candidate Electrophysiological Endophenotypes of Hyper-Reactivity to Change in Autism

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Abstract

Although resistance to change is a main feature of autism, the brain processes underlying this aspect of the disorder remain poorly understood. The aims of this study were to examine neural basis of auditory change-detection in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD; N = 27) through electrophysiological patterns (MMN, P3a) and to test whether these are quantitatively related to intolerance of change (using the BSE-R scale). ASD displayed significantly shorter MMN latency and larger P3a than controls, indicating a greater tendency to switch attention to deviant events. These electrophysiological abnormalities were significantly more marked in children who displayed greater difficulties in tolerating change. The atypical neurophysiological mechanism of change perception identified might thus be associated with one of the hallmark behavioural manifestations of autism.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the “Fondation d’Entreprise France Telecom”, and by the CHU Bretonneau, Tours (CRC). We thank all the subjects and their parents for their time and effort spent participating in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UMRS ‘Imagerie et Cerveau’, Inserm U930, CNRS FRE 2448, Université François Rabelais de Tours, CHRU, Tours, France

    Marie Gomot, Helen Clery, Sylvie Roux, Catherine Barthelemy & Nicole Bruneau

  2. Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Neuropsychologie Cliniques, Institut de Psychologie, Université René Descartes, Paris V, France

    Romuald Blanc

  3. INSERM U930, Centre de Pédopsychiatrie, CHU Bretonneau, 2 bd Tonnellé, 37044, Tours Cedex 9, France

    Marie Gomot

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  1. Marie Gomot
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Gomot, M., Blanc, R., Clery, H. et al. Candidate Electrophysiological Endophenotypes of Hyper-Reactivity to Change in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 705–714 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1091-y

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