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Atypical Laterality of Resting Gamma Oscillations in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Abnormal brain oscillatory activity has been found in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and proposed as a potential biomarker. While several studies have investigated gamma oscillations in ASD, none have examined resting gamma power across multiple brain regions. This study investigated resting gamma power using EEG in 15 boys with ASD and 18 age and intelligence quotient matched typically developing controls. We found a decrease in resting gamma power at right lateral electrodes in ASD. We further explored associations between gamma and ASD severity as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and found a negative correlation between SRS and gamma power. We believe that our findings give further support of gamma oscillations as a potential biomarker for ASD.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft/DFG, IRTG 1328). Christina Maxwell is supported by the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Correspondence to Gregor Kohls.

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Maxwell, C.R., Villalobos, M.E., Schultz, R.T. et al. Atypical Laterality of Resting Gamma Oscillations in Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 292–297 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1842-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1842-7

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