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Aberrant auditory system and its developmental implications for autism

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Abstract

Most infants who are later diagnosed with autism show delayed speech and language and/or atypical language profile. There is a large body of research on abnormal speech and language in children with autism. However, auditory development has been relatively under-investigated in autism research, despite its inextricable relationship with language development and despite researchers’ ability to detect abnormalities in brain development and behavior in early infancy. In this review, we synthesize research on auditory processing in the prenatal period through infancy and childhood in typically developing children, children at high risk for autism, and children diagnosed with autism. We conclude that there are clear neurobiological and behavioral links between abnormal auditory development and the deficits in social communication seen in autism. We then offer perspectives on the need for a systematic characterization of early auditory development in autism, and identified questions to be addressed in future research on the development of autism.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31900775, 31571136), the SCNU Young Faculty Research Award (18KJ09), and the Key Realm R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2019B030335001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Luodi Yu & Suiping Wang

  2. Autism Research Center, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Luodi Yu & Suiping Wang

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  1. Luodi Yu
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  2. Suiping Wang
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Correspondence to Suiping Wang.

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Yu, L., Wang, S. Aberrant auditory system and its developmental implications for autism. Sci. China Life Sci. 64, 861–878 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-020-1863-6

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