School of Psychology, Chukyo University, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8666, Japan.
Human Information Science Laboratory, NTT Communication Science Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa, 243-0198, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2020 May 18;10(1):8171. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65126-6.
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and individuals with schizophrenia have impaired social and communication skills. They also have altered auditory perception. This study investigated autistic traits and schizotypy in a non-clinical population as well as the excitation-inhibition (EI) balance in different brain regions and their auditory multistable perception. Thirty-four healthy participants were assessed by the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ). The EI balance was evaluated by measuring the resting-state concentrations of glutamate-glutamine (Glx) and ϒ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in vivo by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. To observe the correlation between their traits and perception, we conducted an auditory streaming task and a verbal transformation task, in which participants reported spontaneous perceptual switching while listening to a sound sequence. Their AQ and SPQ scores were positively correlated with the Glx/GABA ratio in the auditory cortex but not in the frontal areas. These scores were negatively correlated with the number of perceptual switches in the verbal transformation task but not in the auditory streaming task. Our results suggest that the EI balance in the auditory cortex and the perceptual formation of speech are involved in autistic traits and schizotypy.
自闭症谱系障碍患者和精神分裂症患者的社交和沟通技能受损。他们也有改变的听觉感知。本研究在非临床人群中调查了自闭症特征和精神分裂症特质，以及不同脑区的兴奋-抑制（EI）平衡及其听觉多稳态感知。34 名健康参与者接受了自闭症谱系商数（AQ）和精神分裂症人格问卷（SPQ）的评估。通过使用磁共振波谱技术，测量谷氨酸-谷氨酰胺（Glx）和γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）在静息状态下的浓度来评估 EI 平衡。为了观察他们的特质和感知之间的相关性，我们进行了听觉流任务和言语转换任务，参与者在听声音序列时报告自发的感知转换。他们的 AQ 和 SPQ 评分与听觉皮层中的 Glx/GABA 比值呈正相关，但与额叶区域无关。这些分数与言语转换任务中的感知转换次数呈负相关，但与听觉流任务无关。我们的结果表明，听觉皮层中的 EI 平衡和言语的感知形成与自闭症特征和精神分裂症特质有关。
