Center for Autism Research and Treatment, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Eur J Neurosci. 2021 Mar;53(5):1621-1637. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15005. Epub 2020 Nov 3.
Auditory statistical learning (ASL) plays a role in language development and may lay a foundation for later social communication impairment. As part of a longitudinal study of infant siblings, we asked whether electroencephalography (EEG) measures of connectivity during ASL at 3 months of age-differentiated infants who showed signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at age 18 months. We measured spectral power and phase coherence in the theta (4-6 Hz) and alpha (6-12 Hz) frequency bands within putative language networks. Infants were divided into ASD-concern (n = 14) and No-ASD-concern (n = 49) outcome groups based on their ASD symptoms at 18 months, measured using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale Toddler Module. Using permutation testing, we identified a trend toward reduced left fronto-central phase coherence at the electrode pair F9-C3 in both theta and alpha frequency bands in infants who later showed ASD symptoms at 18 months. Across outcome groups, alpha coherence at 3 months correlated with greater word production at 18 months on the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. This study introduces signal processing and analytic tools that account for the challenges inherent in infant EEG studies, such as short duration of recordings, considerable movement artifact, and variable volume conduction. Our results indicate that connectivity, as measured by phase coherence during 2.5 min of ASL, can be quantified as early as 3 months and suggest that early alternations in connectivity may serve as markers of resilience for neurodevelopmental impairments.
听觉统计学习 (ASL) 在语言发展中发挥作用,可能为以后的社交沟通障碍奠定基础。作为婴儿兄弟姐妹纵向研究的一部分,我们询问了在 3 个月大时进行 ASL 时的脑电图 (EEG) 连通性测量是否可以区分在 18 个月大时出现自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 迹象的婴儿。我们在假定的语言网络中测量了 theta (4-6 Hz) 和 alpha (6-12 Hz) 频段的频谱功率和相位相干性。根据婴儿在 18 个月时的 ASD 症状,使用自闭症诊断观察量表幼儿模块将婴儿分为 ASD 关注组 (n = 14) 和无 ASD 关注组 (n = 49)。使用置换检验,我们发现,在 theta 和 alpha 频段,在电极对 F9-C3 处,后来在 18 个月时出现 ASD 症状的婴儿的左额中央相位相干性呈下降趋势。在不同的结果组中,3 个月时的 alpha 相干性与 18 个月时 MacArthur-Bates 交际发展量表上的单词生成量呈正相关。这项研究引入了信号处理和分析工具,可以解决婴儿脑电图研究中固有的挑战,例如记录时间短、运动伪影大以及容积传导变化。我们的结果表明,连通性(通过 ASL 期间 2.5 分钟的相位相干性来测量)早在 3 个月就可以量化,并表明连通性的早期变化可能是神经发育障碍的弹性标志物。