Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Brain and Mind Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Sep;51(9):3291-3310. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04796-7. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
Atypical pitch processing is a feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which affects non-tone language speakers' communication. Lifelong auditory experience has been demonstrated to modify genetically-predisposed risks for pitch processing. We examined individuals with ASD to test the hypothesis that lifelong auditory experience in tone language may eliminate impaired pitch processing in ASD. We examined children's and adults' Frequency-following Response (FFR), a neurophysiological component indexing early neural sensory encoding of pitch. Univariate and machine-learning-based analytics suggest less robust pitch encoding and diminished pitch distinctions in the FFR from individuals with ASD. Contrary to our hypothesis, results point to a linguistic pitch encoding impairment associated with ASD that may not be eliminated even by lifelong sensory experience.
非典型音高加工是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一个特征，它影响非声调语言使用者的交流。终身听觉经验已被证明可以改变音高加工的遗传倾向风险。我们检查了自闭症患者，以检验以下假设，即声调语言的终身听觉经验可能会消除自闭症患者的音高加工障碍。我们检查了儿童和成人的频率跟随反应（FFR），这是一种神经生理学成分，用于索引音高的早期神经感觉编码。单变量和基于机器学习的分析表明，自闭症患者的 FFR 中的音高编码较弱，音高差异减小。与我们的假设相反，结果表明与 ASD 相关的语言音高编码障碍，即使是通过终身感觉经验也无法消除。
