Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, 6133 Medical Research Building III, 465 21(st) Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, PO Box 100256, L4-100 McKnight Brain Institute, 1149 Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 3261, USA.
Behav Brain Res. 2021 Jul 9;409:113337. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113337. Epub 2021 Apr 30.
Stereotyped behavior is rhythmic, repetitive movement that is essentially invariant in form. Stereotypy is common in several clinical disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders (ASD), where it is considered maladaptive. However, it also occurs early in typical development (TD) where it is hypothesized to serve as the foundation on which complex, adaptive motor behavior develops. This transition from stereotyped to complex movement in TD is thought to be supported by sensorimotor integration. Stereotypy in clinical disorders may persist due to deficits in sensorimotor integration. The present study assessed whether differences in sensorimotor processing may limit the expression of complex motor behavior in individuals with ASD and contribute to the clinical stereotypy observed in this population. Adult participants with ASD and TD performed a computer-based stimulus-tracking task in the presence and absence of visual feedback. Electroencephalography was recorded during the task. Groups were compared on motor performance (root mean square error), motor complexity (sample entropy), and neural complexity (multiscale sample entropy of the electroencephalography signal) in the presence and absence of visual feedback. No group differences were found for motor performance or motor complexity. The ASD group demonstrated greater neural complexity and greater differences between feedback conditions than TD individuals, specifically in signals relevant to sensorimotor processing. Motor performance and motor complexity correlated with clinical stereotypy in the ASD group. These findings support the hypothesis that individuals with ASD have differences in sensorimotor processing when executing complex motor behavior and that stereotypy is associated with low motor complexity.
刻板行为是有节奏的、重复的运动，形式上基本不变。刻板行为在几种临床疾病中很常见，如自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），在这种疾病中被认为是适应不良的。然而，它也在典型发育早期（TD）中出现，据推测它是复杂适应运动行为发展的基础。这种从 TD 中的刻板行为到复杂运动的转变被认为是由感觉运动整合支持的。临床疾病中的刻板行为可能由于感觉运动整合缺陷而持续存在。本研究评估了感觉运动处理的差异是否会限制 ASD 个体复杂运动行为的表达，并导致该人群中观察到的临床刻板行为。患有 ASD 和 TD 的成年参与者在有和没有视觉反馈的情况下进行基于计算机的刺激跟踪任务。在任务期间记录脑电图。在有和没有视觉反馈的情况下，对运动表现（均方根误差）、运动复杂性（样本熵）和神经复杂性（脑电图信号的多尺度样本熵）对组进行比较。在运动表现或运动复杂性方面，两组之间没有差异。与 TD 个体相比，ASD 组表现出更大的神经复杂性和反馈条件之间更大的差异，特别是在与感觉运动处理相关的信号中。运动表现和运动复杂性与 ASD 组的临床刻板行为相关。这些发现支持了这样的假设，即执行复杂运动行为时，ASD 个体在感觉运动处理方面存在差异，刻板行为与低运动复杂性有关。
