Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sensory modulation of auditory stimuli in children with Autism And Receptive Developmental Language Disorder: Event-related brain potential evidence

  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three groups of age- and PIQ-matched children (Autism, Receptive Developmental Language Disorder, and normal controls) participated in two eventrelated brain potential (ERP) experiments. Each of these experiments was aimed at evaluating whether either of the two clinical groups of children demonstrated abnormalities in two auditory ERP components, Nl and P2, which are known to be dependent on stimulus characteristics (frequency, intensity, and probability), and believed to be generated within primary and secondary cortex. Results of Experiment 1 provide partial support for the idea that both clinical groups failed to fully process changes in stimulus intensity as indexed by the N1 component. Results are discussed in reference to potential abnormalities in serotonergic regulation of auditory cortex.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adams, J., Courchesne, E., Elmasian, R. O., & Lincoln, A. J. (1987). Increased amplitude of the auditory P2 and P3b components in adolescents with developmental dysphasia. In R. Johnson, R. Parassuraman, & J. W. Rohrbaugh (Eds.),Current Trends in Evoked Potential Research (EEG Suppl. 40, pp. 577–583). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, J., Courchesne, E., Elmasian, R., Lincoln, A. J., & Akshoomoff-Haist, N. (1995).Examination of evoked potentials and behavioral performance under varying task demands in nonretarded autistic young adults. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Adler, G., & Adler, J. (1989). Influence of stimulus intensity in AEP components in the 80- to 200- millisecond latency range.Audiology, 28, 316–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, G., & Adler, J. (1991). Auditory stimulus processing at different stimulus intensities as reflected by auditory evoked potentials.Biological Psychiatry, 29, 347–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, G., Adler, J., Schneck, M., & Armbruster, B. (1990). Influence of stimulus parameters on auditory stimulus processing in schizophrenia and major depression: an auditory evoked potential study.Acta Psychiatricia Scandinavica, 81, 453–458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akshoomoff, N., Courchesne, E., Yeung-Courchesne, R., & Costello, J. (1989). Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in receptive developmental language disorder.Brian and Language, 37, 409–418.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alho, K., Sainio, K., Sajaniemi, N., Reinikainen, K., & Naatanen, R. (1989). Event-related brain potential of human newborns to pitch change of an acoustic stimulus.

  • Allen, M., Lincoln, A. J., & Kaufman, A. (1991). Sequential and simultaneous processing abilities of high-functioning autistic children and language impaired children.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21, 483–502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruneau, N., Garreau, B., Roux, S., & Lelord, G. (1987). Modulation of auditory evoked potentials with increasing stimulus intensity in autistic children. In R. Johnson, R. Parassuraman, & J. W. Rohrbaugh (Eds.),Current Trends in Evoked Potential Research (EEG Suppl. 40, pp. 584–589). New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courchesne, E. (1978). Neurophysiological correlates of cognitive development: Changes in long-latency event-related potentials from childhood to adulthood.Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 45, 468–482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courchesne, E., Courchesne, R. Y., Hicks, G., & Lincoln, A. J. (1985). Functioning of the brain-stem auditory pathway in non-retarded autistic individuals.Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 61, 491–501.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courchesne, E., Kilman, B. A., Galambos, R., & Lincoln, A. J. (1984). Autism: Processing of novel and auditory information assessed by event-related brain potentials.Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 59, 238–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courchesne, E., Lincoln, A. J., Kolman, B. A., & Galambos, R. (1985). Event-related brain potential correlates of the processing of novel visual and auditory information in autism.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 55–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courchesne, E., Lincoln, A. J., Yeung-Courchesne, R., Elmasian, R., & Grillon, C. (1989). Pathophysiologic findings in nonretarded autism and receptive developmental language disorder.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, G., Finley, C., Phillips, S., Galpert, L., & Lewy, A. (1988). Reduced P3 amplitude of the event-related brain potential: Its relationship to language ability in autism.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 18, 493–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grillon, C., Courchesne, E., & Akshoomoff, N. (1989). Brainstem and middle latency auditory evoked potentials in autism and developmental language disorder.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19, 255–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegerl, U., & Juckel, G. (1993). Intensity dependence of auditory evoked potentials as an indicator of central serotoneriic neurotransmission: a new hypothesis.Biological Psychiatry, 33, 173–187.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, A. L., & Barry, R. J. (1980). Respiratory and vascular responses to simple visual stimuli in autistics, retardates and normals.Psychophysiology, 17, 541–547.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact.Nervous Child, 2, 217–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, A. J., Courchesne, E., Harms, L., & Allen, M. (1993). Contextual probability evaluation in autistic, receptive developmental language disorder and control children: ERP evidence.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 23, 37–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, A. J., Dickstein, P., Courchesne, E., Elmasian, R., & Tallal, P. (1992). Auditory processing abilities in non-retarded adolescents and young adults with developmental receptive language disorder and autism.Brain and Language, 43, 613–622.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makela, xxx, & Hari, xxx. (1990). Long latency auditory evoked magnetic fields.Advances in Neurology, 54, 177–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Naatanen, R., & Picton, T. W. (1987). The N1 wave of the human electric and magnetic response to sound: a review and an analysis of the component structure.Psychophysiology, 24, 375–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novick, B., Kurtzberg, D., & Vaughan, H. G. (1979). An electrophysiologic indication of defective information storage in childhood autism.Psychiatry Research, 1, 101–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Novick, B., Vaughan, H. G., Jr., Kurtzberg, D.,&, Simson, R. (1980). An electrophysiologic indication of auditory processing defects in autism.Psychiatry Research, 3, 107–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oades, R. D., Walker, M. K., Geffen, L. B., & Stern, L. M. (1987). Event-related potentials in autistic and healthy children on an auditory choice reaction time task.International Journal of Psychophysiology, 6, 25–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ornitz, E. (1989). Autism at the interface between sensory and information processing. In G. Dawson (Ed.),Autism: Nature, diagnosis and treatment (pp. 174–207). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picton, T. W., Woods, D. L., & Proulx, G. B. (1978). Human auditory sustained potentials. II. Stimulus relationships.Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 45, 198–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, W. S., Raz, N., & August, G. J. (1987). Visual augmenting/reducing and P300 in autistic children.Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 17, 231–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schopler, E., Reichler, R., & Renner, B. R. (1988).The Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Los Angeles Western Psychological Services.

  • Tallal, P., Stark, R., Kallman, C., & Mellits, D. (1981). A reexamination of some nonverbal perceptual abilities of language-impaired and normal children as a function of age and sensory modality.Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 24, 351–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughan, Jr., H. G., & Arezzo, J. C. (1988). The neural basis of the event-related potential. In T. W. Picton (Ed.),Human event-related potentials (EEG Handbook rev. series, Vol. 3, pp. 45–96). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, C. C., McCarthy, G., Squires, N. K., Vaughan, H. G., Woods, D. L., & McCallum, W. C. (1984). Anatomical and physiological substrates of event-related potentials-two case studies.Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 425, 681–721.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychology Research Laboratory, Children's Hospital, San Diego

    Alan J. Lincoln, Erich Courchesne, Lisa Harms & Mark Allen

  2. California School of Professional Psychology, USA

    Alan J. Lincoln & Mark Allen

  3. Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, USA

    Erich Courchesne

Authors
  1. Alan J. Lincoln
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Erich Courchesne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lisa Harms
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mark Allen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Supported by NINCDS grant R01-NS26814-02 awarded to Alan Lincoln. The senior author thanks the San Diego Regional Center and the San Diego Unified School District for their continued assistance and support.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lincoln, A.J., Courchesne, E., Harms, L. et al. Sensory modulation of auditory stimuli in children with Autism And Receptive Developmental Language Disorder: Event-related brain potential evidence. J Autism Dev Disord 25, 521–539 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02178298

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02178298

Keywords

Search

Navigation