Brief Report: Differences in Multisensory Integration Covary with Sensory Responsiveness in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Jacob I Feldman; Wayne Kuang; Julie G Conrad; Alexander Tu; Pooja Santapuram; David M Simon; Jennifer H Foss-Feig; Leslie D Kwakye; Ryan A Stevenson; Mark T Wallace; Tiffany G Woynaroski

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3667-x

Brief Report: Differences in Multisensory Integration Covary with Sensory Responsiveness in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2019 Jan;49(1):397-403. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3667-x.

Authors

Jacob I Feldman¹, Wayne Kuang², Julie G Conrad², Alexander Tu², Pooja Santapuram², David M Simon^{3

4}, Jennifer H Foss-Feig⁵, Leslie D Kwakye⁶, Ryan A Stevenson^{7

8

9

10

11}, Mark T Wallace^{4

12

13

14

15

16}, Tiffany G Woynaroski^{17

18

19}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
² Neuroscience Undergraduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
³ Neuroscience Graduate Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁴ Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Neuroscience, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, USA.
⁷ Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁸ Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
¹⁰ Program in Neuroscience, The Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada.
¹¹ York University Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹² Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
¹³ Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
¹⁷ Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. tiffany.g.woynaroski@vanderbilt.edu.
¹⁸ Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, MCE 8310 South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA. tiffany.g.woynaroski@vanderbilt.edu.
¹⁹ Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. tiffany.g.woynaroski@vanderbilt.edu.

Abstract

Research shows that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) differ in their behavioral patterns of responding to sensory stimuli (i.e., sensory responsiveness) and in various other aspects of sensory functioning relative to typical peers. This study explored relations between measures of sensory responsiveness and multisensory speech perception and integration in children with and without ASD. Participants were 8-17 year old children, 18 with ASD and 18 matched typically developing controls. Participants completed a psychophysical speech perception task, and parents reported on children's sensory responsiveness. Psychophysical measures (e.g., audiovisual accuracy, temporal binding window) were associated with patterns of sensory responsiveness (e.g., hyporesponsiveness, sensory seeking). Results indicate that differences in multisensory speech perception and integration covary with atypical patterns of sensory responsiveness.

Keywords: Audiovisual; Autism; Multisensory integration; Sensory; Speech perception; Temporal binding.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Autism Spectrum Disorder / physiopathology*
Child
Female
Humans
Male
Perception*
Sensation*

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding