Evaluation of mismatch negativity as a marker for language impairment in autism spectrum disorder

Heather L Green; Lauren C Shuffrey; Lisa Levinson; Guannan Shen; Trey Avery; Melissa Randazzo Wagner; Dayna Moya Sepulveda; Paula Garcia; Chaille Maddox; Felicidad Garcia; Sommer Hassan; Karen Froud

doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.105997

Evaluation of mismatch negativity as a marker for language impairment in autism spectrum disorder

J Commun Disord. 2020 Sep-Oct:87:105997. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.105997. Epub 2020 Apr 24.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Department of Radiology, Lurie Family Foundations MEG Imaging Center, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3401 Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States. Electronic address: greenhl@email.chop.edu.
² Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Division of Developmental Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, 3960 Broadway, New York, NY 10032, United States.
³ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States.
⁴ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Department of Psychotherapy, Temple University, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States.
⁵ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Haskins Laboratories, Yale University, 300 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511, United States.
⁶ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Adelphi University, One South Ave., Garden City, NY 11530, United States.
⁷ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Sede Villarrica, Villarrica, La Araucania Region 4930000, Chile.
⁸ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Universidad de los Andes, Calle 18 A #0-19 Este., Casita Rosada, Colombia.
⁹ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; Temple University, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19122 United States.
¹⁰ Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1155 Thorndike Hall, 525 W 120th Street, New York, NY 10027, United States; University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 United States.

PMID: 32521234
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.105997

Abstract

Background: The identification of an early and objective marker of language impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has the potential to lead to earlier language intervention for affected children. The mismatch negativity (MMN), a passive auditory evoked potential, offers insight into the brain's ability to direct attention to novel sounds. Since exposure to speech is necessary for learning to map meaning onto phonemes, we predicted slower MMN responses to speech sounds would indicate presence of language impairment in ASD.

Methods: We explored the relationship between MMN latency in children ages 5-10 with ASD plus language impairment (ASD + LI), ASD minus language impairment (ASD-LI), and typically developing children (TD) during an auditory oddball experiment presenting speech and pure tone sounds.

Results: Contrary to our prediction, children with ASD + LI demonstrated decreased MMN latency in the left hemisphere in response to novel vowel sounds compared to children with ASD-LI and TD controls. Parent responses to the Sensory Experiences Questionnaire revealed that all participating individuals with ASD were hypersensitive to sounds.

Conclusions: Our results lend support to the theory that some children with ASD + LI have increased connectivity in primary sensory cortices at the expense of connectivity to association areas of the brain. This may account for faster speech sound processing despite low language scores in these children. Future studies should focus on individuals with language impairment and hyper-or hyposensitivity to sounds.

Keywords: ASD; Biomarker; Electroencephalography; Electrophysiology; Language; Mismatch negativity.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Acoustic Stimulation
Autism Spectrum Disorder*
Child
Child, Preschool
Evoked Potentials, Auditory
Humans
Language Development Disorders* / diagnosis
Speech Perception*

Grants and funding

T32 MH016434/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States