Altered human voice processing in the frontal cortex and a developmental language delay in 3- to 5-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

The inferior frontal and superior temporal areas in the left hemisphere are crucial for human language processing. In the present study, we investigated the magnetic mismatch field (MMF) evoked by voice stimuli in 3- to 5-year-old typically developing (TD) children and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using child-customized magnetoencephalography (MEG). The children with ASD exhibited significantly decreased activation in the left superior temporal gyrus compared with the TD children for the MMF amplitude. If we classified the children with ASD according to the presence of a speech onset delay (ASD - SOD and ASD - NoSOD, respectively) and compared them with the TD children, both ASD groups exhibited decreased activation in the left superior temporal gyrus compared with the TD children. In contrast, the ASD - SOD group exhibited increased activity in the left frontal cortex (i.e., pars orbitalis) compared with the other groups. For all children with ASD, there was a significant negative correlation between the MMF amplitude in the left pars orbitalis and language performance. This investigation is the first to show a significant difference in two distinct MMF regions in ASD – SOD children compared with TD children.

Brain responses to human‐voice processing predict child development and intelligence

“…Because it is difficult to obtain individual magnetic resonance images from young children, we used a child brain template using a modified version of the estimation algorithm reported in previous studies (Hayashi et al, ; Yoshimura et al, ). The algorithm determined an optimal brain structure image from 98 young children's brain images based on the individual head surface.…”

Markers for the central serotonin system correlate to verbal ability and paralinguistic social voice processing in autism spectrum disorder

“…The method of MMF analysis is based on our previous research 34 . Magnetic fields were measured using a whole-head MEG system for adults in a magnetically shielded room (Daido Steel, Nagoya, Japan) in the MEG Center of Ricoh Company, Ltd., in Japan.…”

“…In healthy populations, the amplitude and latency of MMN/MMF is considered an indicator of change detection and has been used to probe speech discrimination 27 , 28 . In individuals with ASD, a number of studies have reported atypical MMN/MMF 29 – 35 and MMN/MMF is thought to be an indicator that physiologically explains core symptoms 31 , language impairment/delay 32 , 34 and preference for human voices 33 . Individuals with ASD showed a reduced MMF amplitude response in the left hemisphere compared to that of control subjects 34 .…”

“…In individuals with ASD, a number of studies have reported atypical MMN/MMF 29 – 35 and MMN/MMF is thought to be an indicator that physiologically explains core symptoms 31 , language impairment/delay 32 , 34 and preference for human voices 33 . Individuals with ASD showed a reduced MMF amplitude response in the left hemisphere compared to that of control subjects 34 . Additionally, it has been reported that MMF latency is significantly prolonged in children with ASD compared with control subjects.…”

Explorations and perspectives on the neurobiological bases of autism spectrum disorder

“…Speech‐language processing atypicalities are common in autism. Impaired basic sensory‐perceptual processing of speech has been demonstrated in numerous EEG, MEG and fMRI studies (Lepisto et al ., ; Kujala et al ., ; Herringshaw et al ., ; Yoshimura et al ., ), suggesting that language atypicalities may be rooted in part in sensory processing deficits for speech stimuli. In this issue, Finch et al .…”