Behavioral, Cognitive, and Motor Preparation Deficits in a Visual Cued Spatial Attention Task in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Abnormalities in motor skills have been regarded as part of the symptomatology characterizing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been estimated that 80% of subjects with autism display “motor dyspraxia” or clumsiness that are not readily identified in a routine neurological examination. In this study we used behavioral measures, event-related potentials (ERP), and lateralized readiness potential (LRP) to study cognitive and motor preparation deficits contributing to the dyspraxia of autism. A modified Posner cueing task was used to analyze motor preparation abnormalities in children with autism and in typically developing children (N=30/per group). In this task, subjects engage in preparing motor response based on a visual cue, and then execute a motor movement based on the subsequent imperative stimulus. The experimental conditions, such as the validity of the cue and the spatial location of the target stimuli were manipulated to influence motor response selection, preparation, and execution. Reaction time and accuracy benefited from validly cued targets in both groups, while main effects of target spatial position were more obvious in the autism group. The main ERP findings were prolonged and more negative early frontal potentials in the ASD in incongruent trials in both types of spatial location. The LRP amplitude was larger in incongruent trials and had stronger effect in the children with ASD. These effects were better expressed at the earlier stages of LRP, specifically those related to response selection, and showed difficulties at the cognitive phase of stimulus processing rather that at the motor execution stage. The LRP measures at different stages reflect the chronology of cognitive aspects of movement preparation and are sensitive to manipulations of cue correctness, thus representing very useful biomarker in autism dyspraxia research. Future studies may use more advance and diverse manipulations of movement preparation demands in testing more refined specifics of dyspraxia symptoms to investigate functional connectivity abnormalities underlying motor skills deficits in autism.

Pupil dilation during visuospatial orienting differentiates between autism spectrum disorder and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder

“…That is, in ADHD findings of combined neuropsychological and event‐related potential (ERP), paradigms consistently demonstrated atypical ERP components locked to alerting cues for upcoming targets (Cue‐P3; CNV) (Kratz et al, ; Ortega, López, Carrasco, Anllo‐Vento, & Aboitiz, ). In ASD, atypical reorienting has instead been associated with stimulus‐locked ERP components (Sokadhze et al, ). Indeed, across studies with cognitive‐neurophysiological paradigms, altered attentional processing in ADHD most consistently relates to alerting cues; and in ASD to the relative novelty of the stimulus following a cue (Lau‐Zhu, Fritz, & McLoughlin, ).…”

Comparative Event-related Potential Study of Performance in Visual Oddball Task in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, comorbid Autism and ADHD, and Neurotypical Children

“…Our study also explored whether these prospective biomarkers were shared or distinct in comorbid ASD+ADHD by using a behavioral screening (RT, error rate, post-Non error RT adjustment) and ERP paradigm (ERP at frontal and parietal sites, response-averaged errorrelated negativity, and error-related positivity) that we implemented in previous studies Sokhadze, El-Baz, Sears, Opris, & Casanova, 2014;Sokhadze, Tasman, Sokhadze, El-Baz, & Casanova, 2016).…”

Event-related Potentials (ERP) in Cognitive Neuroscience Research and Applications

“…and adding earlier potentials (e.g., N100) and errorrelated potentials (i.e., ERN and Pe) may increase the diagnostic potential for clinical and functional evaluations of ASD. & Casanova, 2016) revealed that autism is associated with reduced error processing and impaired behavioral correction after an error is committed. Because adequate error processing is necessary for optimal behavioral performance, it is plausible that these deficits contribute to the maintenance of the preservative behaviors typical for autism.…”