Visual Motion Processing and Visual Sensorimotor Control in Autism

Takarae, Yukari; Luna, Beatríz; Minshew, Nancy J.; Sweeney, John A.

doi:10.1017/s1355617713001203

Cited by 55 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The second finding entailed a hemi‐field open loop deficit indicating dysfunction in left extra‐striate areas or pathways carrying visual motion information forward to sensorimotor areas. A recent fMRI study of two pursuit tasks investigating the neural basis of these deficits in visual motion processing and visual sensorimotor control in autism confirmed local alterations in V5 circuitry and reduced top down modulation of sensory processing in V5 [Takarae, Luna, Minshew, & Sweeney, ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Visual and Vestibular Induced Eye Movements in Verbal Children and Adults with Autism

2015

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This study investigated several types of eye movements that rely on the function of brainstem-cerebellar pathways specifically (vestibular-ocular reflexes) or on widely distributed pathways of the brain (horizontal pursuit and saccade eye movements). Although eye movements that rely on higher brain regions have been studies fairly extensively in autism, eye movements dependent on brainstem and cerebellum have not. This study involved 79 individuals with autism and 62 typical controls aged 5 to 52 years with IQ scores above 70. No differences between the autism and control groups were present on the measures of vestibular ocular reflexes, or on saccade velocity or accuracy. The autism group was significantly slower to initiate saccades, which was most prominent in the 8-18 year old age range. These findings provide the most substantial evidence to date of the functional integrity of brainstem and cerebellar pathways in autism, suggesting that the histopathological abnormalities described in these structures may not be associated with intrinsic dysfunction but rather reflect developmental alterations related to forebrain cortical systems formation. The increase in saccade latency adds to the substantial evidence of altered function and maturation of cortical systems in autism. Objective This study assessed the functionality of vestibular, pursuit and saccade circuitry in autism across a wide age range. Methods Subjects were 79 individuals with autism (AUT) and 62 controls (CON) aged 5 to 52 years with IQ scores > 70. For vestibular testing, earth-vertical axis rotation was performed in darkness and in a lighted visual surround with a fixation target. Ocular motor testing included assessment of horizontal saccades and horizontal smooth pursuit. Results No between-group differences were found in vestibular reflexes or in mean saccade velocity or accuracy. Saccade latency was increased in the AUT group with significant age-related effects in the 8-18 year old subgroups. There was a trend toward decreased pursuit gain without age effects. Conclusions Normal vestibular-induced eye movements and normal saccade accuracy and velocity provide the most substantial evidence to date of the functional integrity of brainstem and cerebellar pathways in autism, suggesting that the histopathological abnormalities described in these structures may not be associated with intrinsic dysfunction but rather reflect developmental alterations related to forebrain cortical systems formation. Increased saccade latency with age effects adds to the extensive existing evidence of altered function and maturation of cortical systems in autism.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Visual and Vestibular Induced Eye Movements in Verbal Children and Adults with Autism

2015

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“…One possibility, suggested by single cells recordings, is that a reduced surround inhibition in our ASD group is caused by the atypically weak feedback signal from MT. However, arguing against this suggestion, fMRI studies with ASD individuals found that their activation of MT/V5 motion area was not altered during forced-choice motion discrimination task (Robertson et al, 2014), or was even atypically enhanced during passive viewing of drifting ripple pattern (Schwarzkopf et al, 2014; Takarae et al, 2014). A more feasible explanation based on animal studies suggests the low effectiveness of the “near-surround” inhibitory signal in primary visual cortex of individuals with ASD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abnormal Size-Dependent Modulation of Motion Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

et al. 2017

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Excitation/Inhibition (E/I) imbalance in neural networks is now considered among the core neural underpinnings of autism psychopathology. In motion perception at least two phenomena critically depend on E/I balance in visual cortex: spatial suppression (SS), and spatial facilitation (SF) corresponding to impoverished or improved motion perception with increasing stimuli size, respectively. While SS is dominant at high contrast, SF is evident for low contrast stimuli, due to the prevalence of inhibitory contextual modulations in the former, and excitatory ones in the latter case. Only one previous study (Foss-Feig et al., 2013) investigated SS and SF in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Our study aimed to replicate previous findings, and to explore the putative contribution of deficient inhibitory influences into an enhanced SF index in ASD—a cornerstone for interpretation proposed by Foss-Feig et al. (2013). The SS and SF were examined in 40 boys with ASD, broad spectrum of intellectual abilities (63 < IQ < 127) and 44 typically developing (TD) boys, aged 6–15 years. The stimuli of small (1°) and large (12°) radius were presented under high (100%) and low (1%) contrast conditions. Social Responsiveness Scale and Sensory Profile Questionnaire were used to assess the autism severity and sensory processing abnormalities. We found that the SS index was atypically reduced, while SF index abnormally enhanced in children with ASD. The presence of abnormally enhanced SF in children with ASD was the only consistent finding between our study and that of Foss-Feig et al. While the SS and SF indexes were strongly interrelated in TD participants, this correlation was absent in their peers with ASD. In addition, the SF index but not the SS index correlated with the severity of autism and the poor registration abilities. The pattern of results is partially consistent with the idea of hypofunctional inhibitory transmission in visual areas in ASD. Nonetheless, the absence of correlation between SF and SS indexes paired with a strong direct link between abnormally enhanced SF and autism symptoms in our ASD sample emphasizes the role of the enhanced excitatory influences by themselves in the observed abnormalities in low-level visual phenomena found in ASD.

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“…During visual motion perception, greater activation and faster hemodynamic decay was seen in V5/MT, suggesting reduced inhibitory modulation(126). During passive language processing, negative BOLD responses were reduced in ASD, suggesting failure of inhibitory processes to induce regional deactivation(127).…”

Section: Functional Neuroimagingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for Cross-Diagnostic Convergence: Neural Mechanisms Governing Excitation and Inhibition Balance in Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Foss‐Feig

Adkinson

et al. 2017

Biological Psychiatry

249

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Recent theoretical accounts have proposed excitation (E) and inhibition (I) imbalance as a possible mechanistic, network-level hypothesis underlying neural and behavioral dysfunction across neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). These two disorders share some overlap in their clinical presentation as well as convergence in their underlying genes and neurobiology. However, there are also clear points of dissociation in terms of phenotypes and putatively affected neural circuitry. Here we highlight emerging work from the clinical neuroscience literature examining neural correlates of E/I imbalance across children and adults with ASD and adults with both chronic and early-course SCZ. We discuss findings from diverse neuroimaging studies across distinct modalities, conducted with EEG, MEG, 1H-MRS, and fMRI, including effects observed both during task and at rest. Throughout this review we discuss points of convergence and divergence in the ASD and SCZ literature, with a focus on disruptions in neural E/I balance. We also consider these findings in relation to predictions generated by theoretical neuroscience, particularly computational models predicting E/I imbalance across disorders. Finally, we discuss how human non-invasive neuroimaging can benefit from pharmacological challenge studies to reveal mechanisms in ASD and SCZ. Collectively, we attempt to shed light on shared and divergent neuroimaging effects across disorders with the goal of informing future research examining the mechanisms underlying the E/I imbalance hypothesis across neurodevelopmental disorders. We posit that such translational efforts are vital to facilitate development of neurobiologically informed treatment strategies across neuropsychiatric conditions.

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Visual Motion Processing and Visual Sensorimotor Control in Autism

Cited by 55 publications

References 63 publications

Visual and Vestibular Induced Eye Movements in Verbal Children and Adults with Autism

Visual and Vestibular Induced Eye Movements in Verbal Children and Adults with Autism

Abnormal Size-Dependent Modulation of Motion Perception in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Searching for Cross-Diagnostic Convergence: Neural Mechanisms Governing Excitation and Inhibition Balance in Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorders

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