Adaptation to vocal expressions and phonemes is intact in autism spectrum disorder

Several recent studies have demonstrated reduced visual aftereffects, particularly to social stimuli, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This putative impairment of the adaptive mechanism in ASD has been put forward as a possible explanation for some of the core social problems experienced by children with ASD (e.g., facial emotion or identity recognition). We addressed this claim in children with ASD and typically developing children by using an established methodology and morphed auditory stimulus set for eliciting robust aftereffects to vocal expressions and phonemes. Although children with ASD were significantly worse at categorizing the vocal expressions compared with the control stimuli (phoneme categorization), aftereffect sizes in both tasks were identical in the two participant groups. Our finding suggests that the adaptation mechanism is not universally impaired in ASD and is therefore not an explanation for the social perception difficulties in ASD

The dissociating effects of fear and disgust on multisensory integration in autism: evidence from evoked potentials

BackgroundDeficits in Multisensory Integration (MSI) in ASD have been reported repeatedly and have been suggested to be caused by altered long-range connectivity. Here we investigate behavioral and ERP correlates of MSI in ASD using ecologically valid videos of emotional expressions.MethodsIn the present study, we set out to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of audiovisual MSI in young autistic and neurotypical adolescents. We employed dynamic stimuli of high ecological validity (500 ms clips produced by actors) that depicted fear or disgust in unimodal (visual and auditory), and bimodal (audiovisual) conditions.ResultsWe report robust MSI effects at both the behavioral and electrophysiological levels and pronounced differences between autistic and neurotypical participants. Specifically, neurotypical controls showed robust behavioral MSI for both emotions as seen through a significant speed-up of bimodal response time (RT), confirmed by Miller’s Race Model Inequality (RMI), with greater MSI effects for fear than disgust. Adolescents with ASD, by contrast, showed behavioral MSI only for fear. At the electrophysiological level, the bimodal condition as compared to the unimodal conditions reduced the amplitudes of the visual P100 and auditory P200 and increased the amplitude of the visual N170 regardless of group. Furthermore, a cluster-based analysis across all electrodes revealed that adolescents with ASD showed an overall delayed and spatially constrained MSI effect compared to controls.ConclusionGiven that the variables we measured reflect attention, our findings suggest that MSI can be modulated by the differential effects on attention that fear and disgust produce. We also argue that the MSI deficits seen in autistic individuals can be compensated for at later processing stages by (a) the attention-orienting effects of fear, at the behavioral level, and (b) at the electrophysiological level via increased attentional effort

Dissociating Slow Responses From Slow Responding

Increased Intra-Subject Variability (ISV) is a candidate endophenotype of ADHD. ISV's relationship with response speed is highly relevant for ADHD as patients are highly variable but typically no slower than controls. This brief report addresses the relationship between variability and speed by employing dimensional analyses for differentiated performance measures, with a particular focus on the ex-Gaussian measures, across relevant ADHD studies and in young healthy adults (N = 70). For both patients with ADHD and healthy adults, we found that reaction time standard deviation and mean reaction time were strongly correlated, thus failing to dissociate, but ex-Gaussian tau (tau) shared only little variance with Gaussian mu (mu), thus dissociating slow responses (tau) from response speed or-if given-slow responding (mu). Our results highlight the utility of employing the ex-Gaussian measures to disentangle ISV and speed, particularly for ADHD data as patients make more slow responses but are not overall slower than typical controls

The dissociating effects of fear and disgust on multisensory integration in autism:evidence from evoked potentials

Background: Deficits in Multisensory Integration (MSI) in ASD have been reported repeatedly and have been suggested to be caused by altered long-range connectivity. Here we investigate behavioral and ERP correlates of MSI in ASD using ecologically valid videos of emotional expressions.Methods: In the present study, we set out to investigate the electrophysiological correlates of audiovisual MSI in young autistic and neurotypical adolescents. We employed dynamic stimuli of high ecological validity (500 ms clips produced by actors) that depicted fear or disgust in unimodal (visual and auditory), and bimodal (audiovisual) conditions.Results: We report robust MSI effects at both the behavioral and electrophysiological levels and pronounced differences between autistic and neurotypical participants. Specifically, neurotypical controls showed robust behavioral MSI for both emotions as seen through a significant speed-up of bimodal response time (RT), confirmed by Miller’s Race Model Inequality (RMI), with greater MSI effects for fear than disgust. Adolescents with ASD, by contrast, showed behavioral MSI only for fear. At the electrophysiological level, the bimodal condition as compared to the unimodal conditions reduced the amplitudes of the visual P100 and auditory P200 and increased the amplitude of the visual N170 regardless of group. Furthermore, a cluster-based analysis across all electrodes revealed that adolescents with ASD showed an overall delayed and spatially constrained MSI effect compared to controls.Conclusion: Given that the variables we measured reflect attention, our findings suggest that MSI can be modulated by the differential effects on attention that fear and disgust produce. We also argue that the MSI deficits seen in autistic individuals can be compensated for at later processing stages by (a) the attention-orienting effects of fear, at the behavioral level, and (b) at the electrophysiological level via increased attentional effort

Social Visual Perception Under the Eye of Bayesian Theories in Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Advanced Modeling of Spatial and Temporal Parameters

Social interaction in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by qualitative impairments that highly impact quality of life. Bayesian theories in ASD frame an understanding of underlying mechanisms suggesting atypicalities in the evaluation of probabilistic links within the perceptual environment of the affected individual. To address these theories, the present study explores the applicability of an innovative Bayesian framework on social visual perception in ASD and demonstrates the use of gaze transitions between different parts of social scenes. We applied advanced analyses with Bayesian Hidden Markov Modeling (BHMM) to track gaze movements while presenting real-life scenes to typically developing (TD) children and adolescents (N= 25) and participants with ASD and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ASD+ADHD,N= 15) and ASD without comorbidity (ASD,N= 12). Regions of interest (ROIs) were generated by BHMM based both on spatial and temporal gaze behavior. Social visual perception was compared between groups using transition and fixation variables for social (faces, bodies) and non-social ROIs. Transition variables between faces, namely gaze transitions between faces and likelihood of linking faces, were reduced in the ASD+ADHD compared to TD participants. Fixation count to faces was also reduced in this group. The ASD group showed similar performance to TD in the studied variables. There was no difference between groups for non-social ROIs. Our study provides an innovative, interpretable example of applying Bayesian theories of social visual perception in ASD. BHMM analyses and gaze transitions have the potential to reveal fundamental social perception components in ASD, contributing thus to amelioration of social-skill interventions

Late attentional processes potentially compensate for early perceptual multisensory integration deficits in children with autism: evidence from evoked potentials

Sensory processing deficits and altered long-range connectivity putatively underlie Multisensory Integration (MSI) deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study set out to investigate non-social MSI stimuli and their electrophysiological correlates in young neurotypical adolescents and adolescents with ASD. We report robust MSI effects at behavioural and electrophysiological levels. Both groups demonstrated normal behavioural MSI. However, at the neurophysiological level, the ASD group showed less MSI-related reduction of the visual P100 latency, greater MSI-related slowing of the auditory P200 and an overall temporally delayed and spatially constrained onset of MSI. Given the task design and patient sample, and the age of our participants, we argue that electro-cortical indices of MSI deficits in ASD: (a) can be detected in early-adolescent ASD, (b) occur at early stages of perceptual processing, (c) can possibly be compensated by later attentional processes, (d) thus leading to normal MSI at the behavioural level

Social Visual Perception Under the Eye of Bayesian Theories in Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Advanced Modeling of Spatial and Temporal Parameters

Social interaction in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by qualitative impairments that highly impact quality of life. Bayesian theories in ASD frame an understanding of underlying mechanisms suggesting atypicalities in the evaluation of probabilistic links within the perceptual environment of the affected individual. To address these theories, the present study explores the applicability of an innovative Bayesian framework on social visual perception in ASD and demonstrates the use of gaze transitions between different parts of social scenes. We applied advanced analyses with Bayesian Hidden Markov Modeling (BHMM) to track gaze movements while presenting real-life scenes to typically developing (TD) children and adolescents (N= 25) and participants with ASD and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ASD+ADHD,N= 15) and ASD without comorbidity (ASD,N= 12). Regions of interest (ROIs) were generated by BHMM based both on spatial and temporal gaze behavior. Social visual perception was compared between groups using transition and fixation variables for social (faces, bodies) and non-social ROIs. Transition variables between faces, namely gaze transitions between faces and likelihood of linking faces, were reduced in the ASD+ADHD compared to TD participants. Fixation count to faces was also reduced in this group. The ASD group showed similar performance to TD in the studied variables. There was no difference between groups for non-social ROIs. Our study provides an innovative, interpretable example of applying Bayesian theories of social visual perception in ASD. BHMM analyses and gaze transitions have the potential to reveal fundamental social perception components in ASD, contributing thus to amelioration of social-skill interventions

Comorbidity Matters: Social Visual Attention in a Comparative Study of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Their Comorbidity

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) represent two common neurodevelopmental disorders with considerable co-occurrence. Their comorbidity (ASD + ADHD) has been included in the latest diagnostic guidelines (DSM-V, 2013). The present study focuses on social visual attention that i) is a main aspect of social attention reflecting social cognition and ii) its atypicalities have been suggested as a potential biomarker for ASD. Considering the possible shared background of both disorders and their comorbidity, it is important to compare such traits directly. Here, 73 children and adolescents paired for age and IQ diagnosed with ASD (N = 12), ADHD (N = 21), comorbid ASD + ADHD (N = 15), and typically developing (TD) controls (N = 25), were shown static real-life social scenes while their gaze movements were recorded with eye-tracking. Scenes with two levels of social complexity were presented: low complexity (one person depicted) and high (four interacting individuals). Gaze fixation variables were investigated. Fixation duration on faces was significantly reduced only in ASD + ADHD which also required longer time to fixate all faces at least once. Fixation duration on faces in ASD was reduced, compared to TD, only when looking at scenes with high versus low social complexity. ADHD individuals did not differ from TD. Concluding, the observed alterations of social visual attention support the existence of possible dysfunctional particularities differentiating ASD, ADHD, and ASD + ADHD, which can be revealed with the new method of eye-tracking technique. The objective gaze measurements provided contribute to the development of biomarkers enabling early diagnosis, amelioration of care and further interventions specified for each group

Anklaenge 2018:Die Musikgeschichte des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts im universitären Unterricht – The Teaching of Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Music History at Universities and Conservatories of Music

In diesem Band wird die Verankerung der Musikgeschichte des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts in der Hochschuldidaktik umfassend dargestellt. Neben einer Analyse von Vorlesungsverzeichnissen deutschsprachiger Musikhochschulen und Universitäten präsentieren 21 internationale Beiträge die Situation in verschiedenen Ländern weltweit. Der Rezensionsteil fokussiert die Darstellung der Musikgeschichte der letzten 120 Jahre in gängigen allgemeinen Musikgeschichtsbüchern, die seit dem Jahr 2000 erschienen sind und als potentielle Literaturempfehlungen für Studierende in Frage kommen: Welche Geschichtsbilder werden vermittelt, welche Selektionen getroffen, welche Schwerpunkte sind gesetzt und was wird ausgespart? Mit Beiträgen von José L. Besada & Belén Pérez Castillo | David Blake | Megan Burslem & Cat Hope | María Paula Cannova | Carmen Chelaru, Florinela Popa & Elena Maria Șorban | Pablo Cuevas | Anna Dalos | Hong Ding | Michael Fjeldsøe | Juri Giannini | Thomas Glaser | Þorbjörg Daphne Hall | Julia Heimerdinger | Frank Hentschel | Andreas Holzer | Priscille Lachat-Sarette | Heekyung Lee | Iwona Lindstedt | Wolfgang Marx | Philippe Poisson | Ingrid Pustijanac | Matej Santi | Mike Searby | Assaf Shelleg | Danae Stefanou | Mareli Stolp | Oğuz Usman & Ozan Baysal | Elizaveta E. Willer