Relationships between peak alpha frequency, age, and autistic traits in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Background: Atypical peak alpha frequency (PAF) has been reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the relationships between PAF, age, and autistic traits remain unclear. This study was conducted to investigate and compare the resting-state PAF of young children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Methods: Nineteen children with ASD and 24 TD children, aged 5-7 years, underwent MEG under resting-state conditions. The PAFs in ten brain regions were calculated, and the associations between these findings, age, and autistic traits, measured using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), were examined. Results: There were no significant differences in PAF between the children with ASD and the TD children. However, a unique positive association between age and PAF in the cingulate region was observed in the ASD group, suggesting the potential importance of the cingulate regions as a neurophysiological mechanism underlying distinct developmental trajectory of ASD. Furthermore, a higher PAF in the right temporal region was associated with higher SRS scores in TD children, highlighting the potential role of alpha oscillations in social information processing. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of regional specificity and developmental factors when investigating neurophysiological markers of ASD. The distinct age-related PAF patterns in the cingulate regions of children with ASD and the association between right temporal PAF and autistic traits in TD children provide novel insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of ASD. These findings pave the way for future research on the functional implications of these neurophysiological patterns and their potential as biomarkers of ASD across the lifespan

Effect of CNTNAP2 polymorphism on receptive language in children with autism spectrum disorder without language developmental delay

Abstract Aim The receptive language ability of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) seems to lag behind expressive language ability. Several autism‐related genes may influence this developmental delay. Polymorphism of one such gene, namely, the contactin‐associated protein‐like 2 gene (CNTNAP2), affects receptive language in individuals with language delay. However, the association between CNTNAP2 polymorphism and receptive language in individuals with no language delay remains unclear. Methods We included 59 children with ASD and 57 children with typical development in this study and investigated this association using coarse‐grained exact matching. Results We present the first evidence of an association between CNTNAP2 rs2710102 (A‐allele carrier) and reduced receptive language ability in children with ASD whose language development was not delayed. Similarly, among children with typical development, A‐allele carriers had lower receptive language ability, but the difference was non‐significant. Conclusions It is possible that the effect of rs2710102 on receptive language ability is larger in the presence of autism‐related genes. Consequently, we speculate that the effect of rs2710102 on receptive language ability would be exerted in combination with other genes. These findings provide new insights into the genetic interactions between mutations associated with common language disorders and ASD and identify molecular mechanisms and risk alleles that contribute to receptive vocabulary. These findings also provide practical guidance in terms of providing candidate genetic markers that may provide opportunities for targeted early intervention to stratify risk and improve prognosis for poor receptive language development in children with ASD