Task-related functional connectivity in autism spectrum conditions: an EEG study using wavelet transform coherence

Catarino, Ana, Andrade, Alexandre, Churches, Owen, Wagner, Adam P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9101-3477, Baron-Cohen, Simon and Ring, Howard (2013) Task-related functional connectivity in autism spectrum conditions: an EEG study using wavelet transform coherence. Molecular Autism, 4. ISSN 2040-2392

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Abstract

Background: Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) are a set of pervasive neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by a wide range of lifelong signs and symptoms. Recent explanatory models of autism propose abnormal neural connectivity and are supported by studies showing decreased interhemispheric coherence in individuals with ASC. The first aim of this study was to test the hypothesis of reduced interhemispheric coherence in ASC, and secondly to investigate specific effects of task performance on interhemispheric coherence in ASC. Methods: We analyzed electroencephalography (EEG) data from 15 participants with ASC and 15 typical controls, using Wavelet Transform Coherence (WTC) to calculate interhemispheric coherence during face and chair matching tasks, for EEG frequencies from 5 to 40 Hz and during the first 400 ms post-stimulus onset. Results: Results demonstrate a reduction of interhemispheric coherence in the ASC group, relative to the control group, in both tasks and for all electrode pairs studied. For both tasks, group differences were generally observed after around 150 ms and at frequencies lower than 13 Hz. Regarding within-group task comparisons, while the control group presented differences in interhemispheric coherence between faces and chairs tasks at various electrode pairs (FT7-FT8, TP7-TP8, P7-P8), such differences were only seen for one electrode pair in the ASC group (T7-T8). No significant differences in EEG power spectra were observed between groups. Conclusions: Interhemispheric coherence is reduced in people with ASC, in a time and frequency specific manner, during visual perception and categorization of both social and inanimate stimuli and this reduction in coherence is widely dispersed across the brain. Results of within-group task comparisons may reflect an impairment in task differentiation in people with ASC relative to typically developing individuals. Overall, the results of this research support the value of WTC in examining the time-frequency microstructure of task-related interhemispheric EEG coherence in people with ASC.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: © Catarino et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013 This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://​creativecommons.​org/​licenses/​by/​2.​0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: autism spectrum conditions,interhemispheric coherence,atypical connectivity,wavelet transform coherence
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Public Health and Health Services Research (former - to 2023)
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Health Economics
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Population Health
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Norwich Clinical Trials Unit
Depositing User: Pure Connector
Date Deposited: 29 Apr 2016 23:05
Last Modified: 11 Jan 2024 01:29
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/58525
DOI: 10.1186/2040-2392-4-1

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