Impaired downregulation of visual cortex during auditory processing is associated with autism symptomatology in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
R Joanne Jao Keehn, Sandra S Sanchez, Claire R Stewart and 4 others
PMID 27205875WHAT IT FOUND
Children with autism showed increased visual cortex activity during auditory tasks, whereas typical children showed decreased activity.
This visual over-activation correlated with greater communication deficits and repetitive behaviors. The study involved only high-functioning participants who could tolerate MRI scanning.
Key findings
01During auditory tasks, the autism group showed activation in visual cortex while the control group showed deactivation.
02Visual cortex activity during auditory tasks was positively correlated with autism symptom severity in communication and repetitive behaviors.
03The autism group had significantly lower accuracy than controls in auditory discrimination but not in visual discrimination.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (16 per group) after exclusions, limiting statistical power. Participants were restricted to those able to tolerate an MRI scanner, meaning the findings apply primarily to high-functioning individuals without severe sensory or behavioral sensitivities to the scanning environment. The study was cross-sectional and did not test any interventions, so it cannot determine if visual over-activation causes communication difficulties or is a result of them. Scanner noise may have affected auditory task performance differently in the two groups, though this was not controlled for in the analysis.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that all children with autism have this specific neural pattern or that visual supports will help everyone. The study only looked at high-functioning children who could stay still in an MRI, and it describes a brain mechanism without testing whether changing visual input improves communication.