Scalp Topography of Event-Related Potentials Reveals Differences in Audiovisual Speech Processing in Autistic and Non-Autistic Children

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Abstract
Purpose: In our prior work, conventional event-related potential (ERP) responses to audiovisual versus auditory-only speech were found to explain variance in language abilities in autistic and non-autistic children but failed to differentiate autistic children from non-autistic children. This study extends previous ERP analyses of responses to audiovisual versus auditory-only speech in autistic and non-autistic school-aged children to investigate group and condition differences in the strength and topography of the ERP based on data-driven, reference-independent metrics that overcome limitations of conventional ERP analyses. Methods: Extant ERP data from 50 5-12-year-old children (25 per group, matched at the group level on age and sex assigned at birth) recorded during a passive task of listening and watching videos of auditory-only and audiovisual speech syllables were analyzed for differences in ERP strength and topography, quantified via global field power (GFP) and global map dissimilarity (GMD), respectively. Results: GFP was significantly reduced for audiovisual compared to auditory-only speech at 245–275 ms post-stimulus. Groups differed in GMD of the ERPs reflecting the difference in response to audiovisual versus auditory-only speech at 139–170 ms post-stimulus, wherein microstates suggested predominantly differential occipital electrode responses. Conclusions: The benefits of audiovisual integration manifest as a facilitation effect (reduced signal strength of the ERP response to audiovisual versus auditory-only speech) across autistic and non-autistic children. Autistic children also display different patterns of activation underlying ERPs in response to audiovisual versus auditory-only speech relative to non-autistic children. Topographic ERP analyses show promise for advancing our understanding of audiovisual speech processing in autism.
Funding Information
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (U54HD083211/P50HD103537)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (F31DC020129)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R21DC016144)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01DC020186)
  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (K99DC021501)
  • National Institutes of Health (KL2TR000446)
  • National Institutes of Health (TL1TR002244)
  • National Science Foundation (DGE 19-22657)
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (169206)

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