Unimodal and crossmodal reactivity in autism: presence of auditory evoked responses and effect of the repetition of auditory stimuli.
Using auditory evoked responses, this work compares the reactivities to unimodal and crossmodal stimuli and the main neurocognitive functions most often disturbed in autism. With the aim of testing the hypothesis that the deficit in the ability to form crossmodal associations in autism is linked to a cognitive abnormality, auditory evoked responses to simple and to crossmodal (auditivo-visual) stimuli were recorded in 30 autistic children and compared with those of 30 normal and 30 mentally retarded children. Relationships between electrophysiological reactivity and neurocognitive functions showed that the cognitive deficit in the ability to maintain crossmodal associations is preceded by a more elementary perceptive abnormality in autistic children.
Martineau
J
J
INSERM U316, Department of Psychopathology and Neurophysiology of Development, CHRU Bretonneau, France.
Roux
S
S
Garreau
B
B
Adrien
J L
JL
Lelord
G
G
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*