title: Electroencephalogram coherence in children with and without autism spectrum disorders: decreased interhemispheric connectivity in autism.
abstract: Electroencephalogram coherence was measured in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and control children at baseline and while watching videos of a familiar and unfamiliar person reading a story. Coherence was measured between the left and right hemispheres of the frontal, parietal, and temporal-parietal lobes (interhemispheric) and between the frontal and parietal lobes in each hemisphere (intrahemispheric). A data-reduction technique was employed to identify the frequency (alpha) that yielded significant differences in video conditions. Children with ASD displayed reduced coherence at the alpha frequency between the left and right temporal-parietal lobes in all conditions and reduced coherence at the alpha frequency between left and right frontal lobes during baseline. No group differences in intrahemispheric coherence at the alpha frequency emerged at the chosen statistical threshold. Results suggest decreased interhemispheric connectivity in frontal and temporal-parietal regions in children with ASD compared to controls.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Service, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Audrey M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.forename: Nicole M G
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Salowitz
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Scheidt
authors.forename: Bridget K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: Amy V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Van Hecke
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: EEG coherence; electroencephaolography; school age < pediatrics; social brain