title: Atypical coordination of cortical oscillations in response to speech in autism.
abstract: Subjects with autism often show language difficulties, but it is unclear how they relate to neurophysiological anomalies of cortical speech processing. We used combined EEG and fMRI in 13 subjects with autism and 13 control participants and show that in autism, gamma and theta cortical activity do not engage synergistically in response to speech. Theta activity in left auditory cortex fails to track speech modulations, and to down-regulate gamma oscillations in the group with autism. This deficit predicts the severity of both verbal impairment and autism symptoms in the affected sample. Finally, we found that oscillation-based connectivity between auditory and other language cortices is altered in autism. These results suggest that the verbal disorder in autism could be associated with an altered balance of slow and fast auditory oscillations, and that this anomaly could compromise the mapping between sensory input and higher-level cognitive representations.
authors: Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors: Delphine
authors: D
authors: Jochaut
authors: Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, INSERM UMRS 975 - CNRS UMR 7225, Hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière Paris, France.
authors: Katia
authors: K
authors: Lehongre
authors: Unité Inserm 1000, Service de Radiologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker - Enfants-Malades, AP-HP, Université Paris V René-Descartes Paris, France.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Saitovitch
authors: Inserm U960, Département des Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris, France.
authors: Anne-Dominique
authors: AD
authors: Devauchelle
authors: Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors: Itsaso
authors: I
authors: Olasagasti
authors: Unité Multidisciplinaire pour la Santé des Adolescents, Centre Cantonal de l'Autisme, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors: Nadia
authors: N
authors: Chabane
authors: Unité Inserm 1000, Service de Radiologie Pédiatrique, Hôpital Necker - Enfants-Malades, AP-HP, Université Paris V René-Descartes Paris, France.
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Zilbovicius
authors: Department of Neurosciences, University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
authors: Anne-Lise
authors: AL
authors: Giraud
keywords: auditory cortex; autism; cortical oscillations; oscillation coupling; speech processing