Reduced habituation of auditory evoked potentials indicate cortical hyper-excitability in Fragile X Syndrome.
Sensory hypersensitivities are common, clinically distressing features of Fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Preclinical evidence suggests this abnormality may result from synaptic hyper-excitability in sensory systems. This model predicts reduced sensory habituation to repeated stimulus presentation. Fourteen adolescents and adults with FXS and 15 age-matched controls participated in a modified auditory gating task using trains of 4 identical tones during dense array electroencephalography (EEG). Event-related potential and single trial time-frequency analyses revealed decreased habituation of the N1 event-related potential response in FXS, and increased gamma power coupled with decreases in gamma phase-locking during the early-stimulus registration period. EEG abnormalities in FXS were associated with parent reports of heightened sensory sensitivities and social communication deficits. Reduced habituation and altered gamma power and phase-locking to auditory cues demonstrated here in FXS patients parallels preclinical findings with Fmr1 KO mice. Thus, the EEG abnormalities seen in FXS patients support the model of neocortical hyper-excitability in FXS, and may provide useful translational biomarkers for evaluating novel treatment strategies targeting its neural substrate.
Department of Pediatrics, Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.|Department of Psychology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
L E
LE
Ethridge
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
S P
SP
White
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.|Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.|Departments of Applied Behavioral Science and Psychology, Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
M W
MW
Mosconi
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
J
J
Wang
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
M J
MJ
Byerly
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.|Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
J A
JA
Sweeney
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071080:Cortical Excitability / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005600:Fragile X Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult