Auditory precursors of language delay in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

摘要 语言延迟和障碍在自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)中很常见，感觉障碍(包括 听觉)异常。由于口语的获得依赖于听觉系统的完整性， 语言延迟和障碍可能与经常出现的声音处理异常有关 在自闭症儿童中观察到(尽管周围听力正常)。然而，目前还不清楚是否以及如何 早期的听觉脑异常可能在发育过程中导致语言发育受损。 这个项目将研究大脑中听觉和语言系统的成熟度。 儿童时期，处于语言习得的关键时期。我们将采用纵向设计， 多模式神经成像，包括高分辨率解剖、扩散和功能磁共振 磁共振成像(MRI)，增加了频繁和广泛的行为和神经心理评估。我们的 中心假设是大脑皮层声音处理的早期中断先于并预测语言 ASD中的损害，因此可以被认为是因果因素--这一假设经常被 在文献中考虑过，但从未在神经水平上进行过测试。 我们的目标是彻底描述 儿童大脑皮质听觉和语言系统(目标1)及其成熟轨迹(目标2) 自闭症和年龄匹配的典型发育中同龄人。这将使我们能够确定神经异常是否 幼儿大脑皮质对复杂声音的加工对语言发展和社交能力有预测作用 学龄前行为(目标3)。这个项目的理论基础和翻译意义是 发现大脑发育的改变与语言延迟和损伤有关的头几年 LIFE将允许在最有效的时候在听觉领域进行更有针对性的干预。

Abstract Language delay and impairments are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), as are sensory (including auditory) anomalies. Since acquisition of spoken language relies on the integrity of the auditory system, language delay and impairments may be related to sound processing abnormalities that are frequently observed in children with ASDs (despite normal peripheral hearing). However, it is not understood if and how early auditory brain anomalies may developmentally contribute to impaired language development. This project will examine the maturation of auditory and language systems in the brain across early childhood, during the critical period for language acquisition. We will employ a longitudinal design and multimodal neuroimaging, including high-resolution anatomical, diffusion, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with added frequent and extensive behavioral and neuropsychological assessments. Our central hypothesis is that early disruptions to cortical sound processing precede and predict language impairments in ASDs and may thus be considered causal contributors – a hypothesis that has been frequently considered in the literature, but never tested at the neural level. Our aims are to thoroughly characterize the structural integrity and functional differentiation of the cortical auditory and language systems (Aim 1) and their maturational trajectories (Aim 2) in toddlers with ASDs and age-matched typically developing peers. This will allow us to establish whether neural abnormalities in cortical processing of complex sounds in toddlers are predictive of language development and social behavior at the pre-school age (Aim 3). The rationale and translational significance of this project are that identification of alterations in brain development linked to language delay and impairment in the first years of life will allow for more targeted interventions in the auditory domain at a time when they are most effective.