Decoding 'what' and 'who' in the auditory system of children with autism spectrum

描述(申请人提供)：语音处理受损和对人类声音的异常感知是自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)儿童语言和社会障碍的两个关键但尚未被研究的方面。尽管这些缺陷的普遍存在和不利影响，但这些现象背后的大脑机制得到的实验研究令人惊讶地少，特别是在患有自闭症的儿童中。与年龄和语言能力相匹配的典型发育障碍(TD)儿童相比，这项拟议研究的主要目标是加深我们对ASD儿童的基本听觉功能的理解，这些基本听觉功能是解码语音内容(说的是什么)和说话人身份(说的是谁)。为了实现这一目标，我们提出了三个实验，其中将使用新的多变量模式识别技术来提高检测ASD儿童听觉系统中信息处理的细粒度神经表征的敏感度。在第一个实验中，我们将使用功能磁共振技术来检测高功能自闭症(HFA)儿童和TD儿童听皮层对最小无意义词的辨别能力。接下来，我们将通过功能磁共振测量基于大脑对语音和非语音环境声音的辨别来评估HFA儿童和TD儿童颞沟上脑区声音选择皮质的完整性。在第三个实验中，我们将使用功能磁共振来区分每个孩子的母亲对单词的大脑反应，并研究专门的大脑电路，以典型和非典型地处理这种突出的生物信号。这些实验的发现将为自闭症儿童母亲和陌生声音的声学和语音处理的完整性提供新的信息，这些知识对于更全面地描述自闭症普遍存在的语言缺陷是必不可少的。所提出的研究也是创新的，他们将使用新的多变量模式识别技术来提高对ASD儿童听觉信息处理的细粒度神经表征的检测灵敏度。我们的研究不仅有可能提供有关自闭症患者语音和声音处理受损的新信息，而且更广泛地说，也有可能推动研究神经发育障碍的方法学界限。 公共卫生相关性：我们研究的长期目标是进一步了解自闭症患者的基本听觉功能。这项拟议工作的主要目标是更好地了解自闭症儿童听觉信息处理缺陷的神经基础。自闭症儿童经常表现出接受性语言障碍，包括对音素和声音的非典型处理，包括他们自己母亲的声音。我们的目标是通过将多变量模式识别技术应用于功能磁共振成像来更好地了解这些现象的神经基础。更好地理解语音障碍和语音识别的神经生物学和行为基础将为自闭症的语言缺陷提供新的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Impaired phonological processing and abnormal perception of human voice are two critical, yet understudied, aspects of language and social impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Despite the prevalence and adverse impact of these deficits, the brain mechanisms underlying these phenomena have received surprisingly little experimental investigation, particularly in children with ASD. The primary goal of the proposed research is to further our understanding of basic auditory function underlying decoding of phonological content ("what" is being said) and speaker identity ("who" is saying it) in children with ASD, compared to typically developing (TD) children matched on age and language ability. To achieve this goal, we propose three experiments in which novel multivariate pattern recognition techniques will be used to increase the sensitivity for detecting fine-grained neural representations of information processing in the auditory system of children with ASD. In the first experiment, functional MRI will be used to examine discrimination of minimal pair nonsense words in auditory cortex of children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and TD children. Next, we will assess the integrity of voice-selective cortex in the superior temporal sulcus of children with HFA and TD children by quantifying brain-based discrimination of speech and non-speech environmental sounds measured with functional MRI. In the third experiment, we will use functional MRI to distinguish brain responses to words produced by each child's mother and investigate specialized brain circuits for typical and atypical processing of this salient biological signal. Findings from these experiments will provide novel information about the integrity of acoustical and phonological processing of mother's and unfamiliar voice in children with ASD, knowledge that is essential for a more complete characterization of the pervasive language deficits in autism. The proposed studies are also innovative in that they will use novel multivariate pattern recognition techniques to increase the sensitivity for detecting fine-grained neural representations of auditory information processing in children with ASD. Our research has the potential to not only provide new information about impaired speech and voice processing in autism but also, more generally, to push methodological boundaries for studying neurodevelopmental disorders. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The long-term goal of our research is to further our understanding of basic auditory function in individuals with autism. The primary goal of the proposed work is to better understand the neural basis of auditory information processing deficits in children with autism. Children with autism often exhibit receptive language impairments, including atypical processing of phonemes and voices, including their own mother's voice. Our goal is to better understand the neural bases of these phenomena using multivariate pattern recognition techniques applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging. A better understanding of neurobiological and behavioral bases of phonological disorders and voice recognition will provide novel insights into language deficits in autism.