Speaker-listener coupling and brain dynamics during naturalistic verbal communication in children with autism

项目摘要 言语交流障碍，包括在理解和口译语言方面持续存在的困难 谈话中的信息，是儿童自闭症的一个特征。基于语音的通信展开 随着时间的推移，语音理解依赖于：(1)预测输入语音作为一种预测手段 其内容和(2)语音的时间整合，因此收听者可以随着时间的推移积累信息以进行解码 在延伸的话语中的意思。自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的主要理论假设存在缺陷 上下文和全局信息处理，这与预期和整合 沟通过程中的信息。童年后期是增加和更复杂的社会生活的关键时期 互动，包括沟通伙伴之间的扩展话语。我们对此知之甚少 语音处理的预测性和整合性组件及其对社会交流的贡献 (SC)缺陷，自闭症儿童。人体实验设计与计算分析研究进展 脑成像数据为探索言语理解的动态成分提供了独特的机会 在ASD儿童的自然社会交往中，这是很难用行为学来确定的 单独的方法。利用创新的功能磁共振实验设计，我们将首次研究 自闭症儿童自然交流的预期性和整合性。我们的首要目标是 确定自然主义过程中言语理解障碍的神经认知机制 自闭症儿童的沟通。拟议的研究包括说话人-听话人的大脑耦合和 时间整合范例，并建立在我们高影响力的儿童声音感知研究的基础上 ASD.我们假设患有自闭症的儿童会表现出言语动力机制的缺陷。 理解包括预期性、反应性和整合性加工，并具有可分离的模式 默认模式网络(DMN)功能障碍，定位于内侧前额叶皮质(MPFC)和后部 内侧皮质(PMC)和额顶外侧网(LFPN)。虽然DMN通常被认为是一项“任务-- 消极的“网络，证据表明DMN对于处理社会信息至关重要，包括 叙事加工，并与自闭症的SC缺陷密切相关。我们假设这些动态之间存在联系 对全球而非局部叙事信息的机制和理解，支持弱小的中央 ASD的一致性模型。这些发现将为言语理解障碍提供新的见解 促进我们对DMN在SC和ASD中的作用的理解。我们的研究将提供关键信息 关于ASD中沟通障碍的神经生物学起源，并将为 对患有自闭症的大龄儿童进行适龄治疗。我们的目标与美国国立卫生研究院关于自闭症的指令一致 研究(PA-18-400)，强调大脑机制和复杂的社会交流措施。

Project Abstract Speech communication impairments, including persistent difficulties in understanding and interpreting verbal information during conversation, are a hallmark of childhood autism. Speech-based communication unfolds over time, and speech comprehension relies on: (1) anticipation of incoming speech as a means of predicting its content and (2) temporal integration of speech so a listener can accumulate information over time to decode meaning in an extended utterance. Prominent theories of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) posit deficits in contextual and global information processing, which are germane to the anticipation and integration of information during communication. Late childhood is a crucial period for increased and more complex social interactions, including extended discourse between communication partners. Little is known regarding anticipatory and integrative components of speech processing, and their contribution to social communication (SC) deficits, in children with ASD. Advances in experimental design and computational analysis of human brain imaging data provide a unique opportunity to probe dynamic components of speech comprehension during naturalistic social interactions in children with ASD, which are difficult to ascertain using behavioral methods alone. Leveraging innovative fMRI experimental designs, we will for the first time investigate anticipatory and integrative aspects of naturalistic communication in children with ASD. Our overarching goal is to identify the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying speech comprehension deficits during naturalistic communication in children with ASD. The proposed studies include both speaker-listener brain coupling and temporal integration paradigms and build on our high-impact line of voice perception research in children with ASD. We hypothesize that children with ASD will show deficits in dynamic mechanisms of speech comprehension including anticipatory, reactive, and integrative processing with dissociable patterns of dysfunction in the default mode network (DMN), anchored in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and posterior medial cortex (PMC), and lateral frontoparietal network (LFPN). While the DMN is often considered a “task- negative” network, evidence shows that the DMN is crucial for processing social information, including narrative processing, and is closely linked to SC deficits in ASD. We hypothesize a link between these dynamic mechanisms and comprehension of global, but not local, narrative information, supporting the Weak Central Coherence model of ASD. Findings will provide new insights into speech comprehension impairments and advance our understanding of the role of the DMN in SC and ASD. Our studies will provide critical information regarding the neurobiological origins of communication impairments in ASD and will inform the development of age-appropriate treatment for older children with ASD. Our aims are in line with the NIH directive on Autism Research (PA-18-400), emphasizing brain mechanisms and sophisticated measures of social communication.