Data_Sheet_1_Prediction and Mismatch Negativity Responses Reflect Impairments in Action Semantic Processing in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorders.pdf

The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motor and language difficulties in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are still largely unclear. The present work investigates biological indicators of sound processing, (action-) semantic understanding and predictive coding and their correlation with clinical symptoms of ASD. Twenty-two adults with high-functioning ASD and 25 typically developed (TD) participants engaged in an auditory, passive listening, Mismatch Negativity (MMN) task while high-density electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Action and non-action words were presented in the context of sounds, which were either semantically congruent with regard to the body part they relate to or semantically incongruent or unrelated. The anticipatory activity before sound onset, the Prediction Potential (PP), was significantly reduced in the ASD group specifically for action, but not for non-action sounds. The early-MMN-like responses to words (latency: 120 ms) were differentially modulated across groups: controls showed larger amplitudes for words in action-sound compared to non-action contexts, whereas ASD participants demonstrated enlarged early-MMN-like responses only in a pure tone context, with no other modulation dependent on action sound context. Late-MMN-like responses around 560 ms post-stimulus onset revealed body-part-congruent action-semantic priming for words in control participants, but not in the ASD group. Importantly, neurophysiological indices of semantic priming in ASD participants correlated with the extent of autistic traits as revealed by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The data suggest that high-functioning adults with ASD show a specific deficit in semantic processing and predictive coding of sounds and words related to action, which is absent for neutral, non-action, sounds.

自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者运动与语言障碍的神经生理机制目前仍未得到充分阐明。本研究探讨了声音加工、（动作）语义理解以及预测编码的生物学指标，及其与ASD临床症状的相关性。研究招募22名高功能自闭症谱系障碍成人与25名典型发育（TD）参与者，令其完成一项听觉被动聆听的失匹配负波（MMN）任务，同时采集高密度脑电图（EEG）数据。实验中，动作词与非动作词结合声音刺激呈现，这些声音要么与动作词所关联的身体部位存在语义一致性，要么语义不一致或完全无关。声音刺激出现前的预期活动——预测电位（PP）——在ASD组中显著降低，且该缺陷仅出现在动作声音语境下，而非非动作声音语境。针对词语的早期类MMN反应（潜伏期：120ms）在两组间呈现差异化调节模式：对照组在动作声音语境下的词语反应幅度显著大于非动作声音语境；而ASD参与者仅在纯音语境下表现出更大的早期类MMN反应，未出现依赖动作声音语境的调节效应。刺激出现后约560ms的晚期类MMN反应显示，对照组词语存在身体部位语义一致的动作语义启动效应，而ASD组未观察到该效应。值得注意的是，ASD参与者的语义启动神经生理指标与自闭症谱系量表（AQ）所评估的自闭症特质程度呈显著相关。本研究数据表明，高功能自闭症谱系障碍成人在与动作相关的声音与词语的语义加工及预测编码方面存在特异性缺陷，而针对中性、非动作声音的加工则未受影响。