Translating adult electrophysiology findings to younger patient populations: difficulty measuring 40 Hz auditory steady-state responses in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder

摘要

BackgroundGamma (~30 to 80 Hz) brain rhythms are thought to be abnormal in neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In adult populations, auditory 40 Hz click trains or 40 Hz amplitude-modulated tones are used to assess the integrity of superior temporal gyrus (STG) 40 Hz gamma-band circuits. As STG 40 Hz auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs) are not fully developed in children, tasks using these stimuli may not be optimal in younger patient populations. The present study examined this issue in typically developing (TD) children as well as in children with ASD, using source localization to directly assess activity in the principal generators of the 40 Hz ASSR - left and right primary/secondary auditory cortex.