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New research suggests that neural "time windows" in some small areas of the brain contribute to the complex cognitive symptoms of autism. In a brain imaging study in adults, the severity of autistic symptoms was related to the length of time information stored in these areas of the brain was stored. Neural time scale differences may underlie autism features such as hypersensitivity and may prove useful as future diagnostic tools.
Sensory areas of the brain that receive information from the eyes, skin, and muscles usually have shorter processing periods than higher order areas that incorporate information and control memory and decision making. The new study, published in the journal eLife February 5, shows that this hierarchy of intrinsic neural time scales is disrupted in autism. It is thought that the atypical treatment of information in the brain is at the root of the repetitive behaviors and socio-cultural difficulties observed across the spectrum of autistic neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD), but it is the most common form of treatment. one of the first signs that a small-scale temporal dynamic could have a disproportionate effect.
Brain magnetic resonance imaging of high functioning adult autistic men was compared to that of people without autism. At rest, both groups showed the expected structure of longer time scales in frontal brain areas related to executive control, and shorter time scales in sensory and motor areas. "Shorter time scales mean higher sensitivity in a particular brain region, and we found the most sensitive neuronal responses in people with the most severe autistic symptoms," said Takamitsu Watanabe, lead author of research on the RIKEN brain. A region of the brain with the opposite pattern was that of the right caudate, where the neural time scale was longer than normal, especially in individuals with more restrictive and repetitive behaviors. These differences in brain activity were also observed in separate badyzes of autistic and neurotypic children.
The team of Japanese and British researchers believe that structural changes in small parts of the brain link this local dynamics to ASD symptoms. They found changes in gray matter volume in areas with atypical neural time scales. A higher density of neurons can contribute to patterns of recurrent and repetitive neuronal activity, which underlie the longer and shorter time scales observed in sensory / visual cortex caudate and right bilateral. "The neuronal time scale is a measure of the predictability of activity in a particular brain region." The shorter time scales observed in autistic people suggest that their brains have trouble keeping and treating sensory inputs as long as neurotypical people, "says Watanabe. "This may explain an important feature of autism, the great weight that the brain gives to local sensory information and the resulting perceptual hypersensitivity."
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