Search

Sensory symptoms, including auditory processing deficits, are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Processing of temporal aspects of auditory input is understudied; yet, deficits in this domain could contribute to language-related impairments. In children with ASD and well-matched controls, this study examined electrophysiological response to silent gaps in auditory stimuli. Results revealed attenuated amplitude of the P2 event-related potential (ERP) component in ASD. The P2 amplitude reduction was also associated with sensory, language, and diagnostic features. These results suggest that neural response during auditory gap detection is a promising ASD biomarker that could be useful for stratifying subgroups and evaluating treatment response.

Purpose of Review: Despite significant progress in recognizing the biological bases of autism spectrum disorder, diagnosis and treatment rely primarily on subjective evaluation of behavior. This review highlights the challenges unique to neurodevelopmental disorders that have limited biomarker development., Recent Findings: The field of neurodevelopmental disorders requires objective quantification of biological processes to enable designation of subgroups likely to benefit from specific treatments, index diagnostic status/risk, demonstrate engagement of targeted systems, and provide more rapid assessment of change than traditional clinical observation and caregiver report measures., Summary: Useful biomarkers for neurodevelopmental disorders must be reliable across development, evident at the individual level, and specific to a unit of analysis, be it diagnostic status or functional process. The ultimate value of biomarkers for neurodevelopmental disorders will relate to their ease of use, cost, scalability, sensitivity, and methodological objectivity.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an early onset neurodevelopmental disorder marked by impairments in reciprocal social interaction, communication, and the presence of repetitive or restricted interests and behaviors. Despite great phenotypic heterogeneity and etiologic diversity in ASD, social dysfunction is the unifying feature of ASD. This chapter focuses on understanding the neural systems involved in the processing of social information and its disruption in ASD by reviewing the conceptual background and highlighting some recent advances. In addition, work investigating an alternative interpretation of autistic dysfunction, problems with interconnectivity, and consequent difficulties with complex information processing are addressed.