EEG photic driving: right-hemisphere reactivity deficit in childhood autism. A pilot study.

In 14 autistic boys, aged 6-14 years, free of drug treatment, with relatively intact verbal functions and without severe or moderate mental retardation (I.Q. 91.4+/-22.8), intermittent photic stimulation at 11 fixed frequencies of 3-24 Hz revealed latent deficiency of the right hemisphere in the photic driving reactivity, predominantly at the fast alpha and beta frequencies of stimulation. The left-side prevalence was observed: 1) in the total number of driving peaks evaluated for the first four harmonics in the EEG spectra of 14 cortical areas and 2) in the driving amplitude in the spectra of the 2 occipital areas. As compared to 21 normally developing boys matched on age who did not show interhemispheric asymmetry in the driving reactivity, the autistic patients had significantly lower driving characteristics only in the right hemisphere. There were no significant differences between the autistic and control groups in the spontaneous EEG spectra of the occipital areas in the resting state.

[1]  G. Gronseth,et al.  The utility of the electroencephalogram in the evaluation of patients presenting with headache , 1995, Neurology.

[2]  A. Beydoun,et al.  Responses to photic stimulation in patients with occipital spikes. , 1998, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[3]  H. Demaree,et al.  QEEG assisted neuropsychological evaluation of autism. , 1998, The International journal of neuroscience.

[4]  Ernst Fernando Lopes Da Silva Niedermeyer,et al.  Electroencephalography, basic principles, clinical applications, and related fields , 1982 .

[5]  L. Wing.  The autistic spectrum , 1997, The Lancet.

[6]  V. Lazarev,et al.  The relationship of theory and methodology in EEG studies of mental activity. , 2006, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[7]  A F C Infantosi,et al.  Topographic aspects of photic driving in the electroencephalogram of children and adolescents. , 2004, Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas.

[8]  Danilova Nn.  [Reactions of cerebral electrical activity in response to flickering light coinciding with the diapason of alpha-rhythm frequency]. , 1961 .

[9]  Bashina Vm,et al.  [The clinical, neurophysiological and differential diagnostic aspects in a study of severe forms of early childhood autism]. , 1994 .

[10]  S. Potkin,et al.  EEG Resonant Responses in Schizophrenia: a Photic Driving Study with Improved Harmonic Resolution , 2000, Schizophrenia Research.

[11]  O. Eeg‐Olofsson.  Longitudinal developmental course of electrical activity of brain , 1980, Brain and Development.

[12]  G. Dawson,et al.  The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. , 2004, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[13]  S. Butler,et al.  Asymmetries in the electroencephalogram associated with cerebral dominance. , 1974, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[14]  A. Mundy-castle.  An analysis of central responses to photic stimulation in normal adults. , 1953, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[15]  N. Danilova.  [Reactions of cerebral electrical activity in response to flickering light coinciding with the diapason of alpha-rhythm frequency]. , 1961, Zhurnal vysshei nervnoi deiatelnosti imeni I P Pavlova.

[16]  G. Dawson,et al.  Hemisphere functioning and motor imitation in autistic persons , 1983, Brain and Cognition.

[17]  Sally Ozonoff,et al.  An Exploration of Right-Hemisphere Contributions to the Pragmatic Impairments of Autism , 1996, Brain and Language.

[18]  Tatiana A. Stroganova,et al.  Abnormal EEG lateralization in boys with autism , 2007, Clinical Neurophysiology.

[19]  R. Thatcher,et al.  Computerized EEG analyses of autistic children , 1986, Journal of autism and developmental disorders.

[20]  M. Cheung,et al.  Quantitative electroencephalographic profiles for children with autistic spectrum disorder. , 2007, Neuropsychology.

[21]  David I. Perrett,et al.  Structural white matter deficits in high-functioning individuals with autistic spectrum disorder: a voxel-based investigation , 2005, NeuroImage.

[22]  Richard S. Frackowiak,et al.  Superior temporal sulcus anatomical abnormalities in childhood autism: a voxel-based morphometry MRI study , 2004, NeuroImage.

[23]  Michael Siegal,et al.  Theory of Mind and Pragmatic Understanding Following Right Hemisphere Damage , 1996, Brain and Language.

[24]  V. Lazarev,et al.  Photic driving in the electroencephalogram of children and adolescents: harmonic structure and relation to the resting state. , 2001, Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas.

[25]  N L Gorbachevskaia,et al.  [The clinical, neurophysiological and differential diagnostic aspects in a study of severe forms of early childhood autism]. , 1994, Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova.

[26]  Raymond,et al.  Right-Hemisphere Dysfunction in Asperger's Syndrome , 1995, Journal of child neurology.

[27]  V. Lazarev.  On the intercorrelation of some frequency and amplitude parameters of the human EEG and its functional significance. Communication. I: Multidimensional neurodynamic organization of functional states of the brain during intellectual, perceptive and motor activity in normal subjects. , 1998, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[28]  Toshikazu Hasegawa,et al.  Deviant gaze processing in children with autism: an ERP study , 2005, Neuropsychologia.

[29]  M. Sabbagh.  Communicative Intentions and Language: Evidence from Right-Hemisphere Damage and Autism , 1999, Brain and Language.

[30]  W Scheuler.  [Clinical significance of increased reaction to photostimulation in the alpha frequency range]. , 1983, EEG-EMG Zeitschrift fur Elektroenzephalographie, Elektromyographie und verwandte Gebiete.

[31]  C. Woolger,et al.  Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (wisc-iii) , 2001 .

[32]  P. Näätänen,et al.  Neurophysiological evidence for cortical discrimination impairment of prosody in Asperger syndrome , 2005, Neuroscience Letters.

[33]  廣田 卓也.  Spatial structure of brain electric fields during intermittent photic stimulation , 2001 .