Biomaterial Database

Gamma oscillations point to the role of primary visual cortex in atypical motion processing in autism. 2023

Elena V Orekhova, and Viktoriya O Manyukhina, and Ilia A Galuta, and Andrey O Prokofyev, and Dzerassa E Goiaeva, and Tatiana S Obukhova, and Kirill A Fadeev, and Justin F Schneiderman, and Tatiana A Stroganova

Center for Neurocognitive Research (MEG Center), Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russian Federation.

Neurophysiological studies suggest that abnormal neural inhibition may explain a range of sensory processing differences in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In particular, the impaired ability of people with ASD to visually discriminate the motion direction of small-size objects and their reduced perceptual suppression of background-like visual motion may stem from deficient surround inhibition within the primary visual cortex (V1) and/or its atypical top-down modulation by higher-tier cortical areas. In this study, we estimate the contribution of abnormal surround inhibition to the motion-processing deficit in ASD. For this purpose, we used a putative correlate of surround inhibition-suppression of the magnetoencephalographic (MEG) gamma response (GR) caused by an increase in the drift rate of a large annular high-contrast grating. The motion direction discrimination thresholds for the gratings of different angular sizes (1° and 12°) were assessed in a separate psychophysical paradigm. The MEG data were collected in 42 boys with ASD and 37 typically developing (TD) boys aged 7-15 years. Psychophysical data were available in 33 and 34 of these participants, respectively. The results showed that the GR suppression in V1 was reduced in boys with ASD, while their ability to detect the direction of motion was compromised only in the case of small stimuli. In TD boys, the GR suppression directly correlated with perceptual suppression caused by increasing stimulus size, thus suggesting the role of the top-down modulations of V1 in surround inhibition. In ASD, weaker GR suppression was associated with the poor directional sensitivity to small stimuli, but not with perceptual suppression. These results strongly suggest that a local inhibitory deficit in V1 plays an important role in the reduction of directional sensitivity in ASD and that this perceptual deficit cannot be explained exclusively by atypical top-down modulation of V1 by higher-tier cortical areas.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009039	Motion Perception	The real or apparent movement of objects through the visual field.	Movement Perception,Perception, Motion,Perception, Movement
D010775	Photic Stimulation	Investigative technique commonly used during ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY in which a series of bright light flashes or visual patterns are used to elicit brain activity.	Stimulation, Photic,Visual Stimulation,Photic Stimulations,Stimulation, Visual,Stimulations, Photic,Stimulations, Visual,Visual Stimulations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067877	Autism Spectrum Disorder	Wide continuum of associated cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders, including, but not limited to, three core-defining features: impairments in socialization, impairments in verbal and nonverbal communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviors. (from DSM-V)	Autistic Spectrum Disorder,Autism Spectrum Disorders,Autistic Spectrum Disorders,Disorder, Autistic Spectrum
D000087642	Primary Visual Cortex	An area comprised of parts of OCCIPITAL LOBE and the CALCARINE SULCUS of the visual cortex in humans with direct connectivity to the LATERAL GENICULATE NUCLEUS. It is the end organ where visual stimuli are received in the visual cortex.	Area V1,Brodmann Area 17,Brodmann's Area 17,Calcarine Cortex,Cortical Area V1,Striate Cortex,Visual Cortex V1,Visual Cortex Primary,Area 17, Brodmann,Area 17, Brodmann's,Area V1, Cortical,Brodmanns Area 17,Calcarine Cortices,Cortex Primary, Visual,Cortex V1, Visual,Cortex, Calcarine,Cortex, Primary Visual,Cortex, Striate,Primary Visual Cortices,Primary, Visual Cortex,V1, Area,V1, Cortical Area,V1, Visual Cortex,Visual Cortex, Primary
D001321	Autistic Disorder	A disorder beginning in childhood. It is marked by the presence of markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interest. Manifestations of the disorder vary greatly depending on the developmental level and chronological age of the individual. (DSM-V)	Autism, Infantile,Kanner's Syndrome,Autism,Autism, Early Infantile,Disorder, Autistic,Disorders, Autistic,Early Infantile Autism,Infantile Autism,Infantile Autism, Early,Kanner Syndrome,Kanners Syndrome
D015225	Magnetoencephalography	The measurement of magnetic fields over the head generated by electric currents in the brain. As in any electrical conductor, electric fields in the brain are accompanied by orthogonal magnetic fields. The measurement of these fields provides information about the localization of brain activity which is complementary to that provided by ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY. Magnetoencephalography may be used alone or together with electroencephalography, for measurement of spontaneous or evoked activity, and for research or clinical purposes.	Magnetoencephalogram,Magnetoencephalograms