Abstract：
UNASSIGNED: Selective attention to auditory input is reflected in the brain by an electric amplitude called the P3b amplitude, which is measured using electroencephalography. Previous research has shown that children and adolescents with autism have an attenuated P3b amplitude when they have to attend specific sounds while ignoring other sounds. However, it is unknown whether a reduced P3b amplitude in autistic children and adolescents is associated with their autism features, daily functioning and/or cognitive functions. This study aimed to examine these questions. Therefore, we assessed selective attention to auditory input in 57 children with autism aged 7-14 years and 57 neurotypically developing controls while measuring their brain activity with electroencephalography. Participants further underwent cognitive assessment, and parents reported on autistic traits and daily functioning. As expected, children with autism had lower P3b amplitude compared to their neurotypical peers. Importantly, an attenuated P3b amplitude was associated with more parent-reported social-communication problems and difficulties with daily functioning. Children with autism further had reduced processing speed of visual input, which also was coupled to a lower P3b amplitude. In conclusion, we found attenuated P3b amplitude in children with autism performing an auditory selective attention task, which was related to difficulties with processing visual input and allocating attentional resources critical for social and daily functioning. The results suggest that autistic children are more vulnerable to being disturbed when the environment is filled with conflicting sensory input.
摘要：
■对听觉输入的选择性注意通过称为P3b振幅的电振幅反映在大脑中，这是使用脑电图测量的。先前的研究表明，自闭症儿童和青少年在必须听特定声音而忽略其他声音时，P3b振幅会减弱。然而,尚不清楚自闭症儿童和青少年的P3b振幅降低是否与他们的自闭症特征有关，日常功能和/或认知功能。本研究旨在研究这些问题。因此,我们评估了57名年龄在7~14岁的自闭症儿童和57名神经发育型对照儿童对听觉输入的选择性关注,同时用脑电图测量他们的大脑活动.参与者进一步接受认知评估，父母报告了自闭症特征和日常功能。不出所料,自闭症儿童的P3b波幅低于神经系统典型的同龄人.重要的是,P3b振幅减弱与更多的父母报告的社交沟通问题和日常功能困难相关.自闭症儿童进一步降低了视觉输入的处理速度，这也耦合到较低的P3b振幅。总之,我们发现自闭症儿童执行听觉选择性注意任务时P3b振幅减弱，这与处理视觉输入和分配对社会和日常功能至关重要的注意力资源的困难有关。结果表明，当环境充满相互矛盾的感觉输入时，自闭症儿童更容易受到干扰。
