Gamma oscillatory activity in autism spectrum disorder during a face cueing task

<p>Joint attention is a social interaction skill that normally develops in infancy and involves following another’s gaze to a stimulus. This skill is absent or developmentally delayed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), causing cascading effects on development. Neural synchrony in the gamma frequency band is thought to be involved in cognitive functions such as joint attention. The current study investigated differences in gamma power between neurotypicals and ASD as measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG) while performing a gaze cueing task simulating joint attention. Results support lower frontal gamma power in ASD, suggesting that impaired generation of gamma activity in the prefrontal cortex may be involved in impairments in social cognitive functions such as joint attention in ASD. In contrast to previous research, findings did not support higher posterior gamma power in ASD, indicating a need for further research to clarify the nature of gamma oscillatory activity in posterior brain regions in ASD.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Richard, Annette E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Renee Lajiness-O’Neill, PhD, Chair
• Jin Bo, PhD
• Thomas Schmitt, PhD

• joint attention
• social interaction
• autism
• developmentally delayed
• autism spectrum disorders
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/377

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1745