Inter-trial coherence of medial frontal theta oscillations linked to differential feedback processing in youth and young adults with autism

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Stefon van Noordt, Yale School of Medicine; Jia Wu, Yale School of Medicine; Archana Venkataraman, Johns Hopkins University; Michael J. Larson, Brigham Young University; Mikle South, Emory University; Michael J. Crowley, Yale School of Medicine
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-05-01
• Publisher: ELSEVIER SCI LTD
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2017.01.011
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
• Volume: 37
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 10
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported in part by NARSAD Young Investigator Award (MJC), NIDA grant K01 DA034125 (MJC), and R01 NS035193 (AV).
• Keywords: Reward processing; Education & Educational Research; EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS; Education, Special; Event-related spectral analysis; SPECTRUM DISORDERS; Theta oscillations; Autism spectrum disorders (ASD); Psychology; PREFRONTAL CORTEX; REWARD EXPECTATION; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; REPETITIVE BEHAVIOR; Social Sciences; DECISION-MAKING; Psychology, Developmental; EEG DYNAMICS; NEURAL SYNCHRONIZATION; HIGH-FUNCTIONING AUTISM; Psychiatry; Rehabilitation; ANTERIOR CINGULATE; Science & Technology; Inter-trial phase coherence
• Research Categories: Psychology, Behavioral; Psychology, Developmental

Abstract

Background Impairment in prediction and appreciation for choice outcomes could contribute to several core symptoms of ASD. We examined electroencephalography (EEG) oscillations in 27 youth and young adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 22 IQ-matched neurotypical controls while they performed a chance-based reward prediction task. Method We re-analyzed our previously published ERP data (Larson et al., 2011) and examined theta band oscillations (4–8 Hz) at frontal midline sites, within a timing window that overlaps with the feedback-related negativity (FRN). We focused on event-related changes after presentation of feedback for reward (WIN) and punitive (LOSE) outcomes, both for spectral power and inter-trial phase coherence. Results In our reward prediction task, for both groups, medial frontal theta power and phase coherence were greater following LOSE compared to WIN feedback. However, compared to controls, inter-trial coherence of medial frontal theta was significantly lower overall (across both feedback types) for individuals with ASD. Our results indicate that while individuals with ASD are sensitive to the valence of reward feedback, comparable to their neurotypical peers, they have reduced synchronization of medial frontal theta activity during feedback processing. Conclusions This finding is consistent with previous studies showing neural variability in ASD and suggest that the processes underlying decision-making and reinforcement learning may be atypical and less efficient in ASD.