Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Aug 1;62(3):270-3.
doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.11.012. Epub 2007 Mar 6.

Resting state cortical connectivity reflected in EEG coherence in individuals with autism

Michael Murias  1 , Sara J Webb, Jessica Greenson, Geraldine Dawson
Affiliations

Resting state cortical connectivity reflected in EEG coherence in individuals with autism

Michael Murias et al. Biol Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Theoretical conceptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and experimental studies of cerebral blood flow suggest abnormalities in connections among distributed neural systems in ASD.

Methods: Functional connectivity was assessed with electroencephalographic coherence between pairs of electrodes in a high-density electrode array in narrow frequency bands among 18 adults with ASD and 18 control adults in an eyes closed resting state.

Results: In the theta (3-6 Hz) frequency range, locally elevated coherence was evident for the ASD group, especially within left hemisphere frontal and temporal regions. In the lower alpha range (8-10 Hz), globally reduced coherence was evident for the ASD group within frontal regions and between frontal and all other scalp regions. The ASD group exhibited significantly greater relative power between 3 and 6 Hz and 13-17 Hz and significantly less relative power between 9 and 10 Hz.

Conclusions: Robust patterns of over- and under-connectivity are apparent at distinct spatial and temporal scales in ASD subjects in the eyes closed resting state.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Eyes closed resting coherence spectra, averaged across all the 5,778 electrode pairs separated by at least 3 cm. along the scalp surface. Shaded areas indicate frequencies at which more than 5% of electrode pairs differentiated control and ASD groups at p < .025. Between 3–6 Hz, ASD coherences are significantly greater than controls. In the lower alpha range (8–10 Hz), ASD coherences are significantly reduced. Mean coherence across these channel pairs is inflated due to the inclusion of pairs separated by less than 10 cm.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Topography of significantly elevated ASD group coherences in the 3–6 Hz band. Lines are drawn between channel pairs at which ASD group coherence exceeded control with p-values below .025. Lines are colored according to distance (cm) between electrode pairs, along the scalp surface.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Topography of significantly elevated control group coherences in the 8–10 Hz band. Lines are drawn between channel pairs at which control group coherence exceeded ASD with p-values below .025. Lines are colored according to distance (cm) between electrode pairs, along the scalp surface.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Topography of relative power differences (control minus ASD). Green dots indicate significant difference between groups at p < .025. ASD relative power exceeded control at 3–6 Hz (top) and 13–17 Hz (bottom). Control potential relative power exceeded ASD at 9–10 Hz (middle).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Americal Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4. Washington, DC: 1994.
    1. Belmonte MK, Allen G, Beckel-Mitchener A, Boulanger LM, Carper RA, Webb SJ. Autism and abnormal development of brain connectivity. Journal of Neuroscience. 2004;24(42):9228–9231. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bendat JS, Piersol AG. Random data: Analysis and measurement procedures. 3. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 2001.
    1. Bertrand O, Perrin F, Pernier J. A theoretical justification of the average reference in topographic evoked potential studies. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1985;62(6):462–464. - PubMed
    1. Casanova MF, van Kooten IAJ, Switala AE, van Engeland H, Heinsen H, Steinbusch HWM, et al. Minicolumnar abnormalities in autism. Acta Neuropathologica. 2006;V112(3):287. - PubMed

Publication types