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. 2020 Oct 8:14:288.
doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00288. eCollection 2020.

Children With Autism Produce a Unique Pattern of EEG Microstates During an Eyes Closed Resting-State Condition

Sahana Nagabhushan Kalburgi  1 , Allison P Whitten  2 , Alexandra P Key  3   4 , James W Bodfish  1   2   3   4
Affiliations

Children With Autism Produce a Unique Pattern of EEG Microstates During an Eyes Closed Resting-State Condition

Sahana Nagabhushan Kalburgi et al. Front Hum Neurosci. .

Abstract

Although fMRI studies have produced considerable evidence for differences in the spatial connectivity of resting-state brain networks in persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relative to typically developing (TD) peers, little is known about the temporal dynamics of these brain networks in ASD. The aim of this study was to examine the EEG microstate architecture in children with ASD as compared to TD at rest in two separate conditions - eyes-closed (EC) and eyes-open (EO). EEG microstate analysis was performed on resting-state data of 13 ASD and 13 TD children matched on age, gender, and IQ. We found that children with ASD and TD peers produced topographically similar canonical microstates at rest. Group differences in the duration and frequency of these microstates were found primarily in the EC resting-state condition. In line with previous fMRI findings that have reported differences in spatial connectivity within the salience network (previously correlated with the activity of microstate C) in ASD, we found that the duration of activation of microstate C was increased, and the frequency of microstate C was decreased in ASD as compared to TD in EC resting-state. Functionally, these results may be reflective of alterations in interoceptive processes in ASD. These results suggest a unique pattern of EEG microstate architecture in ASD relative to TD during resting-states and also that EEG microstate parameters in ASD are susceptible to differences in resting-state conditions.

Keywords: EEG; autism spectrum disorders; microstates; resting-state; salience network.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The group-level maps of the four microstate classes (A–D) in ASD and TD, independently computed for the two resting-state conditions. (A) Group Level Microstate Maps in Eyes Closed Resting-state. (B) Group Level Microstate Maps in Eyes Open Resting-state.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Durations of (A) microstate class B, (B) microstate class C, and (C) microstate class D in EC and EO for the two groups. This graph displays the mean duration of each microstate with corresponding standard error of the mean. The white and gray bars display results from the TD and ASD groups, respectively. individual participant data is plotted on each bar. All significant differences are indicated with asterisks (p < 0.0125, Bonferroni corrected).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Frequency of (A) microstate class C and (B) microstate class D in EC and EO for the two groups. These graphs display the mean frequencies of each microstate with corresponding standard error of the mean. The white and gray bars display results from the TD and ASD groups, respectively. individual participant data is plotted on each bar. All significant differences are indicated with asterisks (p < 0.0125, Bonferroni corrected).
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