Cued motor processing in autism and typical development: A high-density electrical mapping study of response-locked neural activity in children and adolescents.

Researchers used brain monitoring (EEG) to study how autistic and non-autistic children process movement during a quick response task. While autistic children could complete the task, they were less consistent in their response times and showed different brain activity patterns, especially in younger children aged 6-9 years. The differences were subtle but suggest that motor processing develops differently in autism from an early age.

This EEG study compared motor processing in 84 autistic and 84 neurotypical children/adolescents (ages 6-15) during a speeded reaction time task. Researchers analyzed brain responses before and during motor responses over frontoparietal regions. Autistic participants showed greater reaction time variability, lower accuracy, and subtle differences in motor-related brain activity, particularly over fronto-central and bilateral parietal areas before response onset. Differences were most pronounced in the youngest children (6-9 years), with autistic participants showing attenuated cortical responses.

The study provides evidence of intact but subtly different motor processing in autism, with age-related patterns suggesting early developmental differences in motor-related neural circuits.

Findings suggest motor processing differences emerge early in autism development, supporting the value of early motor assessments. The subtle nature of differences indicates intact basic motor systems but altered efficiency. Results may inform timing of motor-based interventions, particularly for younger children where differences appear most pronounced.

Single study design limits generalizability. Sample age range (6-15 years) may not capture earliest motor differences. Task-specific findings may not represent all motor processing domains. No information provided about autism severity levels or co-occurring conditions that could influence results.

Motor atypicalities are common in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and are often evident prior to classical ASD symptoms. Despite evidence of differences in neural processing during imitation in autistic individuals, research on the integrity and spatiotemporal dynamics of basic motor processing is surprisingly sparse. To address this need, we analysed electroencephalography (EEG) data recorded from a large sample of autistic (n = 84) and neurotypical (n = 84) children and adolescents while they performed an audiovisual speeded reaction time (RT) task. Analyses focused on RTs and response-locked motor-related electrical brain responses over frontoparietal scalp regions: the late Bereitschaftspotential, the motor potential and the reafferent potential.

Evaluation of behavioural task performance indicated greater RT variability and lower hit rates in autistic participants compared to typically developing age-matched neurotypical participants. Overall, the data revealed clear motor-related neural responses in ASD, but with subtle differences relative to typically developing participants evident over fronto-central and bilateral parietal scalp sites prior to response onset. Group differences were further parsed as a function of age (6-9, 9-12 and 12-15 years), sensory cue preceding the response (auditory, visual and bi-sensory audiovisual) and RT quartile. Group differences in motor-related processing were most prominent in the youngest group of children (age 6-9), with attenuated cortical responses observed for young autistic participants.

Future investigations assessing the integrity of such motor processes in younger children, where larger differences may be present, are warranted.