Left-hemispheric atypicalities in the primary auditory cortex are associated with language comprehension and social skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Low-level auditory processing difficulties have been previously reported in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and some studies showed the relationship between these difficulties in the primary auditory cortex and language impairment in ASD. However, there is still a limited number of studies that comprehensively assess (i) amplitudes, latencies, and sensory gating effects in all early components of auditory processing (M50-M100-M200 complex) at the source level in magnetoencephalography with their relation to structural anatomy (gray matter volume, thickness, gyrification) (ii) and the association between brain metrics and clinical phenotype in the same group of children. To address this question, we used a standard paired-clicks paradigm in magnetoencephalography and brain morphometry analysis in children with and without ASD (NASD = 20, NTD = 20). First, the results revealed a reduction of M200 and altered M200 sensory gating effect in the left auditory cortex in children with ASD. Second, these alterations were related to lower language comprehension skills and higher autistic symptom severity. Finally, altered MEG responses were associated with gray matter thickness reduction as well as abnormal gyrification in the primary auditory cortex in ASD. The study revealed low-level functional and structural atypicalities in children with ASD and their relation to clinical phenotype.