Characterizing autonomic response to arousing visual-auditory multi-modal task in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2019 Jul:2019:4942-4945. doi: 10.1109/EMBC.2019.8856641.

Abstract

Sensory abnormalities are widespread in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, their definition is still quite subjective and vague. Here we propose a novel approach for characterization of Autonomic Nervous System responses to sensory stimulation based on electrocardiogram (ECG) assessment. In particular, we develop a preliminary study where autonomic responses of both autistic (ASD = 5) and neurotypical (NT = 5) participants have been evaluated in terms of changes in responsiveness to repeated stimuli. Autonomic control has been estimated via high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and low-frequency HRV (LF-HRV). Results show significant differences among groups for the HRV measures (p value = 0.0158), supported by expected changes of HF (p value = 0.0079) and LF (p value = 0.0079) trends over stimulations. We thus conclude that an overall decrease in autonomic arousal can give important insights for devising new habituation metrics in NT and ASD individuals.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arousal*
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / physiopathology*
  • Autonomic Nervous System*
  • Electrocardiography
  • Heart Rate*
  • Humans