Low-contrast response deficits and increased neural noise in children with autism spectrum disorder

A battery of short-duration neurophysiological tests were designed and implemented using visual evoked potentials (VEPs) to examine specific neural mechanisms in children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Contrast-sweep conditions (bright or dark isolated-checks) were used to elicit steady-state VEPs to examine the integrity of ON/OFF pathways. Children with ASD displayed deficits in low-contrast responses at the stimulus frequency of 12.5 Hz, notably under conditions that emphasized activity in the magnocellular pathway. Signal-to-noise ratios were weaker in the ASD group, particularly for the OFF pathway. There were no group differences in the amplitude of responses. In addition, the ASD group displayed significantly higher levels of neural noise than controls. For the response at the stimulus frequency, the ASD group produced a relatively constant level of noise across the contrast range tested, with higher levels than controls at low contrasts and approximately equal levels of noise at moderate to high contrasts.