The Neurobiology of Semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Analysis
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ORIGINAL PAPER
The Neurobiology of Semantic Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Activation Likelihood Estimation Analysis Lee Phan1 · Alina Tariq2 · Garbo Lam2,3 · Elizabeth W. Pang1,2,4 · Claude Alain5,6 Accepted: 10 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Semantic processing impairments are present in a proportion of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Despite the numerous imaging studies investigating this language domain in ASD, there is a lack of consensus regarding the brain structures showing abnormal pattern of activity. This meta-analysis aimed to identify neural activation patterns present during semantic processing in ASD. Findings reveal activation of areas associated with semantic processing and executive functions in ASD. However, the activation was less concise in comparison to controls and there was less activation in the right hemisphere and in areas associated with executive functions. This provides strong support for impaired semantic processing in ASD that is consistently associated with abnormal patterns of neural activity in the semantic network. Keywords Autism spectrum disorder · Activation likelihood estimation · Semantic processing · Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) · Left inferior frontal gyrus
Introduction Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by repetitive behaviours, restricted interests, as well as deficits in communication and social interactions (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Impairments in language ability would negatively affect the core diagnostic criteria of social communication and interaction difficulties in ASD (Brignell et al., 2018). A proportion of individuals with ASD have atypical language profiles with deficits ranging from difficulties in lower-level * Lee Phan [email protected] 1
Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
2
Neuroscience and Mental Health, SickKids Research Institute/Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
3
Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
4
Division of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
5
Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada
6
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
processing such as phonemic processing to higher-order processing such as semantic processing (Rapin & Dunn, 1997). Difficulties in language ability affect quality of life for individuals (Agt et al., 2011; Neumann et al., 2019; Nicola & Watter, 2015) and an increasing number of studies are now focusing on investigating language impairments in this population. A better understanding of the neurobiology underlying the language impairments in individuals with ASD could inform therapeutic approaches that could be beneficial for reducing deficits seen in communication and social interactions, thereby improving academic performance in the t
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