# MEG Studies of Auditory Processing in Minimally/Non-Verbal Children with ASD and Intellectual Disability

> **NIH NIH U54** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2020 · $295,420

## Abstract

(RESEARCH PROJECT: MEG IN ASD) 
PROJECT SUMMARY
We have developed magnetoencephalography (MEG) measures that predict both a diagnosis of ASD and the
degree of language impairment. Thus, (i) auditory encoding latency (M100) discriminates ASD versus non-
ASD; (ii) auditory change detection latency (mismatch field, MMF) predicts severity of language impairment
in ASD and in other groups with a developmental disability; and (iii) lexical distinction (word versus non-word
low-frequency neural oscillatory activity) both predicts language impairment as well as atypical hemispheric
specialization for language in ASD and, perhaps, in other neurodevelopmental groups. Prior imaging studies of
ASD (including our own) have focused on an intellectually higher-functioning population (high-functioning
autism, or HFA). One reason for this bias is that the majority of imaging studies entail magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), which presupposes a participant's ability to remain motionless during the study, thereby
disqualifying from study the large ASD population with language delay and intellectual disability (possibly as
high as 50%). We seek to investigate the neural basis of autism and associated language and cognitive
impairment in an under-studied population of minimally verbal/non-verbal ASD children (MVNV-ASD, N = 40,
aged 8 to 12 years). To this end, MVNV-ASD encoding, change detection, and lexical MEG measures will be
compared with the same measures already available in age-matched HFA and typically developing (TD)
children. Using the same tasks, MEG data will be obtained from a “positive control” group of children with
intellectual disability (ID; N =40) but without ASD, matched for age and non-verbal IQ in order to isolate neural
abnormalities specific to MVNV-ASD and not consequent to impairment of general cognitive function. Thus,
our primary goals are: (a) A search for pathogenic mechanisms common to HFA and MVNV-ASD, thereby
enabling a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of disability across the ASD spectrum; and (b) A search
for mechanisms of language impairment that are ASD-specific rather than a consequence of more general
effects of low cognitive ability. To obtain high-quality MEG data, we will deploy a research strategy we
designate “MEG-PLAN (MEG Protocol for Low-Language/Cognitive Functioning Ability Neuroimaging). The
key elements of MEG-PLAN are: (1) Engage stakeholders (parents/providers) as “partners in research” to
develop a MEG scanning protocol that maximizes data collection success; (2) Examine automatic brain
responses elicited with passive auditory paradigms, thereby obviating the need for participants to attend to the
task or provide feedback; (3) Remove the need for an individual MRI to localize the MEG signal source by
using a MEG which is registered to an age-appropriate template MRI; (4) Achieve motion tolerance of up to 2
cm via real-time MEG head tracking/motion compensation. This study addresses focus area #2 in the RFA ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9831586
- **Project number:** 5U54HD086984-05
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Timothy P Roberts
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $295,420
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9831586

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9831586, MEG Studies of Auditory Processing in Minimally/Non-Verbal Children with ASD and Intellectual Disability (5U54HD086984-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9831586. Licensed CC0.

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