EFFECTS OF AUDITORY-STIMULATION ON REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW IN AUTISTIC-CHILDREN

In this work, we investigated the modification of the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) with auditory stimulation in autism. We measured the rCBF using single-photon emission computed tomography and Xe-133 in 14 children with primary autism (according to DSM III-R criteria) and in 6 children without autistic signs. The rCBFs were recorded at rest and during an auditory stimulation delivered binaurally (80 dB, 200 ms, 750 Hz, 1 stimulation/s). When the results from the group with primary autism were compared with those of a group of non-autistic children, at rest no cortical regional abnormalities were found. In non-autistic children the auditory stimulations increased the rCBF in the left, whereas in autistic children the stimulations increased the rCBF in the right temporo-occipital region. There was no modification on the left side. These results suggest a deficit of perceptive reactivity in autism.