EEG Correlates of Cognitive Functions in a Child with ASD and White Matter Signal Abnormalities: A Case Report with Two-and-a-Half-Year Follow-Up

Milica Ćirović; Ljiljana Jeličić; Slavica Maksimović; Saška Fatić; Maša Marisavljević; Tatjana Bošković Matić; Miško Subotić

doi:10.3390/diagnostics13182878

EEG Correlates of Cognitive Functions in a Child with ASD and White Matter Signal Abnormalities: A Case Report with Two-and-a-Half-Year Follow-Up

Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Sep 8;13(18):2878. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13182878.

Authors

Milica Ćirović^{1

2}, Ljiljana Jeličić^{1

2}, Slavica Maksimović^{1

2}, Saška Fatić^{1

2}, Maša Marisavljević^{1

2}, Tatjana Bošković Matić^{3

4}, Miško Subotić¹

Affiliations

¹ Cognitive Neuroscience Department, Research and Development Institute "Life Activities Advancement Institute", 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
² Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Institute for Experimental Phonetics and Speech Pathology, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
³ Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia.
⁴ Clinic of Neurology, University Clinical Centre of Kragujevac, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia.

Abstract

This research aimed to examine the EEG correlates of different stimuli processing instances in a child with ASD and white matter signal abnormalities and to investigate their relationship to the results of behavioral tests. The prospective case study reports two and a half years of follow-up data from a child aged 38 to 66 months. Cognitive, speech-language, sensory, and EEG correlates of auditory-verbal and auditory-visual-verbal information processing were recorded during five test periods, and their mutual interrelation was analyzed. EEG findings revealed no functional theta frequency range redistribution in the frontal regions favoring the left hemisphere during speech processing. The results pointed to a positive linear trend in the relative theta frequency range and a negative linear trend in the relative alpha frequency range when listening to and watching the cartoon. There was a statistically significant correlation between EEG signals and behavioral test results. Based on the obtained results, it may be concluded that EEG signals and their association with the results of behavioral tests should be evaluated with certain restraints considering the characteristics of the stimuli during EEG recording.

Keywords: EEG correlates; autism spectrum disorder; cognitive functions; white matter signal abnormalities.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia within the project “Influence of Psychophysiological, Sociological, and Cultural Factors on Speech and Language in the Child Population”. This project is realized in cooperation with the Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Serbia.