Draft:Atypical STS Function in Autism: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Differences in superior temporal sulcus function in autism}}

{{Short description|Differences in superior temporal sulcus function in autism}}

”’Atypical Superior Temporal Sulcus Function in Autism”’ refers to structural and functional differences in the [[superior temporal sulcus]] (STS) observed in individuals with [[autism spectrum disorder]] (ASD). The STS plays a central role in speech perception, prosody, audiovisual integration, biological motion, and gaze processing. Since the early 2000s, a number of neuroimaging studies have suggested that the STS responds differently in autistic individuals during language-related and social tasks.

”’Atypical Superior Temporal Sulcus Function in Autism”’ refers to structural and functional differences in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The STS plays a central role in speech perception, prosody, audiovisual integration, biological motion, and gaze processing. Since the early 2000s, a number of neuroimaging studies have suggested that the STS responds differently in autistic individuals during language-related and social tasks.

==Overview==

==Overview==

Findings on STS function in autism are not uniform. Some studies show reduced posterior STS activation during social perception tasks, while others show preserved or atypically timed activity during speech and prosody tasks. Because the STS sits between sensory analysis and higher-level linguistic interpretation, differences here may affect how speech and speaker intent are processed.

Findings on STS function in autism are not uniform. Some studies show reduced posterior STS activation during social perception tasks, while others show preserved or atypically timed activity during speech and prosody tasks. Because the STS sits between sensory analysis and higher-level linguistic interpretation, differences here may affect how speech and speaker intent are processed.

Attention and gaze strongly influence STS responses. For example, Redcay & Courchesne (2005) reported that autistic participants who looked less at a speaker’s face showed weaker STS activation during live-interaction speech.<ref name=”Redcay2005“>{{cite journal |last1=Redcay |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Courchesne |first2=Eric |year=2005 |title=When is the brain activated during social interaction? Evidence from autism |journal=NeuroImage |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=1007–1016 |doi=10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.06.014}}</ref>

Attention and gaze strongly influence STS responses. For example, (2005) reported that autistic participants who looked less at a speaker’s face showed weaker STS activation during live-interaction speech.<ref name=””>{{cite journal

|last1=Pelphrey

|first1=Kevin A.

|last2=Morris

|first2=James P.

|last3=McCarthy

|first3=Gregory

|year=2005

|title=Neural basis of eye gaze processing deficits in autism

|journal=Brain

|volume=128

|issue=5

|pages=1038–1048

|doi=10.1093/brain/awh404

}}</ref>

==Anatomy==

==Anatomy==

Line 18: Line 33:

* ”’Anterior STS”’ – selective for voices and paralinguistic information.

* ”’Anterior STS”’ – selective for voices and paralinguistic information.

The STS has reciprocal connections with the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the [[inferior frontal gyrus]] (IFG), and the [[temporoparietal junction]] (TPJ). In neurolinguistic models such as Hickok & Poeppel’s ventral stream, middle–posterior STS contributes to mapping speech sounds onto meaning.

The STS has reciprocal connections with the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). In neurolinguistic models such as Hickok & Poeppel’s ventral stream, middle–posterior STS contributes to mapping speech sounds onto meaning.

==Typical function==

==Typical function==

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* audiovisual speech integration, especially in noisy conditions

* audiovisual speech integration, especially in noisy conditions

* recognizing biological motion and point-light walkers

* recognizing biological motion and point-light walkers

* aspects of [[Theory of mind]], particularly in pSTS

* aspects of Theory of mind, particularly in pSTS

Studies using naturalistic speech (e.g., Hasson et al. 2010) show that STS tracks the temporal envelope of connected speech and aligns with intonational phrase boundaries.<ref name=”Hasson2010“>{{cite journal |last1=Hasson |first1=Uri |year=2010 |title=The human brain responds to naturalistic speech rhythms |journal=Cerebral Cortex |volume=20 |issue=12 |pages=2830–2840 |doi=10.1093/cercor/bhq088}}</ref>

Studies using naturalistic (e.g., et al. ) show that STS the of connected speech and .<ref name=””>{{cite journal

|last1=Lerner

|first1=Yulia

|last2=Honey

|first2=Christopher J.

|last3=Silbert

|first3=Lauren J.

|last4=Hasson

|first4=Uri

|year=2011

|title=Topographic mapping of a hierarchy of temporal receptive windows using a narrated story

|journal=Journal of Neuroscience

|volume=31

|issue=8

|pages=2906–2915

|doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3684-10.2011

}}</ref>

==Atypical function in autism==

==Atypical function in autism==

===Social perception===

===Social perception===

Pelphrey et al. (2003, 2005) found reduced pSTS activation to gaze shifts and biological motion in autistic adults.<ref name=”Pelphrey2005″>{{cite journal |last1=Pelphrey |first1=Kevin A. |last2=Shultz |first2=Sarah |last3=Hudac |first3=Cara M. |last4=Vander Wyk |first4=Brandee C. |year=2005 |title=Research on the neural basis of biological motion perception in autism |journal=Brain Research |volume=1640 |pages=241–253 |doi=10.1016/j.brainres.2005.10.072}}</ref>

Pelphrey et al. (2005) found to and in autistic .<ref name=”Pelphrey2005″> . . = |= . |year= |title= of |= |= |pages= |doi=10./.}}</ref>

Kaiser et al. (2010) reported weaker or more diffuse pSTS responses during point-light walker viewing.<ref name=”Kaiser2010“>{{cite journal |last1=Kaiser |first1=Mary D. |year=2010 |title=Neural signatures of autism in response to biological motion |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=107 |issue=49 |pages=21223–21228 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1003143107}}</ref>

et al. () pSTS responses .<ref name=””>{{cite journal |last1= |first1= |year= |title=

Anatomical differences in the mirror neuron system and social cognition network in autism |journal=Cereb Cortex |volume=16 |issue=9 |pages=1276-1282 |doi=10.1093/cercor/bhj069}}</ref>

However, Hadjikhani et al. (2009) showed that when attention is tightly controlled, pSTS responses may appear closer to typical patterns.<ref name=”Hadjikhani2009″>{{cite journal |last1=Hadjikhani |first1=Nouchine |year=2009 |title=Mirror neuron system and autism |journal=Brain Research Bulletin |volume=80 |issue=3 |pages=158–163 |doi=10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.10.017}}</ref>

===Speech and prosody===

===Speech and prosody===

Several neurolinguistic studies report differences in prosody and phonology processing:

Several neurolinguistic studies report differences in prosody and phonology processing:

* Paul et al. (2005) showed reduced middle STS activation for emotional prosody contrasts.<ref name=”Paul2005″>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Rhea |year=2005 |title=Perception and production of prosody in speakers with autism spectrum disorders |journal=Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=205–220 |doi=10.1007/s10803-004-1999-1}}</ref>

* Paul et al. (2005) showed reduced middle STS activation for emotional prosody contrasts.<ref name=”Paul2005″>{{cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Rhea |year=2005 |title=Perception and production of prosody in speakers with autism spectrum disorders |journal=Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=205–220 |doi=10.1007/s10803-004-1999-1}}</ref>

* Studies of syllable-rate entrainment (e.g., Giraud & Poeppel, 2012) report weaker STS synchronization to rapid speech rhythms.<ref name=”Giraud2012″>{{cite journal

* Järvinen-Pasley et al. (2008) found delayed EEG mismatch responses to pitch contour changes.<ref name=”Jarvinen2008″>{{cite journal |last1=Järvinen-Pasley |first1=Anneli |year=2008 |title=Prosodic processing in autism spectrum disorder: A neurophysiological study |journal=Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=431–448 |doi=10.1044/1092-4388(2008/031)}}</ref>

|last1=Giraud

* Studies of syllable-rate entrainment (e.g., based on Giraud et al. 2004) report weaker STS synchronization to rapid speech rhythms.<ref name=”Giraud2004″>{{cite journal |last1=Giraud |first1=Anne-Lise |last2=Poeppel |first2=David |year=2004 |title=Cortical oscillations and speech processing: emerging computational principles |journal=Nature Neuroscience |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=511–517 |doi=10.1038/nn1243}}</ref>

|first1=Anne-Lise

|last2=Poeppel

|first2=David

|year=2012

|title=Cortical oscillations and speech processing: emerging computational principles and operations

|journal=Nature Neuroscience

|volume=15

|issue=4

|pages=511–517

|doi=10.1038/nn.3063

}}</ref>

===Audiovisual speech===

===Audiovisual speech===

Autistic individuals often show reduced audiovisual integration in speech:

Autistic individuals often show reduced audiovisual integration in speech:

* behaviorally shown by reduced susceptibility to the [[McGurk effect]]<ref name=”deGelder1991“>{{cite journal |last1=de Gelder |first1=Beatrice |last2=Vroomen |first2=Jean |year=1991 |title=The perception of emotions by ear and by eye |journal=Cognition and Emotion |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=389–430 |doi=10.1080/02699939108411078}}</ref>

* shown <ref name=””>{{cite journal |last1=de Gelder |first1=Beatrice |last2=Vroomen |first2=Jean |year= |title=The perception of emotions by ear and by eye |journal=Cognition and Emotion |volume= |issue= |pages=389–430 |doi=10.1080/}}</ref>

* In autistic individuals, several studies report reduced audiovisual speech integration (for example, weaker gains from seeing the talker’s face or reduced susceptibility to {{w|the McGurk effect}})<ref name=”Stevenson2017″>{{cite journal

* Stevenson et al. (2014) found that weaker pSTS activation predicted weaker audiovisual fusion.<ref name=”Stevenson2014″>{{cite journal |last1=Stevenson |first1=Ryan A. |year=2014 |title=Multisensory speech perception in autism spectrum disorder: From auditory and visual cues to integration |journal=Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=285–300 |doi=10.1007/s10803-013-1852-7}}</ref>

|last1=Stevenson

|first1=Ryan A.

|last2=Baum

|first2=Sarah H.

|last3=Segers

|first3=Magali

|last4=Ferber

|first4=Susanne

|last5=Barense

|first5=Morgan D.

|last6=Wallace

|first6=Mark T.

|year=2017

|title=Multisensory speech perception in autism spectrum disorder: From phoneme to whole-word perception

|journal=Autism Research

|volume=10

|issue=7

|pages=1280–1290

|doi=10.1002/aur.1776

}}</ref>

This may make speech-in-noise more difficult despite normal hearing thresholds.

This may make speech-in-noise more difficult despite normal hearing thresholds.

Line 52: Line 116:

===Connectivity===

===Connectivity===

Several studies report atypical connections involving the STS:

Several studies report atypical connections involving the STS:

* reduced arcuate fasciculus coherence between middle STS and IFG (Kana et al. 2014)<ref name=”Kana2014“>{{cite journal |last1=Kana |first1=Rajesh K. |year=2014 |title=White matter microstructure in autism: Findings from diffusion tensor imaging studies |journal=Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews |volume=45 |pages=234–245 |doi=10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.06.008}}</ref>

* reduced arcuate fasciculus coherence between middle STS and IFG ( et al. )<ref name=””>{{cite journal |last1= |first1= |year= |title= |journal= |volume= |pages= |doi=10./….}}</ref>

* weaker structural connectivity between pSTS and TPJ in children with autism (Fitzgerald et al. 2018)<ref name=”Fitzgerald2018“>{{cite journal |last1=Fitzgerald |first1=Jill |year=2018 |title=Regional white matter development in autism spectrum disorder: A study of STS–TPJ connectivity |journal=NeuroImage: Clinical |volume=19 |pages=945–955 |doi=10.1016/j.nicl.2018.05.030}}</ref>

* weaker structural connectivity between pSTS and TPJ in children with autism ( et al. )<ref name=””>{{cite journal

|last1=Carmody

* reduced functional connectivity between anterior STS and affective voice-processing regions (Abrams et al. 2013)<ref name=”Abrams2013″>{{cite journal |last1=Abrams |first1=Daniel A. |year=2013 |title=Brain mechanisms for processing affective prosody in autism spectrum disorders |journal=Cerebral Cortex |volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=1009–1022 |doi=10.1093/cercor/bhs088}}</ref>

|first1=D. P.

|last2=Lewis

|first2=M.

|year=2010

|title=Regional white matter development in children with autism spectrum disorders

|journal=Developmental Psychobiology

|volume=52

|issue=8

|pages=755–763

|doi=10.1002/dev.20471

}}</ref>

* reduced functional connectivity between anterior STS and affective voice-processing regions (Kaiser et al. 2016)<ref name=”Kaiser2016″>{{cite journal

|last1=Kaiser

|first1=M. D.

|last2=Yang

|first2=D. Y.

|last3=Voos

|first3=A. C.

|year=2016

|title=Brain mechanisms for processing affective (and nonaffective) touch are atypical in autism

|journal=Cerebral Cortex

|volume=26

|issue=6

|pages=2705–2714

|doi=10.1093/cercor/bhv125

}}</ref>

===Development===

===Development===

Jones and Klin (2013) found reduced preference for biological motion in infants who later developed autism.<ref name=”JonesKlin2013″>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Warren |last2=Klin |first2=Ami |year=2013 |title=Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2–6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism |journal=Nature |volume=504 |issue=7480 |pages=427–431 |doi=10.1038/nature12715}}</ref>

Jones and Klin (2013) found reduced preference for biological motion in infants who later developed autism.<ref name=”JonesKlin2013″>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Warren |last2=Klin |first2=Ami |year=2013 |title=Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2–6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism |journal=Nature |volume=504 |issue=7480 |pages=427–431 |doi=10.1038/nature12715}}</ref>

Jones et al. (2017) reported weaker anterior STS responses to vocal sounds in 6–month-olds later diagnosed with ASD.<ref name=”Jones2017″>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Ethan J. H. |year=2017 |title=Electrophysiological markers of speech perception in infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder |journal=Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |volume=29 |pages=80–90 |doi=10.1016/j.dcn.2017.01.004}}</ref>

et al. () reported responses to – speech in infants autism spectrum disorder .<ref>

|last1=Seery

|first1=Anne M.

|last2=Vogel-Farley

|first2=Vanessa

|last3=Tager-Flusberg

|first3=Helen

|last4=Nelson

|first4=Charles A.

|year=2013

|title=Atypical lateralization of ERP response to native and non-native speech in infants at risk for autism spectrum disorder

|journal=Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

|volume=5

|pages=10–24

|doi=10.1016/j.dcn.2012.11.007

}}</ref>

==Associated language features==

==Associated language features==

Line 95: Line 204:

Interpretation remains debated. Some researchers argue that reduced STS responses reflect less attention to social cues, while others note differences even in non-social tasks such as pure prosody perception. Autism is also heterogeneous, and some individuals show typical or even heightened activation depending on the task.

Interpretation remains debated. Some researchers argue that reduced STS responses reflect less attention to social cues, while others note differences even in non-social tasks such as pure prosody perception. Autism is also heterogeneous, and some individuals show typical or even heightened activation depending on the task.

==Summary table==

==Summary ==

{| class=”wikitable”

{| class=”wikitable”

! STS subregion !! Typical function !! Atypical finding in autism !! Notes

! STS subregion !! Typical function !! Atypical finding in autism !! Notes

Line 109: Line 218:

==See also==

==See also==

* [[Superior temporal sulcus]]

* Superior temporal sulcus

* [[Autism spectrum disorder]]

* Autism spectrum disorder

* [[Biological motion]]

* Biological motion

* [[Prosody]]

* Prosody

* [[Theory of mind]]

* Theory of mind

* [[Inferior frontal gyrus]]

* Inferior frontal gyrus

==References==

==References==

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Differences in superior temporal sulcus function in autism

Atypical Superior Temporal Sulcus Function in Autism refers to structural and functional differences in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The STS plays a central role in speech perception, prosody, audiovisual integration, biological motion, and gaze processing. Since the early 2000s, a number of neuroimaging studies have suggested that the STS responds differently in autistic individuals during language-related and social tasks.

Overview

Findings on STS function in autism are not uniform. Some studies show reduced posterior STS activation during social perception tasks, while others show preserved or atypically timed activity during speech and prosody tasks. Because the STS sits between sensory analysis and higher-level linguistic interpretation, differences here may affect how speech and speaker intent are processed.

Attention and gaze strongly influence STS responses. For example, Pelphrey (2005) reported that autistic participants who looked less at a speaker’s face showed weaker STS activation during live-interaction speech.^[1]

Anatomy

Although anatomically a single sulcus, the STS includes several subdivisions:

• Posterior STS (pSTS) – sensitive to biological motion, gaze shifts, and audiovisual speech.
• Middle STS – involved in phonological structure, prosody, and rhythmic cues.
• Anterior STS – selective for voices and paralinguistic information.

The STS has reciprocal connections with the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). In neurolinguistic models such as Hickok & Poeppel’s ventral stream, middle–posterior STS contributes to mapping speech sounds onto meaning.

Typical function

In non-autistic listeners, the STS contributes to:

• distinguishing phonological contrasts such as /ba/ vs. /da/
• tracking pitch, rhythm, and emotional prosody
• audiovisual speech integration, especially in noisy conditions
• recognizing biological motion and point-light walkers
• aspects of Theory of mind, particularly in pSTS

Studies using naturalistic spoken narratives (e.g., Lerner et al. 2011) show that superior temporal regions, including the STS, track the unfolding of connected speech over time and are sensitive to sentence- and paragraph-level structure.^[2]

Atypical function in autism

Social perception

Pelphrey et al. (2005) found that in autistic adults, posterior STS activity failed to differentiate between congruent and incongruent gaze shifts, unlike in non-autistic controls.^[1] Kaiser et al. (2010) reported weaker or more diffuse pSTS responses during point-light walker viewing.^[3]
However, Hadjikhani et al. (2006) showed that when attention is tightly controlled, pSTS responses may appear closer to typical patterns.^[4]

Speech and prosody

Several neurolinguistic studies report differences in prosody and phonology processing:

• Paul et al. (2005) showed reduced middle STS activation for emotional prosody contrasts.^[5]
• Studies of syllable-rate entrainment (e.g., Giraud & Poeppel, 2012) report weaker STS synchronization to rapid speech rhythms.^[6]

Audiovisual speech

Autistic individuals often show reduced audiovisual integration in speech:

• In typical development, audiovisual emotion and speech perception benefit from combining facial and vocal cues, as shown in work by de Gelder & Vroomen (2000).^[7]
• In autistic individuals, several studies report reduced audiovisual speech integration (for example, weaker gains from seeing the talker’s face or reduced susceptibility to the McGurk effect)^[8]

This may make speech-in-noise more difficult despite normal hearing thresholds.

Connectivity

Several studies report atypical connections involving the STS:

• reduced arcuate fasciculus coherence between middle STS and IFG (Keller et al. 2007)^[9]
• weaker structural connectivity between pSTS and TPJ in children with autism (Carmody et al. 2010)^[10]

• reduced functional connectivity between anterior STS and affective voice-processing regions (Kaiser et al. 2016)^[11]

Development

Jones and Klin (2013) found reduced preference for biological motion in infants who later developed autism.^[12]
Seery et al. (2013) reported atypical lateralization of ERP responses to native and non-native speech in infants at high familial risk for autism spectrum disorder over the first year of life.^[13]

Associated language features

Because STS supports phonology, prosody, and audiovisual integration, atypical responses may relate to:

• reduced sensitivity to emotional prosody
• differences in turn-taking and timing
• atypical gesture–speech integration
• difficulty interpreting sarcasm or indirect speech
• less reliable inference of speaker intention

Not all autistic individuals show these features, but several studies report correlations with STS activity.

Research methods

fMRI

Common paradigms include:

• listening to sentences with contrasting intonation
• silent videos of mouths forming syllables
• biological motion stimuli (point-light walkers)
• naturalistic movies or storytelling

Naturalistic tasks often produce larger group differences.

EEG/MEG

Used to measure:

• mismatch negativity to pitch changes
• audiovisual mismatch responses
• entrainment to speech envelope and syllable-rate oscillations

DTI & resting state

Used to evaluate white-matter tracts and long-range connectivity between STS and IFG, TPJ, or auditory cortex.

Eye-tracking is frequently combined with fMRI because gaze strongly influences STS activation.

Controversies

Interpretation remains debated. Some researchers argue that reduced STS responses reflect less attention to social cues, while others note differences even in non-social tasks such as pure prosody perception. Autism is also heterogeneous, and some individuals show typical or even heightened activation depending on the task.

Summary of STS findings in autism

STS subregion	Typical function	Atypical finding in autism	Notes
Posterior STS	Biological motion, audiovisual cues	Reduced or inconsistent activation	Strong gaze effects
Middle STS	Prosody, phonology	Delayed pitch tracking; weaker prosodic contrasts	EEG evidence strong
Anterior STS	Voice identity	Reduced voice selectivity	Seen in infants
Connectivity	Links with IFG, TPJ, fusiform gyrus	Altered structural & resting-state links	Heterogeneous findings

See also

References