Abstract
Children with the diagnosis of autism were tested for brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP), and information was gathered on their medical and developmental histories and current developmental levels of symptomatology. On comparing the nine autistic children having abnormal BAEPs and the seven autistic children with normal BAEPs, the former were found to have exhibited greater pathology in the areas of attention and social accessibility. No differences were found between the groups on measures of language, motor, or perceptual functioning, or on previous diagnoses or medical history. It is suggested that social and attentional pathology may be more specifically associated with the brainstem pathology that may characterize autism than are symptoms in other developmental areas.
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This work was supported in part by the following grants: NS-12201 from NINCDS-NIH, K3-14,915 from NIMH-ADAMHA (Research Scientist Award to A. F. Mirsky), MHOO250 from NIMH-ADAMHA (Research Scientist Development Award to D. Fein), MH-15189 (NIMH, Research Training Grant to B. Skoff), and UHGRS-561 from University Hospital. We wish to thank Dr. Fred Krell, Joseph Piette, and the staff and students at the May Institute, Chatham, Massachusetts.
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Fein, D., Skoff, B. & Mirsky, A.F. Clinical correlates of brainstem dysfunction in autistic children. J Autism Dev Disord 11, 303–315 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531513
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531513