Comparative study of ERP habituation to tones and fearful vocalizations in autism spectrum disorders: a translational biomarker for sensory hypersensitivity

Sensory issues are common in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and can significantly affect daily living. The phenomena of gating and habituation of event-related potentials (ERPs) to repetitive stimuli have been suggested as potential biomarkers reflecting atypical sensory processing in ASD. Sensory hypersensitivity and anxiety are closely related in ASD, and habituation to emotionally evocative stimuli may serve as a more sensitive biomarker for sensory hypersensitivity symptoms. However, previous studies have primarily used tonal stimuli, and there has been little investigation into whether habituation to emotionally evocative sounds is impaired in ASD patients. In this study, we compared the degree of habituation of the P1-N1 peak-to-peak amplitude in response to repeated tones and fearful vocalizations between control and ASD groups. Contrary to expectations, no significant difference was observed for fearful vocalizations between the groups, while ASD patients showed significantly reduced habituation to tonal sounds in the left parieto-occipital region. Furthermore, we found a significant correlation between the degree of habituation to tonal sounds in the left parieto-occipital region and sensory hypersensitivity symptoms in ASD patients, and similar abnormalities in BTBR mice, an animal model of ASD. These results suggest that habituation to tonal sounds, rather than emotionally evocative stimuli, may serve as a translational biomarker reflecting sensory hypersensitivity symptoms.