Some effects of specific interest on the brain of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) : A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder, characterized by two major domains: impairments in the social cognition and communication as well as restricted, repetitive, stereotyped interests and behaviors. In this study, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was applied to investigate the atypical activation pattern of language areas (bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and bilateral temporal cortex) and uncover the impact of a specific interest on the brain function of children with ASD. We employed a listening comprehension task to stimulate the language areas of 2 ASD boys (A1 and A2) who had strong interests in the experiment material (Lightning McQueen) and another 2 ASD boys (A3 and A4) who were matched with A1 and A2 respectively by age, intelligence quotient, language ability and the severity of symptoms. Our results showed that, during the task, the picture of Lightning McQueen, but not the words of The little red car, elicited stronger activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and temporal cortex of A1 and A2 than A3 and A4. These results could facilitate our understanding of language development of ASD and reconsider the role of specific interests (especially visual stimuli) played in the brain functional development of ASD.