Phonological processing in first-degree relatives of individuals with autism: an fMRI study.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Twin studies have provided heritability estimates as high as 90% for idiopathic ASD. Further evidence for the spectrum's heritability is provided by the presence of the broad autism phenotype (BAP) in unaffected first-degree relatives.

Abnormal gamma and beta MEG activity during finger movements in early-onset psychosis.

Patients with psychosis often exhibit abnormalities in basic motor control, but little is known about the neural basis of these deficits. This study examines the neuro-dynamics of movement using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in adolescents with early-onset psychosis and typically developing controls. MEG data were imaged using beamforming then evaluated for task and group effects before, during, and after movement onsets.

Implicit phonological priming during visual word recognition.

Phonology is a lower-level structural aspect of language involving the sounds of a language and their organization in that language. Numerous behavioral studies utilizing priming, which refers to an increased sensitivity to a stimulus following prior experience with that or a related stimulus, have provided evidence for the role of phonology in visual word recognition. However, most language studies utilizing priming in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have focused on lexical-semantic aspects of language processing.

An extended motor network generates beta and gamma oscillatory perturbations during development.

This study examines the time course and neural generators of oscillatory beta and gamma motor responses in typically-developing children. Participants completed a unilateral flexion-extension task using each index finger as whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) data were acquired. These MEG data were imaged in the frequency-domain using spatial filtering and the resulting event-related synchronizations and desynchronizations (ERS/ERD) were subjected to voxel-wise statistical analyses to illuminate time-frequency specific activation patterns.

Aberrant high-frequency desynchronization of cerebellar cortices in early-onset psychosis.

Sensorimotor integration deficits are routinely observed in both schizophreniform and mood-disordered psychoses. Neurobiological theories of schizophrenia and related psychoses have proposed that aberrations in large-scale cortico-thalamic-cerebellar-thalamic-cortical loops may underlie integration abnormalities, and that such dysfunctional connectivity may be central to the pathophysiology. In this study, we utilized a basic mechanoreception task to probe cortical-cerebellar circuitry in early-onset psychosis.

Neuromagnetic evidence of broader auditory cortical tuning in schizophrenia.

Deficits in basic auditory perception have been described in schizophrenia. Previous electrophysiological imaging research has documented a structure-function disassociation in the auditory system and altered tonotopic mapping in schizophrenia. The present study examined auditory cortical tuning in patients with schizophrenia.