Atypical sensory reactivities are pervasive among people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With respect to olfaction, most previous studies have used psychophysical or questionnaire-based methodologies; thus, the neural basis of olfactory processing in ASD remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the stages of olfactory processing that are altered in ASD. Fourteen young adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age, 21 years; 3 females) were compared with 19 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls (mean age, 21 years; 4 females). Olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) for 2-phenylethyl alcohol-a rose-like odor-were measured with 64 scalp electrodes while participants performed a simple odor detection task. Significant group differences in OERPs were found in 3 time windows 542 ms after the stimulus onset. The cortical source activities in these time windows, estimated using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography, were significantly higher in ASD than in TD in and around the posterior cingulate cortex, which is known to play a crucial role in modality-general cognitive processing. Supplemental Bayesian analysis provided substantial evidence for an alteration in the later stages of olfactory processing, whereas conclusive evidence was not provided for the earlier stages. These results suggest that olfactory processing in ASD is altered at least at the later, modality-general processing stage.

中文翻译：

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自闭症谱系障碍患者在嗅觉处理的后期表现出与事件相关的电位改变。

非典型的感觉反应普遍存在于自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）患者中。关于嗅觉，以前的大多数研究都使用心理或基于问卷的方法。因此，ASD嗅觉处理的神经基础仍然不清楚。这项研究旨在确定在ASD中改变的嗅觉处理阶段。将14名具有高功能ASD的年轻人（平均年龄，21岁； 3名女性）与19个年龄相匹配的典型发展中（TD）对照（平均年龄，21岁； 4名女性）进行了比较。在参与者执行简单的气味检测任务时，使用64个头皮电极测量了2-苯基乙醇（一种类似玫瑰的气味）的嗅觉事件相关电位（OERPs）。在刺激发作后的542毫秒的3个时间窗口中，发现OERP的显着组差异。使用标准的低分辨率脑电磁层析成像技术估算的这些时间窗口中的皮质源活动在后扣带回皮层及其周围地区的ASD中显着高于TD，这在模态-一般性认知加工中起着至关重要的作用。补充贝叶斯分析为嗅觉处理后期阶段的改变提供了实质性证据，而早期阶段没有提供确凿的证据。这些结果表明，ASD中的嗅觉处理至少在以后的模态一般处理阶段发生了变化。众所周知，它在模态通用认知加工中起着至关重要的作用。补充贝叶斯分析为嗅觉处理后期阶段的改变提供了实质性证据，而早期阶段没有提供确凿的证据。这些结果表明，ASD中的嗅觉处理至少在以后的模态一般处理阶段发生了变化。众所周知，它在模态通用认知加工中起着至关重要的作用。补充贝叶斯分析为嗅觉处理后期阶段的改变提供了实质性证据，而早期阶段没有提供确凿的证据。这些结果表明，ASD中的嗅觉处理至少在以后的模态一般处理阶段发生了变化。