Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: JOICEANGELA ALVES NASCIMENTO

STUDY OF AUDITORY ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDS OF SHORT LATENCY THROUGH DIFFERENT RATES PRESENTATION IN CHILDREN WITH ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Brain Stem, Evoked Potentials, Auditory;Communication Disorders.

INTRODUCTION: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent and challenging patterns in communication, social interaction, as well as repetitive and restrictive behaviors. Studies show that the brainstem structures that contribute to the processing of auditory information are related to functions such as language, attention and communicative behaviors. There is a direct relationship between the condition of the central nervous system and its response to repetition of stimuli, the more immature and compromised the auditory pathway, the greater the impact of the repetition rate on it. In this way, when nerve fibers are altered, due to damage to their myelination, the size and structure of the neuron axons, neural transmission is prolonged, requiring a longer refractory period and worse performance of the stimulus pathway, resulting in damage to neural synchronism, deformations in wave morphology, changes in latency and amplitude in waves emitted by brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP). OBJECTIVE: To analyze the neural performance of lower brainstem auditory pathways for increasing stimulus presentation rates and correlate the communicative and behavioral profile of children with ASD. METHOD: 21 children with a clinical diagnosis of ASD without defining the level of support, belonging to a reference service in speech therapy for the disorder, will participate in the study. A quantitative analysis will be carried out correlating the variables found in the ABR assessment in children with ASD at increasing rates of presentation of the click stimulus until its saturation rate is found. The electrophysiological variables saturation rate and reproducibility, amplitude, latency, interpeak intervals and interaural differential found for each stimulus presentation rate researched will be characterized and correlated to the age, level of support and communicative and behavioral skills of the participants. RESULTS: It is expected that the neural behavior that presents worse performance for higher click stimulus presentation rates will have a greater correlation of functional impact on the diagnosis and observed communicative and behavioral skills. Therefore, this study aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the brainstem auditory pathways in ASD and its correlations with the clinical findings of this population.