Brainstem auditory evoked potential study in children with autistic disorder

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials were compared in 109 children with infantile autism, 38 with autistic condition, 19 with mental retardation, and 20 normal children. Children with infantile autism or autistic condition had significantly longer brainstem transmission time than normal (p<.001). Autistic features, rather than age, sex, or lower mentality, correlated with brainstem transmission time (p<.0001). The autistic characteristics may be related to dysfunction of the brainstem which affects the processing of the sensory input through the auditory pathway. The brainstem lesion may be part of a generalized process of neurological damage that accounts for the deviant language, cognitive, and social development in the spectrum of autistic disorder.We thank R. Ko and F. Pun for their scretarial assistance.