Quantitative Electroencephalography in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Hamida S. Jasim; Farqad B. Hamdan; Hula R. Shareef

doi:10.18502/acta.v61i8.14904

Hamida S. Jasim Department of Neurology, Al-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital, Al-Diwaniya Health Directorate, Al-Diwaniya, Iraq
Farqad B. Hamdan Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq
Hula R. Shareef Al-Mansour Pediatric Hospital, Medical City, Baghdad, Iraq

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/acta.v61i8.14904

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Childhood autism rating scale; Quantitative electroencephalography

Abstract

The goal of this study is to compare the brain connectivity patterns of autistic patients with those of children who are developing normally and analyzing quantitative electroencephalography in children with autism. The study included 50 children who were developing normally and 60 preschoolers who met the DSM-V criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Routine and quantitative electroencephalography were carried out on each subject, as well as a Childhood Autism Rating Scale. The electroencephalograms of 76.67% of autistic children were normal; 6.67% showed focal changes, and 16.67% showed generalized changes. While the alpha power in the central and temporal areas is significantly lower in autistic children, it is unchanged in the frontal and parieto-occipital regions. Children with autism have significantly higher absolute delta and theta band activity both globally and locally. It was shown that the total and regional absolute delta and theta power activity had a significant positive correlation with the disease severity score. Quantitative electroencephalography is a more effective tool for assessing and diagnosing children with autism spectrum disorder because it shows abnormalities in all autistic children. A correlation exists between the quantitative electroencephalography data and the disease severity score.