Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were compared to age-matched typically developing controls in the context of phase synchrony statistics acquired through magnetoencephalography. Subjects performed a “low-attention” task, pressing a button to a single, repeated auditory tone, and this was contrasted to an “oddball” task where they were required to button press only to deviant tones. The differences in task outcomes were primarily thought to relate to differences in sensory and executive attention. Regardless of task condition, ASD subjects showed greater magnitudes of synchrony between the parietal hemispheres which variably extended across frequencies. Additionally, for ASD subjects, increases in synchrony from the “low-attention” task to the “oddball” task were observed; whereas an opposite tendency occurred for controls. Furthermore, rates of fluctuation of phase differences showed more stable parietal synchrony within ASD across the hemispheric midline. Implications including the possibility of coordination as an indicator of ASD are discussed.

Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were compared to age-matched typically developing controls in the context of phase synchrony statistics acquired through magnetoencephalography. Subjects performed a “low-attention” task, pressing a button to a single, repeated auditory tone, and this was contrasted to an “oddball” task where they were required to button press only to deviant tones. The differences in task outcomes were primarily thought to relate to differences in sensory and executive attention. Regardless of task condition, ASD subjects showed greater magnitudes of synchrony between the parietal hemispheres which variably extended across frequencies. Additionally, for ASD subjects, increases in synchrony from the “low-attention” task to the “oddball” task were observed; whereas an opposite tendency occurred for controls. Furthermore, rates of fluctuation of phase differences showed more stable parietal synchrony within ASD across the hemispheric midline. Implications including the possibility of coordination as an indicator of ASD are discussed.