The Relationship between Retained Primitive Reflexes and Hemispheric
Connectivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Abstract
Objective: The study assessed autistic spectrum disordered (ASD)
children and adults all possessing retained primitive reflexes compared
with a control group that did not. Methods: qEEG spectral and qEEG
functional connectivity analysis was performed. An examination was
performed for the presence or absence of RPRs, before and after an
intervention based on TENS unilateral stimulation. Results: The results
support long-range under-connectivity and short-range over-connectivity
in ASD, with abnormal lateralization in ASD, specifically an elevated
left-over-right qEEG functional connectivity ratio. Conclusion: We
hypothesize, based on these findings, that ASD is characterized by a
general tendency toward an underexpression of low-band, wide-spread
integrative processes that are compensated by more localized,
high-frequency, regionally dispersed activity. Clinical improvement and
the absence of RPRs may be linked to variations in qEEG frequency bands
and a more optimized brain networks, resulting in more developmentally
appropriate long-range connectivity links, primarily in the right
hemisphere. Significance: Clinical improvement and the disappearance of
RPRs may be associated with a new balance in qEEG frequency bands and a
more optimized organization of the brain networks, improving long-range
connectivities, mainly in the right hemisphere.