26906
Frontal Interhemispheric Coherence of the Electroencephalogram after Dolphin-Assisted Therapy in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Poster Presentation
Thursday, May 10, 2018: 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Hall Grote Zaal (de Doelen ICC Rotterdam)
F. Mulas1, P. Ortiz1, P. ROCA2, R. Gandia1 and L. Abad3, (1)Child Neurology, INVANEP-Instituto Valenciano de Neurología Pediátrica, VALENCIA, Spain, (2)INVANEP- Instituto Valenciano de Neurologia Pediatrica, VALENCIA, Spain, (3)Centros de Desarrollo Cognitivo RED CENIT, VALENCIA, Spain
Background: Interhemispheric coherence of the electroencephalogram (IHC) show differences between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and typical development children (TD). This fact is congruent with connectivity disorder models in ASD.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the frontal IHC in children with diagnosis of ASD before and after an intervention with dolphin-assisted therapy.

Methods: Frontal IHC was determined in 42 subjects with ASD (4-6 years old) before randomly assigning them to two therapeutic groups, one with dolphins (DAT) and one without dolphins (TIWD). Furthermore, a TD group (20 children) was added to compare the differences with ASD children.

Results: Frontal IHC was significantly lower in TD than ASD children (p<0.001). Alpha frequency in frontal IHC showed a significant reduction in both ASD groups compared to basal measurement (p<0.05 ), whereas this reduction was higher in DAT group (without reaching statistical significance).

Conclusions: Frontal IHC was higher in ASD than in TD children. The dolphin-assisted intervention did not show significant differences between the treated groups.

See more of: Brain Function (fMRI, fcMRI, MRS, EEG, ERP, MEG)
See more of: Brain Function (fMRI, fcMRI, MRS, EEG, ERP, MEG)