الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
ASDs comprise a heterogeneous set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by dramatic impairments of interpersonal behavior, communication, and empathy. Recent neuroimaging studies suggested that ASD are disorders characterized by widespread abnormalities involving distributed brain network.Neuroimaging and neurophysiological tests have been increasingly used in an effort to understand the relation between brain functionality and ASD symptoms. QEEG provides a method that can measure the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental disorders. By using spectral analysis and coherence we were able to find abnormalities of brain functionality and connectivity linked to abnormal ASD behaviors.The present study was conducted on 50 ASD children matching DSM-V criteria and 50 typically developing children. 37 ASD boys and 13 ASD girls shared in this study. Their mean age ± SD was 43.5 months. All cases were subjected to thorough history taking and clinical examination with special attention to neurological examination. Severity of ASD individual symptoms was assessed by using CARS. Both cases and controls were subjected to EEG recording and QEEG analysis and interpretation.Our study revealed that:Male predominance in ASD cases as 74% of cases were male, while 26% of cases were females.58% of cases presented with normal EEG readings while 42% of cases presented with abnormal EEG findings, all of which were of the generalized type, yet none of them presented with any clinical seizures.Spectral analysis of ASD cases revealed increased absolute delta power in frontal, anterior temporal, mid-temporal, central and parietal regions, with significant difference than those of cases (p=0.026, 0.16, 0.007, 0.012, 0.047, 0.033, 0.046, 0.007 respectively). The excess delta in these brain regions was linked to affection of the fusiform gyrus that resulted in reduction of facial processing, explaining lack of adequate eye contact in autistic children.Spectral analysis of ASD cases revealed increased absolute alpha power in the prefrontal, frontal, anterior temporal, mid-temporal, central and posterior temporal regions of both hemispheres. (p= 0.039, 0.004, 0.001, <0.001, 0.027, 0.014, 0.049, 0.007, 0.006, 0.008 respectively). The excess in alpha power in the prefrontal and frontal areas has been linked to inattention, impulsivity, and memory deficits. While increased alpha at the temporal region has also been linked to language and communication impairments in ASD children