Mismatch Negativity is associated with affective social behavior in microcephaly

Int J Psychophysiol. 2022 Oct:180:10-16. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.07.004. Epub 2022 Jul 19.

Abstract

Some children with severe microcephaly related to Zika virus infection show affective social-like behavior, such as smiling and rejection to a stranger's lap. Our objective was to check the association between this behavior and the occurrence of Mismatch Response (MMR) in event-related potentials. Twenty eight microcephalic children, aged 1-3 years, were divided in Affect(+) and Affect(-) groups, according to either the presence or absence of affective social-like behavior, respectively, and underwent the OddBall paradigm with vowels as auditory stimuli. MMR was statistically estimated comparing MMR sample means between both groups. The Affect(+) group significantly differed from the Affect(-) group and, as opposed to the latter, showed MMR as Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in the left occipital, left and right posterior temporal, and (especially) the right and median parietal leads. The relationship observed between MMN and affective social-like behavior suggests that these children may have cognitive mechanisms capable of providing some social interaction, despite their profound neurological dysfunction. MMN diagnostic techniques seem to be promising for the triage of microcephalic subjects regarding cognitive functions and for choosing a strategy for some social adaptation.

Keywords: Affective social-like behavior; Calcifications in the brain; Microcephaly; Mismatch Negativity; Zika virus infection.

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Child
  • Electroencephalography / methods
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology
  • Evoked Potentials, Auditory / physiology
  • Humans
  • Microcephaly*
  • Social Behavior
  • Zika Virus Infection*
  • Zika Virus*