The neural mechanisms behind autism: Altered sensory processing of communication signals

Voice processing is an evolutionary preserved process. Voice-specific responses are already present in utero and voice-specific brain responses develop early in human life—even before birth, the fetus reacts to the mother's voice differently than to a stranger's voice. In autism, altered voice perception such as a lack of preference for the mother's voice can already be observed in early infancy. Also later in life, alterations in voice processing, such as difficulties in recognizing another person's identity or emotion by voice or recognizing speech in noisy environments are prominent in autistic perception.