Sensory and Multisensory Development

Sensory and Multisensory Development

My research investigates the developmental of unisensory and multisensory processing in typically developing children and children with developmental disorders such as Autism. This research is being carried out in collaboration with Prof J. Foxe (Rochester University) and Prof Sophie Molholm (Albert Einstein College of Medicine).

Sensory Processing

In a recent paper I investigate the theory that children with Autism have an unreliabile neuronal response to sensory stimuli. Out results would suggest that sensory processing is equally reliable for children with Autism and neuro-typical controls. Hence if the Neural Unreliability Thesis much more nuanced and needs further development.


Selected References

J. S. Butler, S. Molholm, G. Andrade, J. J. Foxe, (2017) "An Examination of the Neural Unreliability Thesis of Autism." Cerebral Cortex

G. Andrade, J. S. Butler, G. Peters, S. Molholm, J. J. Foxe, (2016) "Atypical visual and somatosensory adaptation in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders." Translational Psychiatry

T. S. Altschuler, S. Molholm, J. S. Butler, M. R. Mercier, A. B. Brandwein, J. J. Foxe, (2013) "The effort to close the gap: Tracking the development of illusory contour from childhood to adulthood with high-density electrical mapping" Neuroimage, 90, 360-373

Audio Visual Integration

I have been involved in a series of studies investigating sensory (audio and visual) processing and multisensory (audio-visual) processing in children with Autism and Children with Niemann-Pick Type C.


Selected References

G. Andrade, S. Molholm, J. S. Butler, S. Walkley, J. J. Foxe, (2014) "Atypical multisensory integration in Niemann-Pick Type C disease - towards potential biomarkers" Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, 9, 149

Brandwein, J. J. Foxe, J. S. Butler, J. C. Bates, L. Shulman, H.P. Frey, S. Molholm, (2014) "Neurophysiological indices of atypical auditory processing and multisensory integration are associated with symptom severity in autism spectrum disorder." Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Featured in international popular press such as Time Magazine, Washington Post and CBS news

A. Brandwein, J. J. Foxe, J. S. Butler, N. Russo, H. Gomes, T. Altschuler, S. Molholm, (2012) "Multisensory processing in children with Autism: High-density electrical mapping of audio-visual integration." Cerebral Cortex

Collaborators

  • John Foxe (University of Rochester/Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
  • Sophie Molholm (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)
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John S Butler
Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics

My research interests are the application of computational, statistical and numerical methods for basic and translational research in Neuroscience, Neurology and Optometry.