Returning to the broad frequency bands identified in the current study, the complex coherence patterns outlined by the factor loadings may serve to identify important 'damped' processing circuit characteristics within the ASD-brain. Factor 15 may reflect reduced connectivity in an important cortical auditory processing circuit. Although it peaks at 24 Hz, there is very little change in Factor 15 loading patterns across a wide pass band from 12-30 Hz - the pattern of a putative low Q, wide bandwidth, heavily damped system. It may be unusually difficult for this circuit to be driven into action by external stimulation, such as speech input. One might speculate that the typical lack of response to verbal input in autism may reflect not the absence of needed cortical circuitry but a poorly responding, low Q circuit response of language cortex that is postulated to be overly damped. The autistic auditory cortex may act more like the coffee mug than the crystal goblet. One might further speculate that there may be intrinsic biological factors in the autistic brain that dampen, inhibit or otherwise limit responsiveness in general, given the overall wide spectral ranges and predominant decrease of connectivity that characterize the coherence factor loading patterns.
