A number of authors have suggested that neural noise may be increased in individuals with ASD or that increased levels of noise may contribute to reduced cognitive task performance in those with ASD (e.g., Rubenstein and Merzenich, 2003; Baron-Cohen and Belmonte, 2005; Dakin and Frith, 2005; Simmons et al., 2009). In particular some have suggested cortical hyper-excitation especially in primary sensory cortices, which would lead to increased cortical noise in ASD (Rubenstein and Merzenich, 2003). However, as yet, there is no direct evidence for greater neural noise in those with ASD. Increased neural noise would be evidenced by increased variability across individual trials of EEG, therefore the aim of this study is to compare variability in single-trial EEG in a group of children / adolescents with ASD with a group of TD matched controls.
