Low endogenous neural noise in autism.

Davis et al. (2015) wrote a theory paper. They asked: what if autism traits come from too little brain noise?

The team reviewed brain and behavior data. They argued that quiet neural circuits boost detail detection but drop the fuzzy chatter that helps flexible thinking.

The paper claims autism is marked by low endogenous neural noise. Less random brain activity helps people spot tiny changes in sounds or pictures.

The same quietness hurts when the brain needs to shift sets or guess in uncertain social scenes. Strength and rigidity come from the same low-noise source.

Emerson et al. (2023) tracked peak alpha frequency in autistic kids. Typical children raise this marker with age; autistic kids do not. Their data extend the low-noise idea by showing a different brain maturation path.

Wagner et al. (2025) found nine-month-old high-likelihood siblings show weak speech responses. These early damped signals fit the low-noise story before diagnosis.

Older ERP work seems to clash but does not. Hogg et al. (1995) and Barthelemy et al. (1989) report normal or blunted early auditory peaks. Those stages live in brainstem and mid-latency pathways. Greg’s theory targets later cortical noise, so the papers describe different stops on the same auditory road.

If a client hears tiny pitch shifts others miss, do not assume hyper-acuity is purely sensory. It may reflect low neural noise. Use clear, consistent cues and give extra wait time when you need the child to shift rules. Pair sharp task cues with visual supports to offset reduced flexible background chatter.