American Journal for Young Scientists · ISSN 3068-9015
Atypical Brain Wave Distributions and Their Relationship to Social Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Bhavya Dwivedi
Published: October 2, 2026
Category: Computational Neuroscience
Abstract
In the human brain, neurons are fired constantly throughout actions. The neurons being fired generate electricity, which can be recorded as brain waves. Different brain waves are associated with different types of activities that we perform. This research attempts to compare the activation states for Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Theta waves of two subjects: one with a typical brain, and one who has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The research intends to observe the patterns as the subjects perform conditions of sitting still and focused activity (watching TV). Mind Monitor, MATLAB, and EEGLAB were used to capture, analyze, and plot the brain waves. I expected to observe differences in brain wave activation between the neurotypical and the autistic brain. The results quantified clear spectral power differences between the two participants across conditions. During the baseline resting state, Subject A (ASD) demonstrated a mean peak overall power of 33.0 ± 1.5 dB, compared to 24.0 ± 1.2 dB in Subject B (neurotypical), representing a baseline power elevation of 9.0 dB in the ASD subject. Transitioning to the focused activity state induced distinct dynamic range shifts: Subject B exhibited a +8.0 dB increase in peak power to 32.0 ± 1.4 dB, whereas Subject A maintained a consistently high peak power of 29.0 ± 1.3 dB (a −4.0 dB shift relative to rest). These findings quantify a reduced dynamic range modulation between resting and task-engaged neural activation in the autistic brain.