A Multi-method Analysis of Intersensory Perception of Social Information in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

A Multi-method Analysis of Intersensory Perception of Social Information in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Lisa Hancock Alli
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The present study investigated the intersensory processing deficit for social stimuli in individuals with ASD compared to age- and cognitive-ability matched typically developing peers. This deficit was theorized to account (at least partially) for cascading impairments in attention and autism symptomatology across development. The primary goal was to isolate the social and linguistic properties of intersensory (audio-visual) processing using a manipulation of temporal synchrony. In Study One, a multi-method analysis of looking time and proportion of efficient gaze patterns using eye-tracking data from a behavioural task was used. Results provided evidence of a difference in intersensory processing specifically for social stimuli in children with ASD that does not appear to be solely attributable to a deficit in processing faces, language, or body movement. The secondary goal of the project was to provide a better understanding of variables that impact and are impacted by intersensory processing. In Study Two the strength and direction of the relationship between intersensory processing and developmental, diagnostic, and attention variables was assessed. Results showed that impaired intersensory processing for social information appears to be associated with cascading consequences across development including some of the core impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: disrupted sensory processing, social-communication disability, and slower attentional disengagement. In summary, results of Study One and Study Two are best understood as a specific cognitive-perceptual deficit in social orienting and are consistent with the Intersensory Redundency Hypothesis. The observed intersensory processing differences between groups may be impacted by dysfunctional intersensory integration wherein the most general amodal property, temporal synchrony, is misprocessed at early stages, disrupting selective attention and early social orienting. This impairment impacts the cascading cycle of perception, learning, memory, attention and so on and contributes to core sensory and social-communication impairments associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

A Multi-method Analysis of Intersensory Perception of Social Information in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

A Multi-method Analysis of Intersensory Perception of Social Information in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Lisa Hancock Alli
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The present study investigated the intersensory processing deficit for social stimuli in individuals with ASD compared to age- and cognitive-ability matched typically developing peers. This deficit was theorized to account (at least partially) for cascading impairments in attention and autism symptomatology across development. The primary goal was to isolate the social and linguistic properties of intersensory (audio-visual) processing using a manipulation of temporal synchrony. In Study One, a multi-method analysis of looking time and proportion of efficient gaze patterns using eye-tracking data from a behavioural task was used. Results provided evidence of a difference in intersensory processing specifically for social stimuli in children with ASD that does not appear to be solely attributable to a deficit in processing faces, language, or body movement. The secondary goal of the project was to provide a better understanding of variables that impact and are impacted by intersensory processing. In Study Two the strength and direction of the relationship between intersensory processing and developmental, diagnostic, and attention variables was assessed. Results showed that impaired intersensory processing for social information appears to be associated with cascading consequences across development including some of the core impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: disrupted sensory processing, social-communication disability, and slower attentional disengagement. In summary, results of Study One and Study Two are best understood as a specific cognitive-perceptual deficit in social orienting and are consistent with the Intersensory Redundency Hypothesis. The observed intersensory processing differences between groups may be impacted by dysfunctional intersensory integration wherein the most general amodal property, temporal synchrony, is misprocessed at early stages, disrupting selective attention and early social orienting. This impairment impacts the cascading cycle of perception, learning, memory, attention and so on and contributes to core sensory and social-communication impairments associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Social Timing in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Social Timing in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Anne-Katrin Muth
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668951268
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Psychology - Developmental Psychology, University of Wales, Bangor, language: English, abstract: The emphasis of this study is on social timing during parent-child interaction in a real-life environment in preschoolers with ASD. As an additional feature, the children and adults in this sample received Musical Intervention Therapy (MIT) in North Wales in the United Kingdom (UK). This allows comparison of interaction with music (hereafter referred to as 'Music') and without music ('Interaction') within an MIT setting. Timing plays a vital role in communication. It allows perception and coordination of communication tools such as speech, facial expressions, and body language. For example, neurotypical individuals naturally sense when it is their turn to speak, and use pauses to emphasise or alter the meaning of what they are trying to convey. When timing is optimal and communication flows evenly, people remain largely unaware of its importance. On the contrary, erratic timing is noticed immediately. For example, when the audio or video transmission during a Skype-conversation lags behind, one can still carry on with his or her conversation but it becomes harder to read social cues and communication becomes tedious. Scholars refer to this type of timing as 'social timing'. Its role is to structure and organise the timing of verbal and non-verbal communication tools. Social timing is further split into the temporal organisation of our own body language and speech ('intrapersonal') and that between self and other ('interpersonal'). Social timing in parent-infant interaction plays a key role for long-term development of communication and social skills. The pioneers of developmental social timing studies focused on describing rhythmicity of pre-verbal communication in the 1970s. A decade later, advances in statistical methods allowed examination of intra- and interpersonal timing, which can be cyclical and synchronous respectively.

Age-related Perceptual Changes in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Age-related Perceptual Changes in Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Jacalyn Guy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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"This thesis examines the development of visual perception in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with a specific focus on local and global processes. The current perceptual profile in ASD is characterized by a unique set of strengths and weaknesses in visual information processing at lower and higher-levels. These are generally described by strengths in processing lower-level, detailed information of a non-social nature and weaknesses in processing higher-level, global information of a social nature. Two issues limit the current understanding of this profile; a developmental perspective is lacking and associations across levels of lower- and higher-levels of processing are unclear. The studies presented here have charted, for the first time, cross-sectional developmental trajectories of lower- and higher-level visual perception for both social and non-social information. These studies were motivated by empirically driven questions and based on findings in adults with ASD, which have suggested that enhanced perception of detailed information occurs at lower-levels of processing (Kéïta, Guy, Berthiaume, Mottron, & Bertone, 2014) and may impact upon social perception at higher-levels (Morin et al., 2015). Participants with ASD and typically-developing (TD) comparisons aged 6 to 16 years completed behavioural tasks assessing lower- and higher-level, social and non-social visual perception, particularly in terms of local and global processing. These included spatial frequency, visuo-spatial (i.e., Navon task), and facial identity discrimination tasks. Results revealed that children and adolescents with ASD process local and global aspects of non-social information somewhat differently than TD comparisons at lower- and higher-levels (i.e., spatial frequency and Navon tasks). The strongest result was that local information interfered with the processing of global information in participants with ASD, specifically for higher-level, non-social information (i.e., Navon task). Moreover, the trajectories of local and global performances across levels of processing and type of information collectively indicated that adolescence is likely an important period of transition in visual perception in ASD. This was especially evident for lower-level, non-social and higher-level, social information (i.e., spatial frequency and face identity discrimination tasks, respectively).Associations across task performance provide preliminary evidence that enhanced processing of detailed information at lower-levels of processing influences non-social perception at higher-levels. Further to this, associations within higher-levels of processing suggest that the influence of local information may similarly interfere or distract with how social and non-social information is processed. These findings reveal complex relationships between local and global processes, suggesting that alterations in the "building blocks" of perception may relate to atypical, higher-order cognitive and social processes in ASD. These findings advance the notion that the atypical processing of sensory information may explain, in part, some of the social difficulties fundamental to ASD. They further highlight the importance of cross-level and cross-task comparisons of perceptual processes within a developmental framework, and support calls for a comprehensive understanding of how adult outcomes are achieved. " --

Atypical Intrinsic Functional Connectivity of the Core Face Perception System in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Atypical Intrinsic Functional Connectivity of the Core Face Perception System in Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 49

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Book Description
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit deficits in sociocommunicative behaviors, including face perception. Face perception deficits in ASD include, but are not limited to, avoidance of looking at faces, reduced sensitivity to emotional expression in faces, and impairment in face recognition and discrimination. Given the importance of face perception to social interactions, a core domain of impairment in ASD, this study examined intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) of the core face perception system, a collection of brain regions preferentially activated in response to faces, in children and adolescents with ASD. Resting-state fMRI data were available for 50 children and adolescents with ASD between 7 and 17 years old and 50 typical developing children and adolescents matched on age, gender, handedness, non-verbal IQ, and in-scanner head motion. These data underwent a standard fMRI preprocessing pipeline, including slice-time and motion correction, field-map correction, bandpass filtering, and removal of nuisance regressors. Whole-brain iFC of the core face perception system was examined with bilateral fusiform face area (FFA), occipital face area, and posterior superior temporal sulcus as seeds. Pearson's correlation and canonical correlation analysis were employed to examine the clinical relevance of between-group (ASD vs. TD) iFC differences. Relative to the typically developing control group, participants with ASD showed overconnectivity between rFFA and the default mode network (DMN) as well as underconnectivity between rFFA and the salience network (SN). An anticorrelation between the degree of overconnectivity between rFFA and DMN and the degree of underconnectivity between rFFA and SN was also identified, indicating that the observed rFFA-DMN overconnectivity was accompanied by rFFA-SN underconnectivity. The degree of rFFA-SN underconnectivity was linked to ASD social communication symptoms, suggesting that reduced communication between face perception regions and SN may be linked to inefficient propagation of facial information when faces are perceived, contributing to social communication deficits in ASD. In summary, the present study shows that in ASD the core face perception system is atypically connected with the SN, suggesting that faces may be less salient for children and adolescents with ASD and the reduced subjective salience of faces may be linked to ASD social communication impairments.

Social-information Processing and Experiences with Victimization in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Social-information Processing and Experiences with Victimization in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Jessica Helene Schroeder
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Several researchers have found that peer victimization is more frequent in those with ASD, yet few studies have examined the underlying social cognitive mechanisms involved. Crick and Dodge's (1994) social-information processing (SIP) model has been used to examine bullying in aggressive populations and has more recently been applied to difficulties with social interaction more broadly. The model consists of six steps that operate in a circular manner, from the encoding of social cues, to the behavioural enactment of a selected response. Only two studies have examined the SIP model with those with ASD and have found differences in encoding and assertive response selection in those with ASD. The current study is the first to examine victimization and SIP together in those with ASD. Further, this study is the first to include eye-tracking methodology to gain further insight into the encoding stage of processing. Twenty-four children with typical development aged 6-17 were compared with 24 children with high-functioning ASD. Those with ASD are more likely to experience victimization, according to parent report, across all types of bullying. The ASD group had a lower proportion of looking time to faces, during the ambiguous social exclusion video. Several social-information processing differences were also noted: those with ASD made more encoding errors, fewer assertive responses, and more passive responses (for a hostile social exclusion video only). Encoding errors were significantly correlated with victimization, but only in the ASD group. Some areas of similarity were also found across groups. Few participants in either group generated aggressive solutions. The groups were generally equivalent in their propensity to make hostile attributions and in the number of responses generated. The proportion of looking time was significantly related to victimization, assertive and passive responses across the entire sample for some of the videos. These potential processing differences may have cascading effects on the ability of those with ASD to effectively manage social interactions. Theoretical and clinical implications are examined and future research directions are suggested.

Theory of Mind Testing in Autistic and Typically Developing Children

Theory of Mind Testing in Autistic and Typically Developing Children PDF Author: Patrick Kimuyu
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668690839
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 18

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Medicine - Pediatrics, grade: 1, Egerton University, language: English, abstract: The theory of mind has emerged as a philosophical approach with an exceptional social importance. It explains social interactions amongst humans in daily engagements including maintaining emotional intimacy, influencing peers, and acquiring information. That level of significance explains why the theory has attracted extensive research attention over the past few decades. Ultimately, traditional research on the theory of mind has revealed the key underpinnings related to the paradigm. It has provided plausible reasons why the theory is essential in constructing mentalistic explanations for human behavior in typically developing individuals. From another perspective, the principle of the theory of mind appears to be of paramount significance for social functioning among clinical populations who experience challenges in social interaction. It is useful in explaining complex behaviors that are expressed by individuals with traumatic brain injury, autism spectrum disorders, and schizophrenia. To examine the theory of mind, researchers have developed several methods, which are based on single task measurements using comprehensive instruments. However, theorists continue to give conflicting perspectives towards the aspects linked to the theory of mind such as evidence for earlier abilities, task manipulation of the onset of the theory of mind, and integrity of false-belief tasks. Therefore, this discussion seeks to provide a focused critical analysis of the research methods used to examine the theory of mind, as well as the findings of research in relation to the theory of mind in both typically developing children and those with autism.

Neural Correlates of Social Perception in Children and Adolescents with Autism-Spectrum Disorder

Neural Correlates of Social Perception in Children and Adolescents with Autism-Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Christina Luckhardt
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Advances in Social Cognition Assessment and Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Advances in Social Cognition Assessment and Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Soumeyya Halayem
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2832501699
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Multisensory Integration of Low-level, Non-social Information in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Multisensory Integration of Low-level, Non-social Information in Autism Spectrum Disorder PDF Author: Vanessa Bao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"In addition to difficulties regarding social communication and interaction, sensory abnormalities are present in the majority of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and this characteristic feature is part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD. Given the observed abnormalities in sensory reactivity, processing and perception, it has been suggested that the ability to integrate sensory information may be altered in ASD. Specifically, the ability to integrate information from more than one sensory modality at once, or Multisensory Integration (MSI) has been identified as potentially disrupted in ASD. In fact, altered MSI is thought to contribute to core behavioural features of ASD. Although this area of research in the field of ASD has gained some momentum, much of the evidence for altered MSI comes from studies that use socio-communicative stimuli (i.e., faces and voices). The current dissertation proposed to address this issue by evaluating MSI using 2 tasks void of socio-communicative content in order to remove the confounding effects of social stimuli on interpreting MSI data. Another goal was to broaden the age range investigated by including adults and adolescents in the two studies. In Study 1, the ability to integrate auditory and visual information was evaluated in adults and adolescents with (n=20) and without ASD (n=20) using the Flash-Beep Illusion task. Both the ASD and the Typically-Developing (TD) groups were shown to have similar susceptibility to the fission illusion. However, the ASD group was significantly more susceptible to the fusion illusion. Results suggest that individuals with ASD show evidence of MSI on the flash-beep illusion task but that their integration of audiovisual sensory information may be more dependent on temporal factors and less selective than for TD individuals. In a second study (Study 2), multisensory facilitation of simple lower-level stimuli was evaluated in adolescents and adults with (n=20) and without ASD (n=19) using a reaction time (RT) paradigm. Reaction time in response to visual-only, auditory-only and multisensory audiovisual trials was compared in both groups. The race model analysis indicated that the race model violation occurred only for the TD group, not the ASD group. In other words, the ASD group did not demonstrate significant multisensory facilitation during the reaction time task whereas the TD group did. These results suggest that MSI is altered in ASD, even for information void of social content or complexity. Individuals with ASD may not benefit from the advantage conferred by multisensory stimulation to the same extent as TD individuals.These findings, taken together provide support for the hypothesis that MSI is altered in ASD and that this alteration may be, at least in part, driving some of the socio-communicative deficits and restricted or repetitive behaviours and interests in ASD. The results are interpreted within the context of cognitive theories of ASD, and future directions for research and intervention are proposed in light of these findings." --

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism Spectrum Disorders PDF Author: Andreas M. Grabrucker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Book Description
Autism spectrum disorders are developmental disorders. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders develop differently. These differences are usually present in social interaction, communication, and sensory processing, and become visible through a wide variety of behavioral responses that differ from individuals without autism spectrum disorders. Despite significant research efforts, the exact causes of autism spectrum disorders remain poorly understood; however, researchers have gained extensive insights into possible pathomechanisms, even at the molecular level of cells. Many diagnostic criteria have been developed, adapted, and improved. The eight chapters in this book highlight the current state-of-the-art in many areas of autism spectrum disorders. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders and the current knowledge of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Chapter 2 summarizes the diagnostic criteria and procedures and highlights present and upcoming therapeutic strategies. Chapter 3 reviews the adverse events and trauma in people with autism spectrum disorders. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on atypical sensory processing, and Chapter 6 discusses the genetic overlap of autism spectrum disorders with other neuropsychiatric disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and schizophrenia. Chapter 7 focuses on the contribution of abnormalities in mitochondria, and chapter 8 discusses gut-brain interactions and a potential role for microbiota in autism spectrum disorders. This book is aimed primarily at clinicians and scientists, but many areas will also be of interest to the layperson.