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Implicit and explicit memory in autism: is autism an amnesic disorder?
P Renner1, L G Klinger, M R Klinger
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa 35487, USA.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|May 20, 2000
Summary
Children with high-functioning autism show intact explicit and implicit memory, unlike medial temporal lobe amnesia. Their memory recall patterns suggest different organizational strategies in autism spectrum disorder.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Medial temporal lobe amnesic disorder presents a dissociation between impaired explicit memory and intact implicit memory.
- High-functioning autism (HFA) is explored for similar memory dissociations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether children with HFA exhibit the explicit-implicit memory dissociation characteristic of medial temporal lobe amnesia.
- To compare memory abilities in children with autism and neurotypical children.
Main Methods:
- Participants: Children with HFA and typically developing children.
- Memory Tasks: Implicit (perceptual identification) and explicit (recognition, recall) memory assessments.
- Analysis: Comparison of performance across tasks and between groups.
Main Results:
- Children with autism demonstrated intact performance on both implicit and explicit memory tasks.
- Atypical recall pattern observed: participants with autism recalled list items only from the end, not the beginning or end, unlike controls.
- The typical U-shaped curve for recall (primacy and recency effects) was not observed in the autism group.
Conclusions:
- Findings do not support the hypothesis that HFA is a form of medial temporal lobe amnesia.
- Results suggest that individuals with autism may employ distinct encoding or retrieval strategies for memory organization.