Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Beyond perception: musical representation and on-line processing in autism
Pamela Heaton1, Kerry Williams, Omar Cummins
1Goldsmiths College, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK. P.Heaton@gold.ac.uk
Abstract:
Whilst findings from experimental studies suggest that perceptual mechanisms underpinning musical cognition are preserved or enhanced in autism, little is known about how higher-level, structural aspects of music are processed. Twenty participants with autism, together with age and intelligence matched controls, completed a musical priming task in which global and local musical contexts were manipulated. The results from the study revealed no between-group differences and showed that both global and local musical contexts influenced participants' congruity judgements. The findings were interpreted within the context of studies showing weakened sensitivity to verbal/semantic information in autism.
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