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Updated: Jun 8, 2026
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Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Local and global processing in savant artists with autism
Linda Pring1, Nicola Ryder, Laura Crane
1Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK. L.Pring@gold.ac.uk
Perception
|October 15, 2010
Summary
Savant artists with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show enhanced local processing, but motor control is crucial for artistic talent. This study highlights the interplay between perception and action in ASD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with enhanced local processing.
- Artistic talent, particularly in savants, may also involve superior local processing.
- The relationship between local processing, artistic skill, and ASD requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hypothesis that enhanced local processing is characteristic of both art and ASD.
- To compare local and global processing in savant artists with ASD against control groups.
- To determine the role of motor control in artistic talent within the context of ASD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the block-design task and meaningful/abstract versions of the embedded figures test (EFT).
- Compared performance of savant artists with ASD, non-talented individuals with ASD or mild/moderate learning difficulties (MLD), and artistically talented/nontalented students.
- Assessed both perceptual (local) and conceptual (global) processing abilities.
Main Results:
- No significant differences were found between meaningful and abstract EFT versions across groups, indicating primary local processing.
- Savant artists with ASD outperformed ASD and MLD groups on the block-design task but not the EFT.
- The block-design task, an active construction task, showed differences where the passive EFT did not.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced local processing is a component of savant artistic talent in ASD.
- Motor control, involving visual-to-motor output conversion, is a necessary skill alongside local processing for artistic talent.
- The findings suggest a distinction between perceptual and active construction-based local processing in ASD and artistic talent.
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