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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
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Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Increased sensitivity to mirror symmetry in autism
Audrey Perreault1, Rick Gurnsey, Michelle Dawson
1Perceptual Neuroscience Lab for Autism and Development, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Plos One
|May 12, 2011
Summary
Autistic individuals show enhanced visual symmetry detection, suggesting they can integrate local and global visual information effectively. This challenges the notion that autistic people exclusively focus on details, not the bigger picture.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Visual perception
Background:
- Uncertainty exists regarding global processing in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Understanding how autistic individuals process visual information is crucial for grasping their unique perception.
- Investigating visual grouping in autism sheds light on spatial pattern recognition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine visual grouping and symmetry detection in autistic individuals.
- To determine if autistic people can integrate local stimulus attributes into global patterns.
- To explore the role of global processing in autism.
Main Methods:
- Sensitivity to mirror symmetry was measured in autistic and non-autistic participants.
- Participants detected symmetry along vertical, oblique, and horizontal axes.
- Visual stimuli were presented with randomly oriented axes.
Main Results:
- Both groups performed best with vertical symmetry.
- Autistic individuals demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity to symmetry across all orientations.
- This suggests enhanced ability to extract regularities from visual input.
Conclusions:
- Autistic individuals may possess an advantage in visual symmetry detection.
- Under certain conditions, autistic individuals can effectively integrate local and global visual information.
- Findings suggest autistic perception can sometimes encompass both "forest" and "trees" effectively.
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