Executive function is affected in autism spectrum disorder, but does not correlate with intelligence

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Executive function studies in autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability (ASD-WID) yield contradictory results.
• This study investigates a broad spectrum of executive functioning domains in children and adolescents with ASD-WID.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare executive functioning in children and adolescents with ASD-WID against age-, sex-, and IQ-matched healthy controls.
• To identify specific cognitive deficits in ASD-WID.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 24 participants with ASD-WID (mean age 12.8 years, 23 males, mean IQ 99.2) and 32 healthy controls (mean age 12.9 years, 30 males, mean IQ 106.8).
• Assessed multiple executive functioning domains including attention, working memory, mental flexibility, inhibitory control, and problem-solving.

Main Results:

• Significant differences were observed across all assessed cognitive domains, with healthy controls outperforming the ASD-WID group.
• ASD-WID participants demonstrated poorer performance in attention (D=0.90), working memory (D=0.72), mental flexibility (D=0.67), inhibitory control (D=0.71), and problem-solving (D=0.62).
• These differences remained significant even after controlling for IQ.

Conclusions:

• Children and adolescents with ASD-WID exhibit significant executive functioning difficulties, including challenges with verbal information manipulation, attention, response inhibition, and problem-solving, irrespective of IQ.
• The study recommends comprehensive interventions addressing non-social cognitive difficulties associated with executive function deficits in ASD-WID.