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Visual consciousness dynamics in adults with and without autism
Jan Skerswetat1,2, Peter J Bex3, Simon Baron-Cohen4
1Anglia Vision Research, Department of Vision and Hearing Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. j.skerswetat@northeastern.edu.
Scientific Reports
|March 15, 2022
Summary
Autistic adults showed slower perceptual dynamics in binocular vision tasks compared to neurotypical individuals. This suggests differences in visual processing, potentially linked to excitation/inhibition imbalance and weak central coherence theories.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Autism Research
Background:
- Sensory processing differences are common in autism spectrum disorder.
- Existing theories include weak-central-coherence and excitation/inhibition imbalance.
- Perceptual multi-stability paradigms probe cortical grouping and suppression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test weak-central-coherence and excitation/inhibition imbalance theories in autism.
- To investigate perceptual multi-stability dynamics in autistic and neurotypical adults.
- To analyze differences in Interocular Grouping (IOG) and Conventional Binocular Rivalry (CBR).
Main Methods:
- Utilized perceptual multi-stability paradigms (IOG and CBR).
- Studied 17 autistic adults and 18 neurotypical participants.
- Employed Hidden-Markov-Model analysis for multistable dynamics.
Main Results:
- Autistic individuals exhibited slower perceptual dynamics (longer durations, fewer transitions) than neurotypicals.
- Significant differences were found between groups and paradigms in Markovian transition distributions.
- Autistic participants showed reduced suppression and grouping compared to neurotypicals.
Conclusions:
- Findings support elements of both excitation/inhibition imbalance and weak-central-coherence theories.
- Results highlight distinct cortical processing dynamics in autism.
- Perceptual multi-stability offers insights into sensory differences in autism.
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