Subject-performed task effect on working memory performance in children with autism spectrum disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate enhanced recall via the subject-performed task (SPT) effect compared to verbal tasks (VT).
• The underlying mechanisms of the SPT effect in ASD, specifically the role of motor components versus dual processing, remain unclear.
• The influence of varying intelligence levels on the SPT effect in ASD requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if the SPT effect in ASD children stems from the motor component or from processing information twice.
• To investigate the impact of different intelligence levels on the magnitude of the SPT effect in ASD.
• To compare the SPT effect in ASD children with low intelligence to that in children with intellectual disability (ID) and equivalent low intelligence.

Main Methods:

• Working memory tasks were administered to ASD children across three intelligence levels (N=56) and a control group of ID children (N=21).
• Tasks included verbal task (VT), subject-performed task (SPT), and repeated (hearing instructions twice) conditions.
• Performance differences across conditions and intelligence levels were analyzed.

Main Results:

• No significant performance difference was found between VT and repeated conditions across all intelligence levels.
• ASD children with lower-middle and upper-middle intelligence exhibited a notable SPT effect.
• ASD children with low intelligence did not show the SPT effect, whereas ID children with similar low intelligence did.

Conclusions:

• The SPT effect in ASD children is primarily attributed to the motor component of performing actions, not to processing instructions twice.
• The presence and magnitude of the SPT effect in ASD are uniquely associated with specific intelligence levels (lower-middle and higher).
• The motoric code generated by physical performance is crucial for the working memory benefit observed in ASD children with adequate intelligence.