Cognitive control in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder: a study with event-related potentials

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Cognitive control is vital for adapting behavior, especially after errors.
• Research on cognitive control in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD) is limited.
• Previous studies in children with ASD suggest deficits in cognitive control and error processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cognitive control and error processing in adults with HF-ASD.
• To compare behavioral and electrophysiological responses between adults with HF-ASD and healthy controls.
• To examine conflict adaptation and post-error adjustments in this population.

Main Methods:

• A modified Eriksen flanker task was administered to 17 adults with HF-ASD and 17 healthy controls.
• Behavioral measures included reaction times and error rates to assess congruency effects, conflict adaptation, and post-error slowing.
• Electrophysiological measures, specifically error-related negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe), were recorded.

Main Results:

• Both groups exhibited congruency effects.
• Healthy controls showed conflict adaptation, but adults with HF-ASD did not.
• Both groups displayed post-error slowing; adults with HF-ASD had enhanced ERN and Pe amplitudes, indicating heightened error processing.

Conclusions:

• Adults with HF-ASD may not upregulate cognitive control during conflict, potentially leading to less flexible behavior.
• Despite lacking conflict adaptation, they demonstrate intact behavioral adjustments after errors.
• Enhanced electrophysiological error processing suggests heightened performance monitoring in adults with HF-ASD.