Autistic Traits Differently Account for Context-Based Predictions of Physical and Social Events.

Valentina Bianco,Cosimo Urgesi,Sonia Betti,Alessandra Finisguerra,Giulia D'Argenio

doi:10.3390/brainsci10070418

Valentina Bianco, Cosimo Urgesi + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci10070418

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Abstract

Autism is associated with difficulties in making predictions based on contextual cues. Here, we investigated whether the distribution of autistic traits in the general population, as measured through the Autistic Quotient (AQ), is associated with alterations of context-based predictions of social and non-social stimuli. Seventy-eight healthy participants performed a social task, requiring the prediction of the unfolding of an action as interpersonal (e.g., to give) or individual (e.g., to eat), and a non-social task, requiring the prediction of the appearance of a moving shape as a short (e.g., square) or a long (e.g., rectangle) figure. Both tasks consisted of (i) a familiarization phase, in which the association between each stimulus type and a contextual cue was manipulated with different probabilities of co-occurrence, and (ii) a testing phase, in which visual information was impoverished by early occlusion of video display, thus forcing participants to rely on previously learned context-based associations. Findings showed that the prediction of both social and non-social stimuli was facilitated when embedded in high-probability contexts. However, only the contextual modulation of non-social predictions was reduced in individuals with lower ‘Attention switching’ abilities. The results provide evidence for an association between weaker context-based expectations of non-social events and higher autistic traits.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consists of a range of neurodevelopment conditions characterized by deficits in reciprocal social behavior and communication, as well as by restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests, which are present in the early developmental period [1]
Post-hoc comparisons revealed that d’ values were lower for the 10% than the 40%, 60% and 90% conditions, suggesting a decreased sensitivity in target discrimination under low predictability based on the contextual cues
In keeping with the first hypothesis, we showed that behavioral performance in predicting action and shape unfolding was significantly influenced by the strength of the contextual priors: the more the probabilities of co-occurrence of a contextual cue and a given event, the more participants were accurate in performing the tasks

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consists of a range of neurodevelopment conditions characterized by deficits in reciprocal social behavior and communication, as well as by restrictive and repetitive behaviors and interests, which are present in the early developmental period [1]. Beside the other manifestations of this disorder, including social withdrawal and isolation [2], the presence of sensory abnormalities [3] and difficulties in mentalizing processes [4], it has been repeatedly shown that individuals with ASD struggle with making predictions or with deciding what to pay attention to on the basis of prior expectations about the sensory world [5]. This difficulty is further amplified when people are involved in social situations, where unpredictable interactions could take place. Dealing with social interactions in an effective way often requires the ability to anticipate others’ behavior, predicting their intentions from observing their movements. May be ambiguous in many (if not most) social situations [8,9]. A social observer needs to integrate this sensory evidence with knowledge of past experiences aiming at the same goal or with contextual cues facilitating action prediction [10,11,12,13,14,15,16]

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