The Association Between Sequence Learning on the Serial Reaction Time Task and Social Impairments in Autism

Fenny S Zwart,Joseph H R Maes,Constance Th W M Vissers

doi:10.1007/s10803-018-3529-6

Fenny S Zwart, Joseph H R Maes + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3529-6

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Abstract

It is assumed that learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task is related to learning involved in social skill development affected in autism, but this assumption has hardly been investigated. We have therefore examined associations between SRT task learning and social impairment measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in 72 autistic and non-autistic adults. Results revealed a positive correlation between deterministic sequence learning, putatively involving explicit learning, and social impairment in autistic adults but not in non-autistic adults. No correlations with probabilistic learning were found. These results suggest that the type of learning that helps autistic adults during a deterministic SRT task hinders them during social development, and call for further investigating the ecological validity of the SRT task.

Highlights

Social communication skills are believed to develop largely through implicit, or automatic, learning mechanisms (Lieberman 2000)
The aim of the current paper was to investigate the association between sequence learning on the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task and levels of social impairment related to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in autistic and nonautistic individuals
An indepth discussion of the current SRT task findings in ASD and typical development (TD) falls beyond the scope of the current manuscript, but can be found in Zwart et al 2017b

Summary

Introduction

Social communication skills are believed to develop largely through implicit, or automatic, learning mechanisms (Lieberman 2000). Learning what distance to keep or how to make small talk seems to come natural for most of us, without much explicit effort This does not seem to be the case for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication skills (American Psychiatric Association 2013). This has led to the hypothesis that altered implicit learning mechanisms play a role in the development of ASD-related symptoms.

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