Two Faces of a Coin? A Systematic Review of Source Monitoring and Its Relationship with Memory in Autism.

Stefano Damiani,Alberto Donadeo,Pierluigi Politi,Natascia Brondino,Nicola Bassetti,Cecilia Guiot,Marta Nola

doi:10.3390/brainsci11050640

Abstract

The ability to discriminate the origin of stimuli, known as source monitoring, is crucial for self–other distinction and the integration of internally generated and externally generated experiences. Despite its valence, evidence on source monitoring in autism is yet scarce and unclear. We systematically reviewed literature concerning source monitoring in autism and its relationship with other constructs, such as memory type, encoding effects, social cognition, general intelligence, and clinical factors. Source-monitoring performance (operationalized as error or accuracy) was reduced in autistic participants in 9 of the 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria. When explicitly investigated, free-recall memory impairments in autism were shown to influence source monitoring deficits. General intelligence was another important factor linked to source-monitoring performance. Conversely, other memory types or encoding effects were not impaired in autism, and no univocal association could be found with source monitoring. Social cognition and clinical symptoms were rarely assessed in spite of their possible involvement in source monitoring. The heterogeneity of the task design, outcome measures and demographical factors limited study comparability. As a research framework on source monitoring as a construct of primary interest in autism is still lacking, we propose preliminary indications for future investigations based on the collected findings.

Highlights

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition diagnosed through the identification of anomalies in social communication, restrictive interests, and repetitive patterns of behavior [1]
We systematically reviewed literature concerning source monitoring in autism and its relationship with other constructs, such as memory type, encoding effects, social cognition, general intelligence, and clinical factors
Other memory types or encoding effects were not impaired in autism, and no univocal association could be found with source monitoring

Summary

Introduction

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition diagnosed through the identification of anomalies in social communication, restrictive interests, and repetitive patterns of behavior [1]. Several lines of research raised the question of whether ASD involves a decreased ability to use the self as an effective organizational strategy to encode stimuli and experiences [3], showing alterations in self–other distinction and integration [4,5,6]. In this context, the investigation of source monitoring (SM) in ASD has gained relevance. The most widespread framework for SM differentiates (i) reality monitoring (RM), whereby the subject distinguishes external and internal sources (for example, “did I listen to another person reading a word, or was it me who pronounced it?”); (ii) internal source monitoring (ISM) —discriminating between internal sources (“did I think of it or did I say it aloud?”) and (iii) external source monitoring (ESM) —discriminating between external sources (“did John say it, or was it said on TV?”) [8]

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