High-functioning Autistic Individuals Research Articles

Neurophysiological mechanisms of exploration and exploitation in high-functioning autism: Magnetoencephalographic study

Intolerance of uncertainty and high sensitivity to the threat of failure are believed to contribute to chronic anxiety in individuals with high-functioning autism. This study examines the influence of these personality traits on the brain processes involved in decision-making in a probabilistic setting among autism patients. Furthermore, we explore the causal relationship between these personality traits and chronic anxiety in individuals with high-functioning autism. Twenty-one high-functioning autistic individuals who are intolerant to uncertainty, aged 19 to 46, and 21 neurotypical volunteers of the same age, carried out a probabilistic choice experiment with two alternatives. One option yielded a monetary profit of 70% of the time, while the other brought only a 30% gain. Following each selection, the subjects received feedback on their decision and gradually learned, through trial and error, to prefer the more advantageous option. From this point forward, we consider frequent selections of a beneficial stimulus to align with the internal utility model, specifically the exploitation strategy. On the other hand, sporadic choices of a detrimental stimulus correspond to an exploration strategy, which may prove disadvantageous in a stable environment but enables adaptation to unforeseen changes in the surroundings. We hypothesized that there are characteristic differences in brain activity reflecting exploration and exploitation strategies between groups, which would emerge during the decision-making period and after internal feedback evaluation regarding advantageous and disadvantageous choices [1]. Beta oscillations (16–30 Hz) were analyzed in the magnetoencephalographic recordings. The decrease in beta oscillation power below baseline during the period between stimulus presentation and subjects’ response indicates activation in brain regions related to decision-making strategy. Conversely, an increase in beta oscillation power following feedback signaling a disadvantageous choice reflects a mechanism that reinforces internal value models in current task conditions [1]. The cortical sources of beta oscillations in 448 cortical areas were estimated using the sLoreta technique at the single-trial level. Mixed linear models (LMM) were used for statistical analysis with correction for multiple comparisons via the FDR method for the number of cortical areas analyzed. The study concentrated on the time interval for decision-making (–900 to –300 ms prior to the motor action of choice) and the post-feedback period (500 to 900 ms after the commencement of the feedback presentation) [1]. Based on questionnaire results, individuals with high-functioning autism exhibited a significantly lower tolerance for uncertainty and a greater intolerance for uncertainty when compared to neurotypical participants. The study generated two primary findings. Initially, the extent of brain activity during decision-making differed in control subjects and subjects with autism based on the type of choice, with exact opposition. Opting for an advantageous vs. disadvantageous choice was linked with reduced activation of the inferior temporal, parietal, and medial frontal cortex regions in control subjects and elevated activation in these regions for subjects with autism spectrum disorder. These findings suggest that neurotypical individuals utilize fewer neural resources and exhibit decreased emotional response while deciding in favor of a known profitable outcome compared to opting for an uncertain choice — one that is more likely to result in a negative outcome based on previous experiences. Individuals with autism allocate disproportionate amounts of attention and emotional resources towards planning actions that are deemed safe and offer only a probable (though not definite) advantage. Conversely, the prospect of failure due to risky behavior induces a comparatively muted response in their brains. Second, our internal evaluation of feedback focused on variations in functional activity within the orbitofrontal and lateral prefrontal cortical areas during exploratory (disadvantageous) choices between individuals with autism and control subjects. As previously reported, neurotypical subjects demonstrated significant beta synchronization following negative feedback after disadvantageous choices [1]. Contrary to control participants, individuals with autism spectrum disorder exhibited a lack of synchronization in frontal beta oscillations following losses incurred from unfavorable selections. This observation may indicate insufficient reinforcement of the internal utility model, which typically strengthens in response to negative outcomes that align with predicted results [1]. Overall, our study found that individuals on the autism spectrum with a high intolerance for uncertainty exhibit significantly increased activation of brain decision-making systems in situations that are perceived to be low-risk and with a high probability of a successful outcome. These findings clarify the reasons behind the puzzling rise in anxiety and autonomic reactivity among individuals in situations where they anticipate rewards, which are not inherently aversive unlike fear of punishment [2].

Assessment of self-report response bias in high functioning autistic people

The study aimed to establish a normative data set for the Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS) and Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomology (SIMS) in a community adult sample of high functioning autistic (HFA) people. Assessments were administered anonymously online. Seventy surveys were completed, with respondents contributing from 16 countries. The majority of subscales and total scores for the PDS and SIMS fell above cut-off for self-report response bias, suggesting that completion of these measures by HFA individuals may lead to conclusions of intentional response distortion, even when this is not the case. Significant relationships were found between high scores and education level, as well as psychological distress. The findings of the study raise concerns about the use of these measures with HFA people, particularly in ‘high stakes’ situations.

Atypicality and controllability of autistic brain state dynamics in humans

Cognitive and behavioural activities are underpinned by dynamic neural activities on large-scale brain network architectures. Thus, atypical cognitions and behaviours seen in neuropsychiatric conditions should be accounted for by characteristic brain network dynamics and controlled by modifying such brain state dynamics. Here, I will present empirical, numerical and causal evidence for such a notion by taking autism spectrum disorder as an example. First, I will talk about energy landscape analysis that enables us to elucidate global neural dynamics behind seemingly unstable and fluctuating cognitive and behavioural tendencies. Next, I will show that the data-driven analysis method identified overly stable brain state dynamics as a key mechanism of both the symptoms and unique intelligence of high-functioning autistic individuals. Finally, I will introduce a brain-state-driven non-invasive neural stimulation method and recent results based on the device. The observations indicate the causal roles of the brain state dynamics on human behaviours and the possibility that modifying the large-scale neural dynamics can mitigate atypical cognition and behaviours in some neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.

Differences in the production and perception of communicative kinematics in autism.

In human communication, social intentions and meaning are often revealed in the way we move. In this study, we investigate the flexibility of human communication in terms of kinematic modulation in a clinical population, namely, autistic individuals. The aim of this study was twofold: to assess (a) whether communicatively relevant kinematic features of gestures differ between autistic and neurotypical individuals, and (b) if autistic individuals use communicative kinematic modulation to support gesture recognition. We tested autistic and neurotypical individuals on a silent gesture production task and a gesture comprehension task. We measured movement during the gesture production task using a Kinect motion tracking device in order to determine if autistic individuals differed from neurotypical individuals in their gesture kinematics. For the gesture comprehension task, we assessed whether autistic individuals used communicatively relevant kinematic cues to support recognition. This was done by using stick‐light figures as stimuli and testing for a correlation between the kinematics of these videos and recognition performance. We found that (a) silent gestures produced by autistic and neurotypical individuals differ in communicatively relevant kinematic features, such as the number of meaningful holds between movements, and (b) while autistic individuals are overall unimpaired at recognizing gestures, they processed repetition and complexity, measured as the amount of submovements perceived, differently than neurotypicals do. These findings highlight how subtle aspects of neurotypical behavior can be experienced differently by autistic individuals. They further demonstrate the relationship between movement kinematics and social interaction in high‐functioning autistic individuals.Lay SummaryHand gestures are an important part of how we communicate, and the way that we move when gesturing can influence how easy a gesture is to understand. We studied how autistic and typical individuals produce and recognize hand gestures, and how this relates to movement characteristics. We found that autistic individuals moved differently when gesturing compared to typical individuals. In addition, while autistic individuals were not worse at recognizing gestures, they differed from typical individuals in how they interpreted certain movement characteristics.

Neural Biomarkers Distinguish Severe From Mild Autism Spectrum Disorder Among High-Functioning Individuals.

Several previous studies have reported atypicality in resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), yet the relatively small effect sizes prevent us from using these characteristics for diagnostic purposes. Here, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and hierarchical clustering were used to partition the high-functioning ASD group (i.e., the ASD discovery group) into subgroups. A support vector machine (SVM) model was trained through the 10-fold strategy to predict Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) scores within the ASD discovery group (r = 0.30, P < 0.001, n = 260), which was further validated in an independent sample (i.e., the ASD validation group) (r = 0.35, P = 0.031, n = 29). The neuroimage-based partition derived two subgroups representing severe versus mild autistic patients. We identified FCs that show graded changes in strength from ASD-severe, through ASD-mild, to controls, while the same pattern cannot be observed in partitions based on ADOS score. We also identified FCs that are specific for ASD-mild, similar to a partition based on ADOS score. The current study provided multiple pieces of evidence with replication to show that resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) FCs could serve as neural biomarkers in partitioning high-functioning autistic individuals based on their symptom severity and showing advantages over traditional partition based on ADOS score. Our results also indicate a compensatory role for a frontocortical network in patients with mild ASD, indicating potential targets for future clinical treatments.

Effects of being watched on eye gaze and facial displays of typical and autistic individuals during conversation.

Communication with others relies on coordinated exchanges of social signals, such as eye gaze and facial displays. However, this can only happen when partners are able to see each other. Although previous studies report that autistic individuals have difficulties in planning eye gaze and making facial displays during conversation, evidence from real-life dyadic tasks is scarce and mixed. Across two studies, here we investigate how eye gaze and facial displays of typical and high-functioning autistic individuals are modulated by the belief in being seen and potential to show true gaze direction. Participants were recorded with an eye-tracking and video-camera system while they completed a structured Q&A task with a confederate under three social contexts: pre-recorded video, video-call and face-to-face. Typical participants gazed less to the confederate and produced more facial displays when they were being watched and when they were speaking. Contrary to our hypotheses, eye gaze and facial motion patterns in autistic participants were overall similar to the typical group. This suggests that high-functioning autistic participants are able to use eye gaze and facial displays as social signals. Future studies will need to investigate to what extent this reflects spontaneous behaviour or the use of compensation strategies.Lay abstractWhen we are communicating with other people, we exchange a variety of social signals through eye gaze and facial expressions. However, coordinated exchanges of these social signals can only happen when people involved in the interaction are able to see each other. Although previous studies report that autistic individuals have difficulties in using eye gaze and facial expressions during social interactions, evidence from tasks that involve real face-to-face conversations is scarce and mixed. Here, we investigate how eye gaze and facial expressions of typical and high-functioning autistic individuals are modulated by the belief in being seen by another person, and by being in a face-to-face interaction. Participants were recorded with an eye-tracking and video-camera system while they completed a structured Q&A task with a confederate under three social contexts: pre-recorded video (no belief in being seen, no face-to-face), video-call (belief in being seen, no face-to-face) and face-to-face (belief in being seen and face-to-face). Typical participants gazed less to the confederate and made more facial expressions when they were being watched and when they were speaking. Contrary to our hypotheses, eye gaze and facial expression patterns in autistic participants were overall similar to the typical group. This suggests that high-functioning autistic participants are able to use eye gaze and facial expressions as social signals. Future studies will need to investigate to what extent this reflects spontaneous behaviour or the use of compensation strategies.

Atypical context-dependent speech processing in autism

AbstractThe ability to take contextual information into account is essential for successful speech processing. This study examines individuals with high-functioning autism and those without in terms of how they adjust their perceptual expectation while discriminating speech sounds in different phonological contexts. Listeners were asked to discriminate pairs of sibilant-vowel monosyllables. Typically, discriminability of sibilants increases when the sibilants are embedded in perceptually enhancing contexts (if the appropriate context-specific perceptual adjustment were performed) and decreases in perceptually diminishing contexts. This study found a reduction in the differences in perceptual response across enhancing and diminishing contexts among high-functioning autistic individuals relative to the neurotypical controls. The reduction in perceptual expectation adjustment is consistent with an increase in autonomy in low-level perceptual processing in autism and a reduction in the influence of top-down information from surrounding information.

Extending the Minority Stress Model to Understand Mental Health Problems Experienced by the Autistic Population

Research into autism and mental health has traditionally associated poor mental health and autism as inevitably linked. Other possible explanations for mental health problems among autistic populations have received little attention. As evidenced by the minority disability movement, autism is increasingly being considered part of the identities of autistic people. Autistic individuals thus constitute an identity-based minority and may be exposed to excess social stress as a result of disadvantaged and stigmatized social status. The authors test the utility of the minority stress model as an explanation for the experience of mental health problems within a sample of high-functioning autistic individuals ( n = 111). Minority stressors including everyday discrimination, internalized stigma, and concealment significantly predicted poorer mental health, despite controlling for general stress exposure. These results indicate the potential utility of minority stress in explaining increased mental health problems in autistic populations. Implications for research and clinical applications are discussed.

Intra-individual cognitive imbalance in ASD between perceptual reasoning and ambiguity-solving related to tool use: Comparison among children exhibiting ASD, AD/HD, and typical development

ObjectiveSeveral studies have suggested that objective deficits in the processing of abstract information in conjunction with an enhanced ability to process concrete information is a definitive characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, this cognitive imbalance is not necessarily clear in high-functioning autistic individuals who do not display absolute differences relative to typically developing (TD) populations. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify this cognitive tendency in high-functioning autistic individuals using intra-individual cognitive comparisons. MethodsThe reaction times (RTs) of TD children, children with ASD, and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) (n=17 in each group, mean age=11.9years, age range=9.8–15.8years) were compared using the Which/How-to-Apply Tools (W/HAT) test, which consists of tasks requiring the adaptive use of novel tools and familiar tools in atypical and typical situations. Differences in RTs between the atypical and typical trials ([A–T]) were used to assess intra-individual cognitive imbalances. ResultsAs predicted, the [A–T] scores of the ASD group were significantly higher than those of the TD group even though the RTs in the atypical and typical trials did not differ. Additionally, the [A–T] values were significantly higher in the ASD group than in the AD/HD group, which indicates that the cognitive imbalance was specific to ASD individuals. No significant interaction was detected between the trial and subject group. ConclusionsThe findings of this study demonstrate that a cognitive imbalance in ASD individuals may enhance the current understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder, which is found in a range of individuals, including those with obvious cortical dysfunction to those with only intra-individual imbalances.

The brains of high functioning autistic individuals do not synchronize with those of others

Multifaceted and idiosyncratic aberrancies in social cognition characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). To advance understanding of underlying neural mechanisms, we measured brain hemodynamic activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals with ASD and matched-pair neurotypical (NT) controls while they were viewing a feature film portraying social interactions. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used as a measure of voxelwise similarity of brain activity (InterSubject Correlations—ISCs). Individuals with ASD showed lower ISC than NT controls in brain regions implicated in processing social information including the insula, posterior and anterior cingulate cortex, caudate nucleus, precuneus, lateral occipital cortex, and supramarginal gyrus. Curiously, also within NT group, autism-quotient scores predicted ISC in overlapping areas, including, e.g., supramarginal gyrus and precuneus. In ASD participants, functional connectivity was decreased between the frontal pole and the superior frontal gyrus, angular gyrus, superior parietal lobule, precentral gyrus, precuneus, and anterior/posterior cingulate gyrus. Taken together these results suggest that ISC and functional connectivity measure distinct features of atypical brain function in high-functioning autistic individuals during free viewing of acted social interactions. Our ISC results suggest that the minds of ASD individuals do not ‘tick together’ with others while perceiving identical dynamic social interactions.

Findings on sensory deficits in autism: Implications for understanding the disorder.

Among the many lines of research related to autism, investigations of sensory dysfunction have recently gained attention. The objective of this article is to briefly review the main findings of sensory deficits in autism, raise possibilities of early identification research in the area, and discuss the significance of these sensory problems for the understanding of autism. A review of the scientific literature with regard to sensory problems in autism was performed. A review of autobiographical reports of high-functioning autistic individuals was also performed. This review showed that sensory problems have always been mentioned in the autism literature, but their relevance has been underestimated. Scientific research and autobiographical reports suggest a high prevalence of sensory problems in autism. Although not yet considered in the official diagnosis of autism, sensory problems appear to not only exert a considerable impact on the configuration of the disorder but also directly influence autistic persons in their daily lives. Such impairments may begin to be thought of as fundamental in autism. However, these characteristics deserve to be further investigated by researchers who are dedicated to the study of autism.

Prototypical category learning in high‐functioning autism

An ongoing debate in developmental cognitive neuroscience is whether individuals with autism are able to learn prototypical category representations from multiple exemplars. Prototype learning and memory were examined in a group of high-functioning autistic boys and young men, using a classic paradigm in which participants learned to classify novel dot patterns into one of two categories. Participants were trained on distorted versions of category prototypes until they reached a criterion level of performance. During transfer testing, participants were shown the training items together with three novel stimulus sets manifesting variable levels of physical distortion (low, medium, or high distortion) relative to the unseen prototypes. Two experiments were conducted, differing only in the manner in which the physical distortions were defined. In the first experiment, a subset of autistic individuals learned categories more slowly than controls, accompanied by an overall diminution in transfer-testing performance. The autism group did, however, manifest a typical pattern of performance across the testing conditions, relative to controls. In the second experiment, group means did not differ statistically in either the training or testing phases. Taken together, these data indicate that high-functioning autistic individuals do not manifest gross deficits in prototypical category learning. A theoretical discussion is given in terms of how perceptual grouping may interact with category learning.

Radical Interpretation and High-Functioning Autistic Speakers: a Defense of Davidson on Thought and Language

Donald Davidson argues in “Thought and Talk” that all speakers must be interpreters of other speakers: linguistic competence requires the possession of intentional concepts and the ability to attribute intentional states to other people. Kristin Andrews (in Philosophical Psychology, 15) has argued that empirical evidence about autism undermines this theoretical claim, for some individuals with autism lack the requisite “theory of mind” skills to be able to interpret, yet are competent speakers. In this paper, Davidson is defended on the grounds that the high-functioning autistic individuals in question have a more robust theory of mind than has been acknowledged, and that this is sufficient for them to be interpreters of other speakers. It is argued, further, that Davidson's theory would remain intact even if one or more autistic speakers lacking a theory of mind were to exist, as he makes conceptual claims about thought and language that are not vulnerable to empirical counterexamples.

Autism: new data suggest a new hypothesis.

Autism remains difficult to come to terms with, even after many years of intensive investigation.1-4 It is defined by three clinical features: impairment of reciprocal social interaction, impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, and a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests (this last is often more obvious by its positive symptom: narrow, repetitive, and stereotypic activities).5 In the young child there is commonly complete lack of interpersonal interaction and total lack of language. In the older child or adult some language and interpersonal contact may be gained, but the individual remains flat, remote, awkward, and stilted in all interpersonal activities including language. Even in high-functioning autistic individuals, emotions, thought, and actions remain peculiarly rigid. The essence of autism, if it can be defined, appears to be a rigidity and constriction affecting thought, memory, emotion, attention, and action that is particularly obvious in the social sphere. This may become most clear when autism is partially addressed pharmacologically, as described below. All young autistic children are developmentally retarded by virtue of their autism. Later, some improve to the point of showing normal intelligence or, in some cases, islands of high ability and achievement. (A group with normal language function, intense and obsessive foci of interest in narrow—often arcane—subjects, obtuse and imperceptive social instincts, and physical awkwardness is referred to as having Asperger’s syndrome.6 It is often likened to right-hemispheric learning disability and, as discussed below, may be considered a right-hemisphere dysfunction correlate of autism,7 which appears to be a left-hemisphere dysfunction syndrome because of the prominent language disability with preserved visual-spatial abilities.8) I hypothesize that there are two distinct forms of autism. The first is a form characterized by bilateral brain damage in early life—generally of the temporal lobes and minimally of the …

Autism: an introduction to psychological theory

Autism is a fascinating yet perplexing disorder that continues to intrigue researchers and clinicians studying brain and behavior. In this lucid and elegant book, Francesca Happe provides a concise overview of current psychological theory and research that synthesizes the established work on the biological foundations, cognitive characteristics, and behavioral manifestations of this disorder. She focuses her discussion on the cognitive approaches that deal with both thought and feeling--those hypotheses that link brain to action, deepen our understanding of the autistic person's view of the world, and offer better approaches to effectively managing the behavior of people with autism struggling to live in our world. The book reviews the latest research into the communication, socialization, and imagination impairments in autism, and further distinguishes the levels of severity in the spectrum of autistic disorders. Happe also includes a discussion of the talented few--high-functioning autistic individuals with Asperger's syndrome--and of the many childhood behavioral disorders, unrelated to autism, that manifest autistic-like symptoms. Autism is an important and much-needed contribution to the literature. It will be valued by parents and teachers of autistic children as well as by students and researchers interested in disorders of language and communication.

Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals.

Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals.

Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals.

Speech and language in high-functioning autistic individuals.

Age differences in academic achievement in high-functioning autistic individuals

A battery of psychoeducational tests was administered to samples of high-functioning (IQ > 70) autistic subjects and normal controls. A previous psychoeducational study indicated the presence of preserved procedural and mechanical academic skills accompanied by impaired comprehension and interpretive skills in high-functioning autistic individuals. The present findings indicate that this psychoeducational pattern also has a developmental aspect. Younger (< 13 years) autistic subjects performed as well or better than younger controls on psychoeducational measures of mechanical and procedural skills, and on some complex, interpretive tasks. However, they performed more poorly than controls on tasks that involve following complex linguistic instructions. Younger autistic subjects and controls did not differ significantly from each other on interpretive tasks, while the older austic subjects did significantly more poorly than the older controls on such tasks. The findings are discussed in terms of early success, but subsequent decline, in the course of academic functioning in autism.

Verbal problem solving in high functioning autistic individuals

The verbal problem-solving and abstract reasoning ability of 25 high-functioning autistic individuals ages 11 to 41 was compared with normal controls individually matched on age, gender, race, IQ, and educational level. The Twenty Questions Procedure was administered using a grid of 42 common objects. Time to complete the task, number of correct solutions, and number and type of questions asked were analyzed. Results indicated that controls were more often successful in achieving solutions, and in formulating constraint seeking questions that conceptually grouped, ordered, and sorted the objects. In contrast, the autistics relied primarily on guessing. Findings are consistent with prior studies reporting a core deficit in autism involving abstract reasoning ability.

Executive Function Deficits in High‐Functioning Autistic Individuals: Relationship to Theory of Mind

A group of high-functioning autistic individuals was compared to a clinical control group matched on VIQ, age, sex and SES. Significant group differences were found on executive function, theory of mind, emotion perception and verbal memory tests, but not on spatial or other control measures. Second-order theory of mind and executive function deficits were widespread among the autistic group, while first-order theory of mind deficits were found in only a subset of the sample. The relationship of executive function and theory of mind deficits to each other, and their primacy to autism, are discussed.