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Hamilton, CJ, Mammarella, IC and Giofré, D (2018) Autistic-like traits in children are associated with enhanced performance in a qualitative visual working memory task. Autism Research, 11 (11). pp. 1494-1499. ISSN 1939-3792
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Autistic-like traits in children are associated with enhanced performance in a qualitative visual working memory task..pdf - Accepted Version Download (774kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Prior research has suggested that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) demonstrate heterogeneity in cognitive efficacy, challenged executive resources but efficient visual processing. These contrasts lead to opposing predictions about visuospatial working memory competency in both ASD and the broader autism phenotype (BAP); compromised by constrained executive processes, but potentially scaffolded by effective visual representation. It is surprising therefore, that there is a paucity of visual working memory (VWM) research in both the ASD and BAP populations, which have focused upon the visual features of the to-be-remembered stimulus. We assessed whether individual differences in VWM were associated with autistic-like traits (ALTs) in the BAP. About 76 children carried out the Visual Just Noticeable Difference task, designed to measure high fidelity feature representation within VWM. ALTs were measured with the Children's Empathy Quotient and Systemizing Quotient. Analyses revealed a significant positive relationship between Systemizing and VWM performance. This complements ASD studies in visual processing and highlights the need for further research on the working memory-long-term memory interface in ASD and BAP populations. Autism Research 2018, 11: 1494-1499. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: This study was interested in how well children with high levels of autistic-like traits (ALTs) carry out a task which involved memorizing, for brief time, the precise size of colored shapes. The results suggested that children with high levels of ALTs performed the task relatively well. This finding is in contrast to many previous studies suggest that ALTs are associated with poor memory, and suggests that future research needs to look more finely at how individuals carry out these tasks.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1103 Clinical Sciences, 1109 Neurosciences, 1701 Psychology |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
| Divisions: | Natural Sciences & Psychology (closed 31 Aug 19) |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
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| Date Deposited: | 08 Nov 2018 10:27 |
| Last Modified: | 04 Sep 2021 09:57 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1002/aur.2028 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/9623 |
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