No abstract

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Permanent repository link: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/23359/ Link to published version: http://dx. Abstract:To address inconsistencies in the literature on memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), we report the first ever meta-analysis of short-term (STM) and episodic longterm (LTM) memory in ASD, evaluating the effects of type of material, type of retrieval and the role of inter-item relations. Analysis of 64 studies comparing individuals with ASD and typical development (TD) showed greater difficulties in ASD compared to TD individuals in STM (Hedges' g=-0.53 [95%CI -0.90; -0.16], p=.005, I²=96%) compared to LTM (g=-0.30 [95%CI -0.42; -0.17], p<.00001, I²=24%), a small difficulty in verbal LTM (g=-0.21, p=.01), contrasting with a medium difficulty for visual LTM (g= -0.41, p=.0002) in ASD compared to TD individuals. We also found a general diminution in free recall compared to cued recall and recognition (LTM, free recall: g=-0.38, p<.00001, cued recall: g=-0.08, p=.58, recognition: g=-0.15, p=.16; STM, free recall: g=-0.59, p=.004, recognition: g=-0.33, p=.07).We discuss these results in terms of their relation to semantic memory. The limited diminution in verbal LTM and preserved overall recognition and cued recall (supported retrieval) may result from a greater overlap of these tasks with semantic long-term representations which are overall preserved in ASD. By contrast, difficulties in STM or free recall may result from less overlap with the semantic system or may involve additional cognitive operations and executive demands. These findings highlight the need to support STM functioning in ASD and acknowledge the potential benefit of using verbal materials at encoding and broader forms of memory support at retrieval to enhance performance. ABSTRACTTo address inconsistencies in the literature on memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), we report the first ever meta-analysis of short-term (STM) and episodic long-term (LTM) memory in ASD, evaluating the effects of type of material, type of retrieval and the role of inter-item relations.Analysis of 64 studies comparing individuals with ASD and typical development (TD) showed greater difficulties in ASD compared to TD individuals in STM (Hedges' g=-0.53 [95%CI -0.90; -0.16], p=.005, I²=96%) compared to LTM (g=-0.30 [95%CI -0.42; -0.17], p<.00001, I²=24%), a small difficulty in verbal LTM (g=-0.21, p=.01), contrasting with a medium difficulty for visual LTM (g= -0.41, p=.0002) in ASD compared to TD individuals. We also found a general diminution in free recall compared to cued recall and recognition (LTM, free recall: g=-0.38, p<.00001, cued recall: g=-0.08, p=.58, recognition: g=-0.15, p=.16; STM, free recall: g=-0.59, p=.004, recognition: g=-0.33, p=.07).We discuss these results in terms of their relation to semantic memory. The limited diminution in verbal LTM and preserved overall recognition and cued recall (supported retrieval)...

operations to form larger linguistic expressions (e.g. Chomsky 1995, Pinker 1999), we proposed that these two core modules of language are dissociated in WS such that the computational (rule-based) system for language is selectively spared, while lexical representations and/or their access procedures are impaired (Clahsen & Almazan 1998, Clahsen & Temple 2003). This account of the linguistic difficulties of children with WS has recently been challenged by Thomas, Karmiloff-Smith and their collaborators, on the basis of empirical data and simulations (Thomas et al. 2001; Thomas & Karmiloff-Smith 2003). Investigating a group of 18 cases with WS, Thomas et al. (2001) did not find evidence for a selective deficit in their cases of WS with irregular past-tense formation, in contrast to what Clahsen & Almazan (1998) found. Moreover, Thomas et al. (2001) claimed that the results from their studies are

This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link: 2 AbstractResearch into memory in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) suggests intact item memory but difficulties in forming relations between items (Bowler, Gaigg & Lind, 2011). This pattern closely resembles that seen in typically developed (TD) older adults thus supporting the 'ageing analogy' (Bowler, 2007). In this study we tested memory for items as well as for sequential, spatial and associative relations between items with the same paradigm using abstract shapes in ASD and TD individuals. Participants studied shape triplets on a computerscreen and memory was subsequently tested either for the individual items making up the triplets, the screen-locations, the order or the combinations of items presented at study. We also examined age-related differences in memory across the mid-adult lifespan in both groups. Performance was significantly lower in the ASD group on all 4 tasks but particularly on the relational tasks. When considering order memory and age-related differences across the lifespan (20-62 years), we found a significant decrease in order memory with increasing age for the TD but not the ASD group. Younger ASD individuals performed significantly worse on the order task compared to younger TD but not older TD individuals. Psychiatric Association, 2013). In addition it is associated with a complex cognitive profile which includes a particular pattern of strengths and weaknesses in the domain of memory (Boucher & Bowler, 2008;Boucher, Mayes & Bigham, 2012). Previous research suggests intact performance on tasks that probe memory for individual items of information such as individual words or pictures of objects that make up a study list (Bowler, Gardiner & Grice, 2000;Hauck, Fein, Maltby, Waterhouse & Feinstein, 1998). In addition, performance is typically also preserved on supported test procedures such as recognition tests where participants only need to identify rather than generate the studied items (task support hypothesis-Bowler, Gardiner & Berthollier, 2004). By contrast, difficulties are often observed on tasks that probe memory for associations between items (Bowler, or between items and their context.Examples of the latter are difficulties in remembering the locations for or colours of objects (Bowler, Gaigg & Gardiner, 2014; Ring, Gaigg & Bowler, under review;Semino, Gaigg, Bowler & Ring, 2013), remembering the temporal order of items (Poirier, Martin, Gaigg & Bowler, 2011;Gaigg, Bowler & Gardiner, 2014), or recalling in what modality words were presented or by whom (Bowler et al., 2004). Memory difficulties tend to be particularly pronounced in ASD when test procedures provide little support, such as in the case of freerecall test procedures (e.g., Bowler et al., 2008).The patterning of memory in ASD is similar to that observed in typically developed older adults (TD OA) who also show decreased performance on unsupported free recall tasks but ...