Atypical development of social and nonsocial working memory capacity among preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have shown impaired performance in canonical and nonsocial working memory (WM). However, no study has investigated social WM and its early development. Using biological motion stimuli, our study assessed the development of social and nonsocial WM capacity among children with or without ASD across the age span between 4 and 6 (N = 150). While typically developing (TD) children show a rapid development from age 5 to 6, children with ASD showed a delayed development for both social and nonsocial WM capacity, reaching a significant group difference at age 6. Furthermore, we found a negative correlation between social (but not nonsocial) WM capacity and the severity of autistic symptoms among children with ASD. In contrast, there is a positive correlation between both types of WM capacity and intelligence among TD children but not among children with ASD. Our findings thus indicate that individuals with ASD miss the rapid development of WM capacity in early childhood and, particularly, their delayed social WM development might contribute to core symptoms that critically depend on social information processing.

Autism severity level affects working memory and planning but not inhibition, shifting and emotional control

“…A recent meta-analysis of 28 studies revealed that autistic individuals have difficulties in working memory performance, and the effect size was 0.61 (Wang et al, 2017). A study of preschool autistic children revealed that they had delayed development of working memory, and significant differences in working memory between non-autistic and autistic children is apparent by the age of 6 years (Gong et al, 2022). According to Gong et al (2022), autistic individuals might miss the rapid development of working memory capacity in early childhood.…”

The “psychiatric” neuron: the psychic neuron of the cerebral cortex, revisited

“…Deficits in working memory can prevent the consideration and manipulation of social information necessary for successful social behaviors, resulting in social deficits. Co-occurring deficits in working memory and social functioning are noted in a number of psychiatric and neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury ( Nolan et al, 2018 ), autism spectrum disorder ( Rabiee et al, 2020 ; Gong et al, 2023 ; Memisevic et al, 2023 ), borderline personality disorder ( Krause-Utz et al, 2014 ), epilepsy ( Lim et al, 2007 ; Hernan et al, 2014 ), post-traumatic stress disorder ( Sippel et al, 2021 ), neurodegenerative conditions ( Legaz et al, 2023 ), and intellectual disability ( Ducic et al, 2018 ). Here, we highlight the relationship between working memory deficits and social dysfunction in three psychiatric conditions: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and social anxiety, with a special emphasis on how PFC dysfunction may mediate this relationship.…”