Configural processing in autism and its relationship to face processing

Abstract

Studies of the perceptual performance of individuals with autism have focused, to a large extent, on two domains of visual behavior, one associated with face processing and the other associated with global or holistic processing. Whether autistic individuals differ from neurotypical individuals in these domains is debatable and, moreover, the relationship between the behaviors in these two domains remains unclear. We first compared the face processing ability of 14 adult individuals with autism with that of neurotypical controls and showed that the autistic individuals were slowed in their speed of face discrimination. We then showed that the two groups differed in their ability to derive the global whole in two different tasks, one using hierarchical compound letters and the other using a microgenetic primed matching task with geometric shapes, with the autistic group showing a bias in favor of local information. A significant correlation was also observed between performance on the face task and the configural tasks. We then confirmed the prediction that the ability to derive the global whole is not only critical for faces but also for other objects as well, as the autistic individuals performed more slowly than the control group in discriminating between objects. Taken together, the results suggest that the bias for local processing seen in autistic individuals might have an adverse impact on their ability to process faces and objects.

Sensory Sensitivities and Performance on Sensory Perceptual Tasks in High-functioning Individuals with Autism

“…There is empirical evidence to suggest that individuals with autism may show enhanced perceptual processing for low-level stimuli (Behrmann et al, 2006;Mottron & Burack, 2001). Perceptual biases for details and a heightened sensitivity to unique, rather than shared, stimulus features may underlie the autistic "need for sameness" (Happé, 1999).…”

“…Depending upon an individual's behavioral self-regulation strategies (passive or active), individuals may show features of low sensory registration or sensation seeking behavior, as well as sensory sensitivity or sensation avoiding behavior. Individual differences and variations on these patterns are common among individuals on the autism spectrum.There is empirical evidence to suggest that individuals with autism may show enhanced perceptual processing for low-level stimuli (Behrmann et al, 2006;Mottron & Burack, 2001). Perceptual biases for details and a heightened sensitivity to unique, rather than shared, stimulus features may underlie the autistic "need for sameness" (Happé, 1999).…”

Missing the big picture: impaired development of global shape processing in autism

“…For example, compared to typically developing (TD) individuals, those with autism (autism spectrum disorder (ASD)) exhibit superior abilities to detect local targets in visual search tasks [Plaisted, O'Riordan, & Baron-Cohen, 1998], ignore the influence of increasing numbers of distracters during visual search [O'Riordan, Plaisted, Driver, & BaronCohen, 2001], and identify fine stimulus features in spatial tasks like the Wechsler block design and embedded figures task [Caron et al, 2006;Jolliffe & BaronCohen, 1997;Mottron et al, 2003;Shah & Frith, 1993]. At the same time, individuals with autism appear to be limited in their ability to derive organized wholes from perceptual parts, which has been linked to their limited use of gestalt grouping heuristics [Brosnan, Scott, Fox, & Pye, 2004], the failure to process inter-element relationships [Behrmann et al, 2006], and/or the failure to consider the entire visual context [Happé, 1996]. Several studies have argued that this focus on local features is specifically detrimental to face recognition processes [Boucher & Lewis, 1992;Davies, Bishop, Manstead, & Tantam, 1994;Hobson, Ouston, & Lee, 1988;Joseph & Tanaka, 2003;Klin et al, 2002;Lahaie et al, 2006].…”

“…Results from the TD individuals [Scherf et al, 2008] and both groups of adults [Behrmann et al, 2006] were previously published and are included here to indicate the typical developmental profile and the mature end point of perceptual processing. Written informed consent was obtained from participants and/ or their legal guardians using procedures approved by the institutional review boards of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.…”

Atypical information-use in children with autism spectrum disorder during judgments of child and adult face identity

“…Relative to typically developing individuals, differences and difficulties have been reported in processing of emotional expressions (see Harms, Martin, & Wallace, 2010) and social cues such as eye gaze (Nation & Penny, 2008; Senju & Johnson, 2009) (note—here and elsewhere we make use of preferred, identity-first terminology; Kenny et al, 2015). Atypicalities are also reported in the discrimination and recognition of face identity (Behrmann et al, 2006; Boucher, Lewis, & Collis, 1998; Croydon, Pimperton, Ewing, Duchaine, & Pellicano, 2014; Gepner, de Gelder, & de Schonen, 1996; Hauck, Fein, Maltby, Waterhouse, & Feinstein, 1998; Klin et al, 1999; Tantam, Monaghan, Nicholson, & Stirling, 1989; Wallace, Coleman, & Bailey, 2008), particularly when tasks involve a memory component or careful processing of the eyes (see, Weigelt, Koldewyn, & Kanwisher, 2012). These identity-processing difficulties are rarely as functionally debilitating as those deficits observed in “face blind” individuals with prosopagnosia (Behrmann & Avidan 2005; Yardley, McDermott, Pisarski, Duchaine, & Nakayama, 2008) but may nevertheless importantly contribute to the social communication and interaction difficulties characteristic of autism (Weigelt et al, 2012).…”