Intention Attribution in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An EEG Study

Abstract

The ability to infer intentions from observed behavior and predict actions based on this inference, known as intention attribution (IA), has been hypothesized to be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The underlying neural processes, however, have not been conclusively determined. The aim of this study was to examine the neural signature of IA in children and adolescents with ASD, and to elucidate potential links to contextual updating processes using electroencephalography. Results did not indicate that IA or early contextual updating was impaired in ASD. However, there was evidence of aberrant processing of expectation violations in ASD, particularly if the expectation was based on IA. Results are discussed within the context of impaired predictive coding in ASD.

Adolescent–Caregiver Agreement Regarding the School Bullying and Cyberbullying Involvement Experiences of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Severe autism symptoms increase the risk of bullying involvement in individuals with ASD [ 5 ]. Impaired intention attribution and theory of mind (ToM) performance are the core ASD deficits [ 10 ]. Therefore, whether AASD can accurately identify and report their bullying involvement experiences remains debatable [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Assessment of theory of mind in Tunisian verbal children with autism spectrum disorder

“…Epistemic ToM involves the attribution of other people's different (even false) beliefs ( 2 ). Attribution of intention helps us understand and interpret other people's behavior or predict their next action ( 3 ). Affective ToM consists of understanding others' emotions ( 4 , 5 ).…”