Mental imagery scanning in autism spectrum disorder

Maras, Katie; Wimmer, Marina C.; Robinson, Elizabeth; Bowler, Dermot

doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2014.07.003

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Adults and children show a linear time-distance relation, that is, their mental scanning time is linearly related to the distances in the real space [ 9 , 13 , 14 ]. Adults with autism spectrum disorders also show this effect [ 15 ]. Thus, mental images incorporate the metric information present in the original scene.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are developments in mental scanning and mental rotation related?

2017

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The development and relation of mental scanning and mental rotation were examined in 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-year old children and adults (N = 102). Based on previous findings from adults and ageing populations, the key question was whether they develop as a set of related abilities and become increasingly differentiated or are unrelated abilities per se. Findings revealed that both mental scanning and rotation abilities develop between 4- and 6 years of age. Specifically, 4-year-olds showed no difference in accuracy of mental scanning and no scanning trials whereas all older children and adults made more errors in scanning trials. Additionally, the minority of 4-year-olds showed a linear increase in response time with increasing rotation angle difference of two stimuli in contrast to all older participants. Despite similar developmental trajectories, mental scanning and rotation performances were unrelated. Thus, adding to research findings from adults, mental scanning and rotation appear to develop as a set of unrelated abilities from the outset. Different underlying abilities such as visual working memory and spatial coding versus representing past and future events are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are developments in mental scanning and mental rotation related?

2017

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“…Recently, Maras et al ( 2014 ) explored the ability of intellectually high-functioning adults with ASD to recreate and scan a previously seen physical map of an island in their mental imagery. Performance of participants with ASD was very similar to that of closely matched comparison participants, suggesting that they preserved the spatial properties of the map in their mental images.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

2014

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This study explored spatial navigation alongside several other cognitive abilities that are thought to share common underlying neurocognitive mechanisms (e.g., the capacity for self-projection, scene construction, or mental simulation), and which we hypothesized may be impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Twenty intellectually high-functioning children with ASD (with a mean age of ~8 years) were compared to 20 sex, age, IQ, and language ability matched typically developing children on a series of tasks to assess spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking (also known as episodic foresight or prospection), theory of mind (ToM), relational memory, and central coherence. This is the first study to explore these abilities concurrently within the same sample. Spatial navigation was assessed using the “memory island” task, which involves finding objects within a realistic, computer simulated, three-dimensional environment. Episodic memory and episodic future thinking were assessed using a past and future event description task. ToM was assessed using the “animations” task, in which children were asked to describe the interactions between two animated triangles. Relational memory was assessed using a recognition task involving memory for items (line drawings), patterned backgrounds, or combinations of items and backgrounds. Central coherence was assessed by exploring differences in performance across segmented and unsegmented versions of block design. Children with ASD were found to show impairments in spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and central coherence, but not ToM or relational memory. Among children with ASD, spatial navigation was found to be significantly negatively related to the number of repetitive behaviors. In other words, children who showed more repetitive behaviors showed poorer spatial navigation. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

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“…However, individuals with ASC excellently performed on challenging neuropsychological and psychophysical tests in this study, even displaying better performances than healthy control subjects in some domains. Generally, as discussed above, individuals with ASC do not show impaired visual mental imagery (Kana et al, 2006; Soulières et al, 2011; Maras et al, 2014). The imagery condition was matched to the perception condition in task structure and general difficulty, and we made sure during the practice block that individuals with ASC understood the task correctly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…It has also been shown that non-visual cognitive control might play a compensatory role in imagery in ASC. When participants were asked to memorize a map of a fictitious island, verbal IQ and working memory were positively associated with image scanning performance in ASC, but not in healthy controls (Maras et al, 2014). In the present study, verbal compensation was not possible because of the simplicity of stimuli.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early-Stage Vision and Perceptual Imagery in Autism Spectrum Conditions

Maróthi

Csigó

Kéri

2019

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are characterized by multifaceted alterations in visual perception and mental imagery. However, the interaction between early-stage visual perception and imagery has not been explored. We recruited 40 individuals with ASC and 20 neurotypical control volunteers to participate in a lateral masking task. Participants detected a luminance-contrast target pattern (Gabor patch) flanked by two collinear masks. The flanking masks inhibit target detection at small target-mask distances and facilitate target detection at intermediate target-mask distances. In the perceptual task, the masks appeared adjacent to the target. In the imagery task, participants imagined the masks immediately after seeing them. Results revealed that individuals with ASC characterized by exceptional visuoconstructional abilities (enhanced Block Design performance; n = 20) showed weaker inhibition at small target-mask distances and stronger facilitation at intermediate target-mask distances relative to the controls. Visual imagery was markedly dampened in ASC regardless of the visuoconstructional abilities. At the behavioral level, these results indicate increased facilitation via lateral connections in the primary visual cortex (V1) of individuals with ASC who exhibit exceptional visuoconstructional abilities, together with less efficient mental imagery.

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Mental imagery scanning in autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 9 publications

References 45 publications

Are developments in mental scanning and mental rotation related?

Are developments in mental scanning and mental rotation related?

Spatial navigation, episodic memory, episodic future thinking, and theory of mind in children with autism spectrum disorder: evidence for impairments in mental simulation?

Early-Stage Vision and Perceptual Imagery in Autism Spectrum Conditions

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