Temporal Synchrony in Autism: A Systematic Review

Abstract

A large number of studies have reported that autistic individuals show differences in their performance on temporal asynchrony tasks as compared to neurotypical individuals. Specifically, autistic individuals appear to show a reduced tendency towards synchrony. However, the evidence has hitherto not been reviewed in a systematic way, making it difficult to be sure of the magnitude and generalisability of the difference across different tasks and contexts. The present review aimed to systematically collect and synthesise the data on various types of temporal synchrony in autism across all ages in order to address this gap. A systematic search of the EBSCO, OVID, Web of Science, and Scopus databases was conducted, and the search strategies involved keywords and synonyms for “autism”, “temporal” and “synchrony”. Thirty-two studies were identified that met our inclusion criteria: 13 in the domain of audio-visual; three in audio-motor; three in visuo-tactile; three in visuo-motor; three in social motor; and five in conversational synchrony. An additional two studies focused on adapting an intervention method to improve interpersonal temporal synchrony in autistic individuals. The findings suggest that autistic participants showed reduced synchrony tendencies in every category of temporal synchrony that was reviewed. The findings are discussed in relation to existing knowledge of temporal processing and integration differences in autism. Limitations, future directions and potential clinical implications are also discussed.

Quantifying the Child–Therapist Interaction in ASD Intervention: An Observational Coding System

“…In turn, this may require higher self-regulation strategies, thus increasing the risk for the child that the social stimulation exceeds his regulatory abilities, eventually leading to more interruptions. Interestingly, recent evidence highlighted a complex relationship between interpersonal synchrony and self-regulation [ 58 , 60 ] and may also be relevant for intervention [ 33 , 66 , 67 , 68 ]. To conclude, data models are in line with our third hypothesis.…”

“…In the context of ASD, IS has been investigated at the biobehavioral level [ 50 , 64 , 65 ], and linked to specific social impairments [ 27 ]. However, to our knowledge, few studies investigated the role of synchrony and interaction variables in the context of early intervention [ 66 , 67 , 68 ]. The quantitative theoretical framework proposed by [ 58 ] allows for the formulation of testable hypotheses and optimal levels of synchrony may be investigated in relation to response variables and self-regulation.…”

Cognitive biases as an adaptive strategy in autism and schizophrenia spectrum: the compensation perspective on neurodiversity

“…The expansive body of studies concerning modifications in higher-order temporal processing, interval timing and time sensitivity within AS reveals their notable impact on intersubjective processes (66,67). These perturbations can engender challenges in social synchronization (68) interpersonal communication (69), the recognition of causal relationships, the sense of agency (70), and the ascription of unity and continuity to experience (71). Higher-level temporal processing is responsible for understanding the abstract concept of time, placing oneself and events in the temporal continuum.…”