Uncoupling Between Multisensory Temporal Function and Nonverbal Turn-Taking in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

The integration of information across distinct modalities enhances perceptual abilities. An ecologically important role of multisensory integration is in scaffolding verbal communication, which relies upon the precise temporal integration of auditory and visual cues. However, the role of (multi)sensory function in supporting another important aspect of communication, namely, nonverbal communication, is unknown. Here, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a group of typically developing (TD) participants performed a simultaneity judgment task to index their audiovisual temporal acuity for speech stimuli. Further, under a naturalistic scenario, nonverbal synchrony between the participant and a naïve experimenter was measured. Automated motion analysis was performed to quantify movements of different body-parts. Results demonstrate a wider window of audiovisual temporal integration for ASD participants in comparison to their TD counterparts. Moreover, ASD individuals performed less complex movements and demonstrated less nonverbal synchrony during the interactive exchange. Lastly, multisensory temporal acuity significantly predicted the synchrony in hand and head movements between TD participants and the experimenter, but not between the ASD participants and the experimenter. Taken together, the results suggest an important role for multisensory perceptual abilities in shaping nonverbal communication between dyads and highlight the important role of perceptual systems in supporting social interactive skills.

Reduced nonverbal interpersonal synchrony in autism spectrum disorder independent of partner diagnosis: a motion energy study

“…Such rhythmic interactions involve a very predictable structure, but this is unlike the conversations used in the present study. In a similar line, Noel and colleagues [34] highlight that motor ability is not sufficient to account for the differences they found in IPS between ASD and typical individuals and that the difference in achieved IPS between ASD and typical individuals was uncoupled from differences in movement complexity.…”

“…The predictive coding account of ASD suggests that expectations about the precision of sensory inputs, relative to the precision of prior experiences may be essential in coordinating the interplay between perception, action, and social behaviour [5,105,106]. Noel and colleagues [34] find recent evidence that the association between multisensory perceptual ability (i.e. acuity of the temporal binding window) and IPS is missing in ASD children, but not in typically developing children.…”

“…Importantly, however, the degree of bodily coordination was related to higher social cognitive ability. A similar study on children performing a test battery (including breaks) with an experimenter showed differences for head and hand movement IPS [34]. Like Romero and colleagues [33], this study was done in children, but it additionally included control dyads of typical children interacting with a clinician.…”

“…In sum, research has rarely investigated IPS in naturalistic situations due to methodological challenges of capturing its complexities. A few studies mainly explored children or adolescent populations using highly rhythmic actions [26,46] or interactions in a controlled and formal clinical setting [33,34]. Furthermore, the IHH has received a lot of theoretical attention and very little empirical investigations.…”

From multisensory integration in peripersonal space to bodily self‐consciousness: from statistical regularities to statistical inference

“…In turn, the priors reflect accumulated history of sensory likelihoods, and hence if low‐level sensory processing is altered, over the course of many exposures, priors—cognition—will be distorted as well. Fittingly, multisensory integration is well documented to be anomalous in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia (SZ), among other psychopathologies, and these—in particular SZ—are considered to be disorders of the self . Furthermore, much of the recent evidence suggesting deficitary sensory processing in psychopathology is highlighting the presence of either weak or inflexible priors .…”