2019/10/10 by Kimberly E. Bodner, Nelson Cowan, Shawn E. Christ · 4 citations
Neuroscience · Medicine · Health Professions · #Autism Spectrum Disorder Research #Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder #Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
paper · doi:10.1037/abn0000471
= 20.3 years) participated. Participants completed a computerized paradigm designed to systematically assess WM capacity, visual filtering ability, and attentional selection. In brief, participants were shown visual arrays consisting of 2-8 colored stimuli (circles and/or squares). After a short delay, memory for one of the stimuli was probed. Importantly, participants were informed beforehand that one of the shape types (e.g., circles) was more likely to be probed compared to the other shape type (e.g., squares) - thus making it strategically advantageous to focus on the high frequency shapes and to filter/ignore the low frequency shapes. Eye tracking data were simultaneously collected. The ASD group demonstrated intact WM capacity and filtering ability, but disrupted ability to efficiently allocate capacity under the demands of high WM load. Analysis of eye tracking data suggests the groups may have differed in their strategic approach to encoding stimuli which may have, in turn, contributed to the aforementioned impairment. Findings support the assertion that disruptions in secondary processes such as strategy use and attentional selection may have played a role in previous reports of WM impairment in ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).