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Falter-Wagner CM, Kiefer CM, Bailey AJ, Vogeley K, Dammers J. Perceptual Grouping in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploratory Magnetoencephalography Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2024; 54:1101-1112. [PMID: 36512195 PMCID: PMC10907473 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05844-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Visual information is organised according to visual grouping principles. In visual grouping tasks individuals with ASD have shown equivocal performance. We explored neural correlates of Gestalt grouping in individuals with and without ASD. Neuromagnetic activity of individuals with (15) and without (18) ASD was compared during a visual grouping task testing grouping by proximity versus similarity. Individuals without ASD showed stronger evoked responses with earlier peaks in response to both grouping types indicating an earlier neuronal differentiation between grouping principles in individuals without ASD. In contrast, individuals with ASD showed particularly prolonged processing of grouping by similarity suggesting a high demand of neural resources. The neuronal processing differences found could explain less efficient grouping performance observed behaviourally in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian M Kiefer
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Anthony J Bailey
- UBC Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2A1, Canada
| | - Kai Vogeley
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Institute of Neurosciences and Medicine-Cognitive Neuroscience, INM-3, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jürgen Dammers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, INM-4, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
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Tullo D, Levy B, Faubert J, Bertone A. Characterizing Attention Resource Capacity in Autism: A Multiple Object Tracking Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2023:10.1007/s10803-023-05974-z. [PMID: 37344729 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-023-05974-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
The extant literature aimed at characterizing attentional capability in autistics has presented inconsistent findings. This inconsistency and uncertainty may be the product of different theoretical and methodological approaches used to define attention in autism. In the current study, we investigate whether the allocation of attentional resources to task demands, and attention resource capacity, differs between autistics with no comorbid attention-deficit diagnosis (n = 55) and age-matched neurotypicals (n = 55). We compared differences in capacity and the allocation of resources by manipulating attentional load in a Multiple Object-Tracking (MOT) task, a robust, versatile, and ecological measure of selective, sustained, and distributed attention. While autistics demonstrated lower MOT performance, this difference disappeared when we accounted for fluid reasoning intelligence. Additionally, the similarity in the trend of MOT performance at increasing levels of attentional load between autistics and neurotypicals suggests no differences in the allocation of attentional resources to task demands. Taken together, our study suggests that higher-order cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, should be considered when characterizing attention across the autistic population in research. Similarly, our findings highlight the importance of considering cognitive competence when assessing attentional capabilities in autistic individuals, which could have significant implications for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and support.
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Tullo D, Perico C, Faubert J, Bertone A. Multiple object-tracking isolates feedback-specific load in attention and learning. J Vis 2020; 20:9. [PMID: 32441736 PMCID: PMC7409588 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.5.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Feedback is beneficial for learning. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether (i) feedback draws attentional resources when integrated and (ii) the benefits of feedback for learning can be demonstrated using an attention-based task. We therefore (i) isolated feedback-specific load from task-specific load via individual differences in attention resource capacity and (ii) examined the effect of trial-by-trial feedback (i.e., present vs. absent) on learning a multiple object-tracking (MOT) paradigm. We chose MOT because it is a robust measure of attention resource capacity. In Study 1 participants tracked one (i.e., lowest attentional load condition) through four target items (i.e., highest load condition) among eight total items. One group (n = 32) received trial-by-trial feedback whereas the other group (n = 32) did not. The absence of feedback resulted in better MOT performance compared with the presence of feedback. Moreover, the difference in MOT capability between groups increased as the task-specific attentional load increased. These findings suggest that feedback integration requires attentional resources. Study 2 examined whether the absence (n = 19) or presence (n = 19) of feedback affects learning on the same MOT task across four testing days. When holding task-specific load constant, improvement in MOT was greater with feedback than without. Although this study is the first to isolate feedback-specific load in attention with MOT, more evidence is needed to demonstrate how the benefits of feedback translate to improvement on an attention-based task. These findings encourage future research to further explore the interaction between feedback, attention and learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domenico Tullo
- Department of Education & Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Chiara Perico
- Department of Education & Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Jocelyn Faubert
- École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Armando Bertone
- Department of Education & Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Sapey-Triomphe LA, Boets B, Van Eylen L, Noens I, Sunaert S, Steyaert J, Wagemans J. Ventral stream hierarchy underlying perceptual organization in adolescents with autism. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 25:102197. [PMID: 32014827 PMCID: PMC6997624 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Object recognition relies on a hierarchically organized ventral visual stream, with both bottom-up and top-down processes. Here, we aimed at investigating the neural underpinnings of perceptual organization along the ventral visual stream in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), and at determining whether this would be associated with decreased top-down processing in ASD. Nineteen typically developing (TD) adolescents and sixteen adolescents with ASD participated in an fMRI study where they had to detect visual objects. Five conditions displayed Gabor patterns (defined by texture and/or contour) with increasing levels of perceptual organization. In each condition, both groups showed similar abilities. In line with the expected cortical hierarchy, brain activity patterns revealed a progressive involvement of regions, from low-level occipital regions to higher-level frontal regions, when stimuli became more and more organized. The brain patterns were generally similar in both groups, but the ASD group showed greater activation than TD participants in the middle occipital gyrus and lateral occipital complex when perceiving fully organized everyday objects. Effective connectivity analyses suggested that top-down functional connections between the lower levels of the cortical hierarchy were less influenced by the meaning carried by the stimuli in the ASD group than in the TD group. We hypothesize that adolescents with ASD may have been less influenced by top-down processing when perceiving recognizable objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurie-Anne Sapey-Triomphe
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7h, PB 7001, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Lien Van Eylen
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Ilse Noens
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | | | - Jean Steyaert
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7h, PB 7001, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Johan Wagemans
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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Superior Disembedding in Children with ASD: New Tests Using Abstract, Meaningful, and 3D Contexts. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 48:2478-2489. [PMID: 29468574 PMCID: PMC5996016 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3508-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Since its initial development, the embedded figures test (EFT) has been used extensively to measure local–global perceptual style. However, little is known about the perceptual factors that influence target detection. The current study aimed to investigate disembedding in children with and without ASD, aged 8–15 years, using the newly developed, stimulus-controlled L-EFT, M-EFT and D-EFT. Firstly, results revealed superior disembedding for children with ASD, irrespective of the type of target or embedding context, although the ASD group took more time in both the M-EFT and D-EFT. Secondly, the number of target lines continuing into the context proved more of a hindrance for the controls. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence to support the notion of superior disembedding in ASD.
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Avraam R, Binur N, Hadad BS. Typical perceptual organization in autism: Perceptual grouping and spatial distortion. Autism Res 2019; 12:1623-1635. [PMID: 31190377 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The extensive literature on global-local processing in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has recently shifted from arguing for a processing impairment among those with ASD to positing an attenuated preference for global processing. One suggestion is that the fast extraction of the global gist is less efficient in ASD, in contrast to the superior attention-driven processing of local elements. To examine this claim of attenuated global processing, the present study tested how perceptual grouping affected the global organization of visual scenes, specifically testing the claim of less mandatory, more optional global processing in ASD. Participants judged the distance between grouped and ungrouped elements in displays in which illusory distortions were inherent in configurations exemplifying the Gestalt principles of organization. Results from six experiments manipulating different Gestalt cues showed a consistent pattern, indicating that for individuals with ASD, as for typically developed (TD) individuals, grouping processes are organizational in nature, incorporating the grouping of related elements while parsing these from other unrelated elements. This parsing is accompanied by distortions in the spatial relationships perceived in the visual scene. ASD participants exhibited an overall larger tendency to overestimate the distances, but they also demonstrated typical perceptual organization processes that were robust and mandatory and, as in neurotypicals, affected the perception of the whole scene. Autism Res 2019. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: It is known that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceive the world in a different way than their typically developed (TD) peers. While TD individuals exhibit strong bias toward processing the global structure of visual scenes, individuals with ASD exhibit enhanced perception of the local elements. We showed that when the local and global levels are not competing, individuals with autism demonstrate robust global organization that operates even when not directly instructed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravit Avraam
- Department of Special Education, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Nahal Binur
- Department of Special Education, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Bat-Sheva Hadad
- Department of Special Education, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Van der Hallen R, Reusens J, Evers K, de‐Wit L, Wagemans J. Connection-based and object-based grouping in multiple-object tracking: A developmental study. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018; 36:606-619. [PMID: 29600820 PMCID: PMC6221178 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2017] [Revised: 02/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Developmental research on Gestalt laws has previously revealed that, even as young as infancy, we are bound to group visual elements into unitary structures in accordance with a variety of organizational principles. Here, we focus on the developmental trajectory of both connection-based and object-based grouping, and investigate their impact on object formation in participants, aged 9-21 years old (N = 113), using a multiple-object tracking paradigm. Results reveal a main effect of both age and grouping type, indicating that 9- to 21-year-olds are sensitive to both connection-based and object-based grouping interference, and tracking ability increases with age. In addition to its importance for typical development, these results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in this regard. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? The origin of the Gestalt principles is still an ongoing debate: Are they innate, learned over time, or both? Developmental research has revealed how each Gestalt principle has its own trajectory and unique relationship to visual experience. Both connectedness and object-based grouping play an important role in object formation during childhood. What does this study add? The study identifies how sensitivity to connectedness and object-based grouping evolves in individuals, aged 9-21 years old. Using multiple-object tracking, results reveal that the ability to track multiple objects increases with age. These results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in different types of grouping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Van der Hallen
- Laboratory of Experimental PsychologyDepartment of Brain and CognitionKU LeuvenBelgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes)KU LeuvenBelgium
- Clinical PsychologyDepartment of Psychology, Education & Child StudiesErasmus University RotterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Julie Reusens
- Laboratory of Experimental PsychologyDepartment of Brain and CognitionKU LeuvenBelgium
| | - Kris Evers
- Laboratory of Experimental PsychologyDepartment of Brain and CognitionKU LeuvenBelgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes)KU LeuvenBelgium
- Parenting and Special Education Research UnitKU LeuvenBelgium
| | - Lee de‐Wit
- Laboratory of Experimental PsychologyDepartment of Brain and CognitionKU LeuvenBelgium
- Cognition and Language SciencesUniversity College LondonUK
| | - Johan Wagemans
- Laboratory of Experimental PsychologyDepartment of Brain and CognitionKU LeuvenBelgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes)KU LeuvenBelgium
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Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review. Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:1255-1274. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1338-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Visual Search in ASD: Instructed Versus Spontaneous Local and Global Processing. J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 46:3023-36. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-016-2826-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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