Interval and contour processing in autism.
High functioning children with autism and age and intelligence matched controls participated in experiments testing perception of pitch intervals and musical contours. The finding from the interval study showed superior detection of pitch direction over small pitch distances in the autism group. On the test of contour discrimination no group differences emerged. These findings confirm earlier studies showing facilitated pitch processing and a preserved ability to represent small-scale musical structures in autism.
Heaton
Pamela
P
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK. P.Heaton@gold.ac.uk
D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D009146:Music; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010898:Pitch Perception; D011581:Psychological Tests; D013998:Time Perception