title: The weak coherence account: detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: "Weak central coherence" refers to the detail-focused processing style proposed to characterise autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The original suggestion of a core deficit in central processing resulting in failure to extract global form/meaning, has been challenged in three ways. First, it may represent an outcome of superiority in local processing. Second, it may be a processing bias, rather than deficit. Third, weak coherence may occur alongside, rather than explain, deficits in social cognition. A review of over 50 empirical studies of coherence suggests robust findings of local bias in ASD, with mixed findings regarding weak global processing. Local bias appears not to be a mere side-effect of executive dysfunction, and may be independent of theory of mind deficits. Possible computational and neural models are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK. f.happe@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Happé
authors.forename: Uta
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Frith
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D012938:Social Perception