Electrophysiological abnormalities of spatial attention in adults with autism during the gap overlap task.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by attentional disengagement in individuals with autism.


METHODS
Sixteen adults with autism, 17 adults with mental retardation and 14 healthy adults participated in this study. We recorded the pre-saccade positive ERPs during the gap overlap task under which a peripheral stimulus was presented subsequent to a stimulus in the central visual field. Under the overlap condition, the central stimulus remained during the presentation of the peripheral stimulus and therefore participants need to disengage their attention intentionally in order to execute the saccade to the peripheral stimulus due to the preservation of the central stimulus.


RESULTS
The autism group elicited significantly higher pre-saccadic positivity during a period of 100-70 ms prior to the saccade onset than the other groups only under the overlap condition. The higher amplitude of pre-saccadic positivity in the overlap condition was significantly correlated with more severe clinical symptoms within the autism group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate electrophysiological abnormalities of disengagement during visuospatial attention in adults with autism which cannot be attributed to their IQs.


CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that adults with autism have deficits in attentional disengagement and the physiological substrates underlying deficits in autism and mental retardation are different.
Kawakubo
Yuki
Y
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo, Japan. yukik-tky@umin.ac.jp
Kasai
Kiyoto
K
Okazaki
Shinji
S
Hosokawa-Kakurai
Miyuki
M
Watanabe
Kei-Ichiro
K
Kuwabara
Hitoshi
H
Ishijima
Michiko
M
Yamasue
Hidenori
H
Iwanami
Akira
A
Kato
Nobumasa
N
Maekawa
Hisao
H
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*