Episodic and semantic autobiographical memory in adults with autism spectrum disorders.
Episodic and semantic autobiographical memories were examined in a group of adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a control group matched for age, gender and IQ. Results demonstrated a personal episodic memory deficit in the ASD group in the absence of a personal semantic memory deficit, suggesting a deficit dissociation between these two components of memory in ASD. Further analysis of memories across different lifetime periods revealed the adolescent and early adult lifetime periods to facilitate memory recall in the control group, but not in the ASD group. These findings suggest a distinctive pattern of remembering in ASD.
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, UK. L.Crane@gold.ac.uk
Laura
L
Crane
Lorna
L
Goddard
D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D015995:Prevalence; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014888:Wechsler Scales