title: A specific impairment in cognitive control in individuals with high-functioning autism.
abstract: Although it is largely demonstrated that Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) are characterized by executive dysfunctions, little is known about the fine-grained levels of this impairment. Here, we investigated the hierarchical architecture of control modules in autism using an experimental paradigm based upon a multistage model of executive functions. This model postulates that executive functions are hierarchically organized as a cascade of three different control processes, which are implemented according to information conveyed by sensory signals (sensory control), the immediate perceptual context (contextual control), and the temporal episode in which stimuli occur (episodic control). Sixteen high-functioning adults with autism or Asperger Syndrome (HFA/AS) and sixteen matched comparison participants took part in two distinct visuo-motor association experiments designed to separately vary the demands of sensory and episodic controls (first experiment) and contextual and episodic controls (second experiment). Participants with HFA/AS demonstrated no significant differences in performances with comparison participants when they had to control sensory or contextual information. However, they showed decreased accuracy when having to control information related to episodic signals. Remarkably, performances in episodic control were associated to the autism spectrum quotient in both groups, suggesting that this episodic control impairment might be at the core of ASDs. Those results plead for a specific, rather than generalised, deficit in executive functions in autism. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the impaired cognitive processes that are unique to autism and warrants confirmation using other models of executive functions.
authors.affiliation: Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Tunbridge Wells Hospital, TN24QJ Tunbridge Wells, UK. Electronic address: guillaumebarbalat@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbalat
authors.affiliation: INSERM U 955, IMRB & University Paris Est Creteil, AP-HP, Henri Mondor-Albert Chenevier Hospitals, Department of Psychiatry, Fondation FondaMental, French National Science Foundation, Creteil, France.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leboyer
authors.affiliation: CNRS (UMR 8129), Institut d'Etude de la Cognition, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. Electronic address: tiziana.zalla@ens.fr.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zalla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Asperger syndrome; Autism; Cascade model; Cognitive control; Episodic memory; Executive functions