title: Inter-individual cognitive variability in children with Asperger's syndrome.
abstract: Multiple studies have tried to establish the distinctive profile of individuals with Asperger's syndrome (AS). However, recent reports suggest that adults with AS feature heterogeneous cognitive profiles. The present study explores inter-individual variability in children with AS through group comparison and multiple case series analysis. All participants completed an extended battery including measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence, executive functions, theory of mind, and classical neuropsychological tests. Significant group differences were found in theory of mind and other domains related to global information processing. However, the AS group showed high inter-individual variability (both sub- and supra-normal performance) on most cognitive tasks. Furthermore, high fluid intelligence correlated with less general cognitive impairment, high cognitive flexibility, and speed of motor processing. In light of these findings, we propose that children with AS are characterized by a distinct, uneven pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina ; National Scientific and Technical Research Council Buenos Aires, Argentina ; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience, Diego Portales University Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Maria Luz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Gadea
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tripicchio
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Alexia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rattazzi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina ; National Scientific and Technical Research Council Buenos Aires, Argentina ; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience, Diego Portales University Santiago, Chile ; Universidad Catolica Argentina Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baez
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba Cordoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina ; National Scientific and Technical Research Council Buenos Aires, Argentina ; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience, Diego Portales University Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina ; National Scientific and Technical Research Council Buenos Aires, Argentina ; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience, Diego Portales University Santiago, Chile ; Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Facundo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Manes
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience, Institute of Cognitive Neurology, Favaloro University Buenos Aires, Argentina ; National Scientific and Technical Research Council Buenos Aires, Argentina ; UDP-INECO Foundation Core on Neuroscience, Diego Portales University Santiago, Chile ; Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders Sydney, NSW, Australia ; Universidad Autonoma del Caribe Barranquilla, Colombia.
authors.forename: Agustin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibanez
keywords: Asperger's syndrome; executive functions; fluid intelligence; individual variability; theory of mind