title: Rethinking the concepts of 'local or global processors': evidence from Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, and Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: Both Williams syndrome (WS) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been characterized as preferentially processing local information, whereas in Down syndrome (DS) the reported tendency is to process stimuli globally. We designed a cross-syndrome, cross-task comparison to reveal similarities and differences in local/global processing in these disorders. Our in-depth study compared local/global processing across modalities (auditory-verbal/visuo-spatial) and levels of processing (high/low) in the three syndromes. Despite claims in the literature, participants with ASD or WS failed to show a consistent local processing bias, while those with DS failed to show a reliable global processing bias. Depending on the nature of the stimuli and the task, both local and global processing biases were evident in all three neurodevelopmental disorders. These findings indicate that individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders cannot simply be characterized as local or global processors.
authors.affiliation: Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Souza
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Health, University College London, UK.
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.affiliation: Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Connolly
authors.affiliation: Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Happé
authors.affiliation: Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, University of London, UK.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karmiloff-Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D065853:Spatial Learning / Q000502:physiology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology; D018980:Williams Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult