Ultra-Rapid Categorization of Meaningful Real-Life Scenes in Adults With and Without ASD.
In comparison to typically developing (TD) individuals, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appear to be worse in the fast extraction of the global meaning of a situation or picture. Ultra-rapid categorization [paradigm developed by Thorpe et al. (Nature 381:520-522, 1996)] involves such global information processing. We therefore tested a group of adults with and without ASD, without intellectual disability, on a set of ultra-rapid categorization tasks. Individuals with ASD performed equally well as TD individuals except when the task required the categorization of social interactions. These results argue against a general deficit in ultra-rapid gist perception in people with ASD, while suggesting a more specific problem with the fast processing of information about social relations.
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), 3000, Louvain, Belgium. steven.vanmarcke@ppw.kuleuven.be.|Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium. steven.vanmarcke@ppw.kuleuven.be.
Steven
S
Vanmarcke
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), 3000, Louvain, Belgium.|Department of Child Psychiatry, UPC-KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.|Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
Ruth
R
Van Der Hallen
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), 3000, Louvain, Belgium.|Department of Child Psychiatry, UPC-KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.|Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
Kris
K
Evers
Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.|Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.|Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Ilse
I
Noens
Department of Child Psychiatry, UPC-KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.|Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
Jean
J
Steyaert
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), 3000, Louvain, Belgium.|Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Louvain, Belgium.
Johan
J
Wagemans
D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
Autism spectrum disorder; Reverse hierarchy theory; Theory of mind; Ultra-rapid categorization; Vision research