title: Synchrony Detection of Linguistic Stimuli in the Presence of Faces: Neuropsychological Implications for Language Development in ASD.
abstract: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) may be impaired in their ability to detect audiovisual synchrony and their ability may be influenced by the nature of the stimuli. We investigated the possibility that synchrony detection is disrupted by the presence of human faces by testing children with ASD using a preferential looking language-based paradigm. Children with low language abilities were significantly worse at detecting synchrony when the stimuli include an unobscured face than when the face was obscured. Findings suggest that the presence of faces may make multisensory processing more difficult. Implications for interventions are discussed, particularly those targeting attention to faces.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology , The University of Tennessee Health Science Center , Knoxville , Tennessee.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Patten
authors.affiliation: b Department of Kinesiology , University of North Carolina at Greensboro , Greensboro , North Carolina.
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Labban
authors.affiliation: a Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology , The University of Tennessee Health Science Center , Knoxville , Tennessee.
authors.forename: Devin M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Casenhiser
authors.affiliation: c Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders , University of North Carolina at Greensboro , Greensboro , North Carolina.
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cotton
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007804:Language Development; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*