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Spatio-temporal processing of tactile stimuli in autistic children

Abstract:
Altered multisensory integration has been reported in autism; however, little is known concerning how the autistic brain processes spatio-temporal information concerning tactile stimuli. We report a study in which a crossed-hands illusion was investigated in autistic children. Neurotypical individuals often experience a subjective reversal of temporal order judgments when their hands are stimulated while crossed and the illusion is known to be acquired in early childhood. However, under those conditions where the somatotopic representation is given priority over the actual spatial location of the hands, such reversals may not occur. Here, we showed that a significantly smaller illusory reversal was demonstrated in autistic children than in neurotypical children. Furthermore, in an additional experiment, the young boys who had higher Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores generally showed a smaller crossed hands deficit. These results suggest that rudimentary spatio-temporal processing of tactile stimuli exists in autistic children and the altered processing may interfere with the development of an external frame of reference in real-life situations.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.1038/srep05985

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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
Medical Sciences Division
Department:
Experimental Psychology
Role:
Author


Publisher:
Springer Nature
Journal:
Scientific Reports More from this journal
Volume:
4
Article number:
5985
Publication date:
2014-08-07
Acceptance date:
2014-07-22
DOI:
EISSN:
2045-2322


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
480107
UUID:
uuid:0dcc22d2-3cdf-46e8-915f-99dd1d355ca8
Local pid:
pubs:480107
Source identifiers:
480107
Deposit date:
2014-08-17
ARK identifier:

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