Multisensory Integration and Attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from Event-related Potentials

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2011 Sep 3

PMID 21887382

Citations 19

Authors

Maurice J C M Magnee

Beatrice de Gelder

Herman van Engeland

Chantal Kemner

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Successful integration of various simultaneously perceived perceptual signals is crucial for social behavior. Recent findings indicate that this multisensory integration (MSI) can be modulated by attention. Theories of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) suggest that MSI is affected in this population while it remains unclear to what extent this is related to impairments in attentional capacity. In the present study Event-related potentials (ERPs) following emotionally congruent and incongruent face-voice pairs were measured in 23 high-functioning, adult ASD individuals and 24 age- and IQ-matched controls. MSI was studied while the attention of the participants was manipulated. ERPs were measured at typical auditory and visual processing peaks, namely, P2 and N170. While controls showed MSI during divided attention and easy selective attention tasks, individuals with ASD showed MSI during easy selective attention tasks only. It was concluded that individuals with ASD are able to process multisensory emotional stimuli, but this is differently modulated by attention mechanisms in these participants, especially those associated with divided attention. This atypical interaction between attention and MSI is also relevant to treatment strategies, with training of multisensory attentional control possibly being more beneficial than conventional sensory integration therapy.

Citing Articles

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Levy E, Foss-Feig J, Isenstein E, Srihari V, Anticevic A, Naples A Rev J Autism Dev Disord. 2022; 9(4):521-554.

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Late attentional processes potentially compensate for early perceptual multisensory integration deficits in children with autism: evidence from evoked potentials.

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