Research article summary (published 14 Apr 2008):

Disturbed holistic processing in autism spectrum disorders verified by two cognitive tasks requiring perception of complex visual stimuli.

Full Abstract

Central coherence is a key concept in research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It refers to the process in which diverse information is integrated and higher meaning is constructed in context. A malfunction in this process could result in abnormal attention to partial information in preference to the whole. To verify this hypothesis, we studied the performance of two visual tasks by 10 patients with autistic disorder or Asperger's disorder and by 26 (experiment 1) or 25 (experiment 2) normal subjects. In experiment 1, the subjects memorized pictures, some pictures with a change related to the main theme (D1) and others with a change not related to the main theme (D2); then the same pictures were randomly presented to the subjects who were asked to find the change. In experiment 2, the subjects were presented pictures of a normal (N) or a Thatcherized (T) face arranged side by side inversely (I) or uprightly (U) and to judge them as the same or different. In experiment 1, ASD subjects exhibited significantly lower rates of correct responses in D1 but not in D2. In experiment 2, ASD subjects exhibited significantly longer response times in NT-U but not in TN-I. These results showed a deficit in holistic processing, which is consistent with weak central coherence in ASD.

Author information

Author/s: Nakahachi, Takayuki (T); Yamashita, Ko (K); Iwase, Masao (M); Ishigami, Wataru (W); Tanaka, Chitaru (C); Toyonaga, Koji (K); Maeda, Shizuyo (S); Hirotsune, Hideto (H); Tei, Yosyo (Y); Yokoi, Koichi (K); Okajima, Shoji (S); Shimizu, Akira (A); Takeda, Masatoshi (M);

Affiliation: Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, D3 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. nakaha(-atsign-)psy.med.osaka-u.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Psychiatry research (Psychiatry Res), published in Ireland. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 159 (issue 3) : pp 330-8

Dates: Created 2008/05/20; Completed 2008/07/28;

PMID: 18417223, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Asperger Syndrome - diagnosis; psychology Attention Autistic Disorder - diagnosis; psychology Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; psychology Comprehension Concept Formation Control Groups Discrimination (Psychology) Face Female

Form Perception Humans Intelligence Tests Judgment Male Memory Photic Stimulation Reaction Time Recognition (Psychology) Task Performance and Analysis Visual Perception

Related articles

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

• Brief report: cognitive flexibility and focused attention in children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism as measured on the computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. 25 Oct 2007
• Is the linguistic content of speech less salient than its perceptual features in autism? 4 Jul 2007
• Linguistic processing in high-functioning adults with autism or Asperger's syndrome. Is global coherence impaired? 30 Aug 2000
• The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test revised version: a study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism. 30 Jan 2001
• Reading the mind in the voice: a study with normal adults and adults with Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism. 30 May 2002
• Brief report: perception of body posture--what individuals with autism spectrum disorder might be missing. 30 Aug 2007
• Atypical face gaze in autism. 30 May 2002
• Diagnosis and evaluation of pervasive developmental disorders. 30 Dec 2004
• Lexical knowledge and lexical use in autism. 30 Jul 2006
• The empathy quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high functioning autism, and normal sex differences. 30 Mar 2004

See 100+ related articles.

Related Article Map

Legend: - FREE Full text Article. - Abstract only. - Title only. More help.

See a large map of 100+ related articles.