BACKGROUND: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been shown to have multisensory integration deficits, which may lead to problems perceiving complex, multisensory environments. For example, understanding audiovisual speech requires integration of visual information from the lips and face with auditory information from the voice, and audiovisual speech integration deficits can lead to impaired understanding and comprehension. While there is strong evidence for an audiovisual speech integration impairment in ASD, it is unclear whether this impairment is due to low level perceptual processes that affect all types of audiovisual integration or if it is specific to speech processing. METHOD: Here, we measure audiovisual integration of basic speech (i.e., consonant-vowel utterances) and object stimuli (i.e., a bouncing ball) in adolescents with ASD and well-matched controls. We calculate a temporal window of integration (TWI) using each individual's ability to identify which of two videos (one temporally aligned and one misaligned) matches auditory stimuli. The TWI measures tolerance for temporal asynchrony between the auditory and visual streams, and is an important feature of audiovisual perception. RESULTS: While controls showed similar tolerance of asynchrony for the simple speech and object stimuli, individuals with ASD did not. Specifically, individuals with ASD showed less tolerance of asynchrony for speech stimuli compared to object stimuli. In individuals with ASD, decreased tolerance for asynchrony in speech stimuli was associated with higher ratings of autism symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that audiovisual perception in ASD may vary for speech and object stimuli beyond what can be accounted for by stimulus complexity.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been shown to have multisensory integration deficits, which may lead to problems perceiving complex, multisensory environments. For example, understanding audiovisual speech requires integration of visual information from the lips and face with auditory information from the voice, and audiovisual speech integration deficits can lead to impaired understanding and comprehension. While there is strong evidence for an audiovisual speech integration impairment in ASD, it is unclear whether this impairment is due to low level perceptual processes that affect all types of audiovisual integration or if it is specific to speech processing. METHOD: Here, we measure audiovisual integration of basic speech (i.e., consonant-vowel utterances) and object stimuli (i.e., a bouncing ball) in adolescents with ASD and well-matched controls. We calculate a temporal window of integration (TWI) using each individual's ability to identify which of two videos (one temporally aligned and one misaligned) matches auditory stimuli. The TWI measures tolerance for temporal asynchrony between the auditory and visual streams, and is an important feature of audiovisual perception. RESULTS: While controls showed similar tolerance of asynchrony for the simple speech and object stimuli, individuals with ASD did not. Specifically, individuals with ASD showed less tolerance of asynchrony for speech stimuli compared to object stimuli. In individuals with ASD, decreased tolerance for asynchrony in speech stimuli was associated with higher ratings of autism symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that audiovisual perception in ASD may vary for speech and object stimuli beyond what can be accounted for by stimulus complexity.
Authors: John J Foxe; Sophie Molholm; Victor A Del Bene; Hans-Peter Frey; Natalie N Russo; Daniella Blanco; Dave Saint-Amour; Lars A Ross Journal: Cereb Cortex Date: 2013-08-28 Impact factor: 5.357
Authors: Jacob I Feldman; Kacie Dunham; Margaret Cassidy; Mark T Wallace; Yupeng Liu; Tiffany G Woynaroski Journal: Neurosci Biobehav Rev Date: 2018-10-01 Impact factor: 8.989
Authors: Kacie Dunham; Jacob I Feldman; Yupeng Liu; Margaret Cassidy; Julie G Conrad; Pooja Santapuram; Evan Suzman; Alexander Tu; Iliza Butera; David M Simon; Neill Broderick; Mark T Wallace; David Lewkowicz; Tiffany G Woynaroski Journal: Am J Intellect Dev Disabil Date: 2020-07-01
Authors: Jacob I Feldman; Kacie Dunham; Julie G Conrad; David M Simon; Margaret Cassidy; Yupeng Liu; Alexander Tu; Neill Broderick; Mark T Wallace; Tiffany G Woynaroski Journal: Res Autism Spectr Disord Date: 2020-04-11
Authors: Jacob I Feldman; Kacie Dunham; Gabriella E DiCarlo; Margaret Cassidy; Yupeng Liu; Evan Suzman; Zachary J Williams; Grace Pulliam; Sophia Kaiser; Mark T Wallace; Tiffany G Woynaroski Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2022-08-26
Authors: Jacob I Feldman; Julie G Conrad; Wayne Kuang; Alexander Tu; Yupeng Liu; David M Simon; Mark T Wallace; Tiffany G Woynaroski Journal: J Autism Dev Disord Date: 2021-06-08