Increased influence of prior choices on perceptual decisions in autism

Feigin, Helen; Shalom-Sperber, Shir; Zachor, Ditza A.; Zaidel, Adam

doi:10.1101/2020.07.28.224808

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, contrary to these claims of uniformly weak priors (Pellicano & Burr, 2012), there is evidence for intact use of perceptual expectations and prior belief in ASD, for both natural and task-related priors (e.g. Feigin et al, 2021; Hadad & Schwartz, 2019; Manning et al, 2017; Van de Cruys et al, 2021). Several studies report that individuals with autism often develop very strong priors or expectations in particular contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Individuals with autism show non-adaptive relative weighting of perceptual prior and sensory reliability

Binur

Hel‐Or

Hadad

2022

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Modulation in sensory-perceptual processing is a known characteristic of autism, although the underlying mechanism is debated. A prevailing account is formulated in Bayesian terms, where either a reduced prior or reduced noise in the measurement (sensory input) may account for the modulated perception as expressed by the posterior distribution. However, research has shown that individuals with autism use priors in some conditions, and to the same extent as neurotypicals, while other studies fail to show enhanced sensory sensitivity in these individuals. We asked whether the modulated prior effects on perception may arise from non-adaptive relative weighting of priors to sensory reliability. We employed a Two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) width discrimination task, using the width–height illusion, which is based on a long-term acquired bias, where a taller rectangle is typically perceived as thinner than a shorter one. The measurement was manipulated by adding Gaussian blur on the vertical edges of the rectangles. Typically developed individuals displayed the expected increase in bias as a function of noise in the measurement. High-functioning individuals with autism exhibited typical perceptual resolutions and similar susceptibility to the illusion. However, the relative weighting of the perceptual bias and the sensory input differed in their effect on the two groups. Individuals with autism showed a non-adaptive, consistent bias across the different degrees of sensory noise, while typically developed individuals displayed monotonically increasing biases. Cluster analyses showed that this difference in the relative weighting between the groups was preserved regardless of the overall illusion magnitude displayed by individuals in each cluster. Lay abstract Unique perceptual skills and abnormalities in perception have been extensively demonstrated in those with autism for many perceptual domains, accounting, at least in part, for some of the main symptoms. Several new hypotheses suggest that perceptual representations in autism are unrefined, appear less constrained by exposure and regularities of the environment, and rely more on actual concrete input. Consistent with these emerging views, a bottom-up, data-driven fashion of processing has been suggested to account for the atypical perception in autism. It is yet unclear, however, whether reduced effects of prior knowledge and top-down information, or rather reduced noise in the sensory input, account for the often-reported bottom-up mode of processing in autism. We show that neither is sufficiently supported. Instead, we demonstrate clear differences between autistics and neurotypicals in how incoming input is weighted against prior knowledge and experience in determining the final percept. Importantly, the findings tap central differences in perception between those with and without autism that are consistent across identified sub-clusters within each group.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Individuals with autism show non-adaptive relative weighting of perceptual prior and sensory reliability

Binur

Hel‐Or

Hadad

2022

Autism

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the context of numerical problem solving, it is plausible that repeated practice with rule-based strategies may result in an overreliance of this strategy in children with ASD which persists beyond initial training, while TD children progress into memory-based strategies. Consistent with this view, it has been shown that individuals with ASD show increased influence of prior choices on subsequent decisions (Feigin et al, 2021). It is possible that while more efficient execution of rule-based strategies may contribute to preserved or enhanced generalization in children with ASD, persistence with same strategies may hinder learning in situations where flexible use of different problem-solving strategies is advantageous.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Atypical cognitive training-induced learning and brain plasticity and their relation to insistence on sameness in children with autism

Liu

Chang

Abrams

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often display atypical learning styles, however little is known regarding learning-related brain plasticity and its relation to clinical phenotypic features. Here, we investigate cognitive learning and neural plasticity using functional brain imaging and a novel numerical problem-solving training protocol. Children with ASD showed comparable learning relative to typically developing children but were less likely to shift from rule-based to memory-based strategy. Critically, while learning gains in typically developing children were associated with greater plasticity of neural representations in the medial temporal lobe and intraparietal sulcus, learning in children with ASD was associated with more stable neural representations. Crucially, the relation between learning and plasticity of neural representations was moderated by insistence on sameness, a core phenotypic feature of ASD. Our study uncovers atypical cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying learning in children with ASD, and informs pedagogical strategies for nurturing cognitive abilities in childhood autism.

show abstract

“…Moreover, a recent study showed that in a localization task, individuals with ASD have an enhanced consistency bias and tend to make the same decisions over trials. These studies suggest an inflexible decision rule in ASD (Feigin et al, 2021).…”

Section: Decision Rule In Asdmentioning

confidence: 71%

Sensory Perception in Autism: What Can We Learn?

Hadad

Yashar

2022

Annu. Rev. Vis. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown etiology. Recently, there has been a growing interest in sensory processing in autism as a core phenotype. However, basic questions remain unanswered. Here, we review the major findings and models of perception in autism and point to methodological issues that have led to conflicting results. We show that popular models of perception in autism, such as the reduced prior hypothesis, cannot explain the many and varied findings. To resolve these issues, we point to the benefits of using rigorous psychophysical methods to study perception in autism. We advocate for perceptual models that provide a detailed explanation of behavior while also taking into account factors such as context, learning, and attention. Furthermore, we demonstrate the importance of tracking changes over the course of development to reveal the causal pathways and compensatory mechanisms. Finally, we propose a developmental perceptual narrowing account of the condition. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 8 is September 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

show abstract

Increased influence of prior choices on perceptual decisions in autism

Cited by 6 publications

References 60 publications

Individuals with autism show non-adaptive relative weighting of perceptual prior and sensory reliability

Individuals with autism show non-adaptive relative weighting of perceptual prior and sensory reliability

Atypical cognitive training-induced learning and brain plasticity and their relation to insistence on sameness in children with autism

Sensory Perception in Autism: What Can We Learn?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About