Oblique Orientation Discrimination Thresholds Are Superior in Those with a High Level of Autistic Traits

Dickinson, Abigail; Jones, Myles; Milne, Elizabeth

doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2147-1

Cited by 25 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…S4C). An attenuation of Bayesian priors thus correctly predicts reduced differences in sensitivity to cardinal and oblique orientations in autism (52).…”

Section: Simulation 3: Neural Implementation Of Bayesian Priorsmentioning

confidence: 85%

A computational perspective on autism

Rosenberg

Patterson

Angelaki

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

149

151

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Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests as a heterogeneous set of social, cognitive, motor, and perceptual symptoms. This system-wide pervasiveness suggests that, rather than narrowly impacting individual systems such as affection or vision, autism may broadly alter neural computation. Here, we propose that alterations in nonlinear, canonical computations occurring throughout the brain may underlie the behavioral characteristics of autism. One such computation, called divisive normalization, balances a neuron's net excitation with inhibition reflecting the overall activity of the neuronal population. Through neural network simulations, we investigate how alterations in divisive normalization may give rise to autism symptomatology. Our findings show that a reduction in the amount of inhibition that occurs through divisive normalization can account for perceptual consequences of autism, consistent with the hypothesis of an increased ratio of neural excitation to inhibition (E/I) in the disorder. These results thus establish a bridge between an E/I imbalance and behavioral data on autism that is currently absent. Interestingly, our findings implicate the context-dependent, neuronal milieu as a key factor in autism symptomatology, with autism reflecting a less "social" neuronal population. Through a broader discussion of perceptual data, we further examine how altered divisive normalization may contribute to a wide array of the disorder's behavioral consequences. These analyses show how a computational framework can provide insights into the neural basis of autism and facilitate the generation of falsifiable hypotheses. A computational perspective on autism may help resolve debates within the field and aid in identifying physiological pathways to target in the treatment of the disorder.A utism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is dramatically increasing in prevalence (Fig. 1). Recent data place the number of children being diagnosed with autism in the United States at 1 in 68, more than doubling in the last decade (1-4). The disorder is highly pervasive, affecting individuals at cognitive, motor, and perceptual levels. It is furthermore a "spectrum disorder," with symptoms that manifest in varying degrees across individuals. This heterogeneity presents significant challenges to establishing a comprehensive characterization of the disorder.Research investigating the genetic and molecular basis of autism implicates over 100 genes (5), many of which are involved in synaptic development and function (6-8). As such, one prominent hypothesis is that autism arises from a neurophysiological excitation-to-inhibition (E/I) imbalance (9, 10). However, the connection between an E/I imbalance and the behavioral characteristics of the disorder remains unclear. Considering the pervasive nature of autism, and the covariance of loosely related symptoms (11-14), one possibility is that an E/I imbalance widely affects neural computation, in turn giving rise to the broad behavioral symptoms recognized as autism.Here,...

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“…S4C). An attenuation of Bayesian priors thus correctly predicts reduced differences in sensitivity to cardinal and oblique orientations in autism (52).…”

Section: Simulation 3: Neural Implementation Of Bayesian Priorsmentioning

confidence: 85%

A computational perspective on autism

Rosenberg

Patterson

Angelaki

2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

149

151

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…We have recently found that orientation discrimination thresholds are decreased in adults with ASD (Dickinson et al, 2016, although see Schwarzkopf, Anderson, de Haas, White, & Rees, 2014Shafai, Armstrong, Iarocci, & Oruc, 2015), and also that orientation discrimination thresholds correlate with autistic traits in the neurotypical population (Dickinson, Jones, & Milne, 2014). Inhibitory mechanisms are implicated in orientation discrimination as they are known to be involved in tuning the orientation selectivity of cells, as orientation selective neurons become narrowly tuned to a particular orientation through lateral inhibition (Hubel & Wiesel, 1968), and GABAergic inhibition has been shown to directly influence orientation discrimination ability.…”

Section: Perceptual Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Measuring neural excitation and inhibition in autism: Different approaches, different findings and different interpretations

2016

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The balance of neural excitation and inhibition (E/I balance) is often hypothesised to be altered in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One widely held view is that excitation levels are elevated relative to inhibition in ASD. Understanding whether, and how, E/I balance may be altered in ASD is important given the recent interest in trialling pharmacological interventions for ASD which target inhibitory neurotransmitter function.Here we provide a critical review of evidence for E/I balance in ASD. We conclude that data from a number of domains provides support for alteration in excitation and inhibitory neurotransmission in ASD, but when considered collectively, the available literature provide little evidence to support claims for either a net increase in excitation or a net increase in inhibition. Strengths and limitations of available techniques are considered, and directions for future research discussed.3

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“…This task was adapted from Edden and colleagues ), and was used by us in previous work (Dickinson et al 2014;Dickinson et al 2015). The task design is illustrated in Figure 1.…”

Section: Orientation Discrimination Taskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superior orientation discrimination and increased peak gamma frequency in autism spectrum conditions.

Dickinson¹,

Bruyns‐Haylett²,

Smith³

et al. 2016

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

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While perception is recognised as being atypical in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC), the underlying mechanisms for such atypicality are unclear. Here we test the hypothesis that individuals with ASC will show enhanced orientation discrimination compared to neurotypical observers. This prediction is based both on anecdotal report of superior discriminatory skills in ASC and also on evidence in the auditory domain that some individuals with ASC have superior pitch discrimination. In order to establish whether atypical perception might be mediated by an imbalance in the ratio of neural excitation and inhibition (E:I ratio) we also measured peak gamma frequency which provides an indication of neural inhibition levels. Using a rigorous thresholding method we found that orientation discrimination thresholds for obliquely oriented stimuli were significantly lower in participants with ASC. Using EEG to measure the visually induced gamma band response we also found that peak gamma frequency was higher in participants with ASC, relative to a well-matched control group. These novel results suggest that neural inhibition may be increased in the occipital cortex of individuals with ASC. Implications for existing theories of an imbalance in the E:I ratio of ASC are discussed.

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Oblique Orientation Discrimination Thresholds Are Superior in Those with a High Level of Autistic Traits

Cited by 25 publications

References 43 publications

A computational perspective on autism

A computational perspective on autism

Measuring neural excitation and inhibition in autism: Different approaches, different findings and different interpretations

Superior orientation discrimination and increased peak gamma frequency in autism spectrum conditions.

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