The Association among Autistic Traits, Interactional Synchrony and Typical Pattern of Motor Planning and Execution in Neurotypical Individuals

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in interactional synchrony and motor performance, but little is known about the association between them. The current study investigated the association among aberrant interactional synchrony (as measured by interactors’ symmetry in the form of the hand at each time-point along movement’s execution), motor functioning and the level of Autistic traits. In this study, autistic traits were evaluated by the Autistic Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Two tasks were used: (1) an interactional synchrony task where participants and the research assistant were instructed to move their hands together; and (2) a motor planning task which allows for continuous monitoring of natural hand movements. Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant association between lower communication skills (i.e., higher AQ communication scores) and lower intentional synchrony rates. In addition, lower communication skills were found associated with typical patterns of motor planning and execution characterized by shorter time to start the movement and higher value of max speed. Mediator analyses supported the notion that aberrant intentional synchrony in individuals with low communication skills is partially mediated through typical patterns of motor planning and execution. These results suggest typical patterns of motor functions may account for intentional synchrony difficulties.

Evaluating Interactional Synchrony in Full-Body Interaction with Autistic Children

“…The same study associated flawed interactional synchrony with differences in motor control and proprioception in the autistic group compared to the other groups [26]. On the same line, other studies [27] suggest differences in interactional synchrony are associated with differences in motor skills. In addition, these studies and others [27,28] provide evidence for atypical interactional synchrony in autistic people and suggest it may lead to compromised social interaction by reducing opportunities for social-emotional reciprocity [3].…”

The Components of Interpersonal Synchrony in the Typical Population and in Autism: A Conceptual Analysis

“…Following error monitoring, internal predictive models and motor plans must be efficiently updated ( Shamay-Tsoory et al, 2019 ). Difficulties for autistic people with action prediction ( Montobbio et al, 2022 ) as well motor planning ( Granner-Shuman et al, 2021 ), both discussed above, are likely to be implicated here. As outlined in Part 1, the speed with which updating occurs is also an important consideration.…”

“…Immature motor skills are therefore believed to limit young children’s levels of IS ( Trainor and Cirelli, 2015 ), although there is limited direct evidence as to the role of motor skills in IS in typical populations. In support of a role for motor planning in intentional IS, reduced performance on a motor planning task was significantly associated with reduced intentional IS in a hand movement task ( Granner-Shuman et al, 2021 ). However, the contribution to IS of other aspects of motor abilities are yet unknown.…”

“…The heterogeneity in study outcomes may therefore reflect differential loading of motor tasks onto particular aspects of motor functioning. There is some evidence that motor planning may mediate the association between increased autistic traits and reduced IS ( Granner-Shuman et al, 2021 ), but the role of specific component motor processes in IS in autism is otherwise yet to be explored. In sum, the evidence for an association between motor abilities and reduced IS in autism is mixed.…”

“…Evidence indicates that IS is less accurate and/or less frequent in interactions involving autistic people, in both spontaneous ( Marsh et al, 2013 ; Fitzpatrick et al, 2016 ; Kaur et al, 2018 ; Georgescu et al, 2020 ; Zampella et al, 2020 ) and intentional ( Fitzpatrick et al, 2016 ) contexts. Several studies have found an association between lower levels of IS and higher levels of autistic traits ( Brezis et al, 2017 ; Cheng et al, 2017 ; Fitzpatrick et al, 2017b ; Zampella et al, 2020 ; Granner-Shuman et al, 2021 ; although cf. Kaur et al, 2018 ).…”