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Enhanced visual processing contributes to matrix reasoning in autism - PubMed

Enhanced visual processing contributes to matrix reasoning in autism

Isabelle Soulières et al. Hum Brain Mapp. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Recent behavioral investigations have revealed that autistics perform more proficiently on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) than would be predicted by their Wechsler intelligence scores. A widely-used test of fluid reasoning and intelligence, the RSPM assays abilities to flexibly infer rules, manage goal hierarchies, and perform high-level abstractions. The neural substrates for these abilities are known to encompass a large frontoparietal network, with different processing models placing variable emphasis on the specific roles of the prefrontal or posterior regions. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the neural bases of autistics' RSPM problem solving. Fifteen autistic and eighteen non-autistic participants, matched on age, sex, manual preference and Wechsler IQ, completed 60 self-paced randomly-ordered RSPM items along with a visually similar 60-item pattern matching comparison task. Accuracy and response times did not differ between groups in the pattern matching task. In the RSPM task, autistics performed with similar accuracy, but with shorter response times, compared to their non-autistic controls. In both the entire sample and a subsample of participants additionally matched on RSPM performance to control for potential response time confounds, neural activity was similar in both groups for the pattern matching task. However, for the RSPM task, autistics displayed relatively increased task-related activity in extrastriate areas (BA18), and decreased activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex (BA9) and the medial posterior parietal cortex (BA7). Visual processing mechanisms may therefore play a more prominent role in reasoning in autistics.

2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Sample stimuli for the pattern matching and RSPM tasks. (A) Pattern matching problems required matching the global pattern presented at the top of the screen with one of the patterns presented in the 2 rows below. (B) and (C) RSPM task problems were the 60 items of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. The task required selecting the correct answer from the alternatives presented at the bottom of the screen. An example of a figural problem is shown in (B) and of an analytic problem in (C).

Figure 2
Figure 2

Relative changes in pattern matching task‐related activity contrasted with inter‐trial fixation‐related activity displayed in axial section. Signal increases are shown in red‐yellow and signal decreases are shown in blue‐green. Regional variations in task‐related activity are displayed using an uncorrected critical threshold of p < .001 for t‐statistic maps overlaid on the SPM5 T1 template. Images are displayed using the neurological convention. Results are shown for (A) the non‐autistic and (B) the autistic group.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Relative changes in the RSPM task‐related activity contrasted with inter‐trial fixation‐related activity displayed in axial section. Signal increases are shown in red‐yellow and signal decreases are shown in blue‐green. The regional variations in task‐related activity are displayed using an uncorrected critical threshold of p <.001 for t‐statistic maps overlaid on the SPM5 T1 template. Images are displayed using the neurological convention. Results are shown for (A) the non‐autistic and (B) the autistic group.

Figure 4
Figure 4

Group differences in RSPM task‐related activity displayed in axial section. Areas in which the signal was greater in (A) the non‐autistic compared to the autistic group are displayed in blue‐green and areas in which the signal was greater in (B) the autistic compared to the non‐autistic group are displayed in red‐yellow. To show the spatial distribution of the task‐related effects, an uncorrected critical threshold of P <.01 and an extent threshold of 140 voxels were used in overlaying the t‐statistic maps on the anatomical template. Images are displayed using the neurological convention.

Figure 5
Figure 5

Volume renderings of group differences in RSPM task activity. Areas in which signal was greater in the autistic compared to the non‐autistic group are displayed in red‐yellow and areas in which the signal was greater in the non‐autistic compared to the AUT group are displayed in blue‐green. The spatial distribution of the task‐related effects is displayed using an uncorrected critical threshold of P <.01 and an extent threshold of 140 voxels. Renderings of the t‐statistic maps on LEFT, POSTERIOR, and RIGHT views of the anatomical template are shown.

Figure 6
Figure 6

Group differences in matrix reasoning contrasted with the pattern matching control condition displayed in coronal, axial and sagittal sections. This Group x Task interaction represents additional inferior occipital activity in the autistic group in the matrix reasoning compared to the pattern matching condition. The regional variations in task‐related activity are displayed using an uncorrected critical threshold of P < .01 for t‐statistic maps overlaid on the SPM5 T1 template. Peaks of activity were detected bilaterally in BA 18/19 (MNI coordinates −14, −86, −06 and +24, −78, −04, P < 0.001). Axial and coronal images are displayed in neurological convention.

Figure 7
Figure 7

Effect size (d) for the between‐group difference in the pattern matching, figural, and analytic problems at the coordinates of maximal between‐group difference found in the RSPM tasks. Effect sizes are reported for the left middle occipital gyrus (−22, −92, 18) in the left panel, right middle frontal gyrus (36, 42, 34) in the middle panel, and for the medial precuneus (2, −58, 54) in the right panel.

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