Title
Inflexible Updating of the Self-Other Divide During a Social Context in Autism: Psychophysical, Electrophysiological, and Neural Network Modeling Evidence
Date Issued
01 August 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Noel J.P.
Terrebonne E.
Feldman J.I.
Woynaroski T.
Cascio C.J.
Seriès P.
Wallace M.T.
University of Edinburgh
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Inc.
Abstract
Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects many aspects of life, from social interactions to (multi)sensory processing. Similarly, the condition expresses at a variety of levels of description, from genetics to neural circuits and interpersonal behavior. We attempt to bridge between domains and levels of description by detailing the behavioral, electrophysiological, and putative neural network basis of peripersonal space (PPS) updating in ASD during a social context, given that the encoding of this space relies on appropriate multisensory integration, is malleable by social context, and is thought to delineate the boundary between the self and others. Methods: Fifty (20 male/30 female) young adults, either diagnosed with ASD or age- and sex-matched individuals, took part in a visuotactile reaction time task indexing PPS, while high-density electroencephalography was continuously recorded. Neural network modeling was performed in silico. Results: Multisensory psychophysics demonstrates that while PPS in neurotypical individuals shrinks in the presence of others—as to “give space”—this does not occur in ASD. Likewise, electroencephalography recordings suggest that multisensory integration is altered by social context in neurotypical individuals but not in individuals with ASD. Finally, a biologically plausible neural network model shows, as a proof of principle, that PPS updating may be inflexible in ASD owing to the altered excitatory/inhibitory balance that characterizes neural circuits in animal models of ASD. Conclusions: Findings are conceptually in line with recent statistical inference accounts, suggesting diminished flexibility in ASD, and further these observations by suggesting within an example relevant for social cognition that such inflexibility may be due to excitatory/inhibitory imbalances.
Start page
756
End page
764
Volume
7
Issue
8
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Psicología Neurociencias
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85107981263
PubMed ID
Source
Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
ISSN of the container
24519022
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (Grant No. R21MH109225 [to CJC, MTW]).
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus