Using Time Perception to Explore Implicit Sensitivity to Emotional Stimuli in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com

Y

13

Autism; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Emotional Response; Time; Perception; Cues; Pictorial Stimuli; Adults; Comparative Analysis; Undergraduate Students; Arousal Patterns; Foreign Countries; Correlation; Statistical Analysis; Graduate Students; Intelligence Tests

10.1007/s10803-017-3120-6

0162-3257

Establishing whether implicit responses to emotional cues are intact in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is fundamental to ascertaining why their emotional understanding is compromised. We used a temporal bisection task to assess for responsiveness to face and wildlife images that varied in emotional salience. There were no significant differences between an adult ASD and comparison group, with both showing implicit overestimation of emotional stimuli. Further, there was no correlation between overestimation of emotional stimuli and autistic traits in undergraduate students. These data do not suggest a fundamental insensitivity to the arousing content of emotional images in ASD, or in individuals with a high degree of autistic traits. The findings have implications for understanding how emotional stimuli are processed in ASD.

As Provided

68

2017

EJ1144271