Perceptual learning in autism: Over-specificity and possible remedies

Hila Harris; David Israeli; Nancy Minshew; Yoram Bonneh; David J. Heeger; Marlene Behrmann; Dov Sagi

doi:10.1038/nn.4129

Perceptual learning in autism: Over-specificity and possible remedies

Hila Harris, David Israeli, Nancy Minshew, Yoram Bonneh, David J. Heeger, Marlene Behrmann, Dov Sagi

Research output: Contribution to journal › Short survey › peer-review

48 Scopus citations

Abstract

Inflexible behavior is a core characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but its underlying cause is unknown. Using a perceptual learning protocol, we observed initially efficient learning in ASD that was followed by anomalously poor learning when the location of the target was changed (over-specificity). Reducing stimulus repetition eliminated over-specificity. Our results indicate that inflexible behavior may be evident ubiquitously in ASD, even in sensory learning, but can be circumvented by specifically designed stimulation protocols.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1574-1576
Number of pages	3
Journal	Nature Neuroscience
Volume	18
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4129
State	Published - 1 Nov 2015
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Nature America, Inc.

Funding

We thank R. Egan, A. Gupta and J. Geskin for their assistance in data collection, and D. Plaut and R. Malach for fruitful comments and discussions. This work was supported by grants from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. H.H. thanks the Azrieli Foundation for the award of an Azrieli Fellowship.

Funders	Funder number
Simons Foundation
United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation
Azrieli Foundation

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10.1038/nn.4129

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Perceptual learning in autism: Over-specificity and possible remedies

Abstract

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