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. 2012 Dec;42(12):2558-68.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-012-1512-1.

Cognitive flexibility in ASD; task switching with emotional faces

Marieke de Vries  1 , Hilde M Geurts
Affiliations

Cognitive flexibility in ASD; task switching with emotional faces

Marieke de Vries et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) show daily cognitive flexibility deficits, but laboratory data are unconvincing. The current study aimed to bridge this gap. Thirty-one children with ASD (8-12 years) and 31 age- and IQ-matched typically developing children performed a gender emotion switch task. Unannounced switches and complex stimuli (emotional faces) improved ecological validity; minimal working memory-load prevented bias in the findings. Overall performance did not differ between groups, but in a part of the ASD group performance was slow and inaccurate. Moreover, within the ASD group switching from emotion to gender trials was slower than vice versa. Children with ASD do not show difficulties on an ecological valid switch task, but have difficulty disengaging from an emotional task set.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic illustration of two sample trials from the gender-emotion switch task. RSI response stimulus interval. Time is in milliseconds
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Speed Accuracy tradeoff. OER omission error rate, CER = commission error rate ¹There was an interaction trend; children with ASD and high reaction times (n = 8), had relatively higher omission error rates than TD children with high reaction times (n = 8)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Switch costs in total reaction times on gender and emotion trials. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean. Emotion-gender emotion gender switch trials compared to gender gender repeat trials. Gender-emotion gender emotion switch trials compared to emotion emotion repeat trials. ¹Switch costs in reaction time were relatively higher on emotion to gender trials than on gender to emotion trials p = 0.08
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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