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. 2025 Feb;18(2):281-294.
doi: 10.1002/aur.3281. Epub 2024 Dec 5.

Cognitive flexibility in autism: How task predictability and sex influence performances

Adeline Lacroix  1   2 , Emma Torija  1 , Alexander Logemann  3 , Monica Baciu  1 , Renata Cserjesi  3 , Frédéric Dutheil  4 , Marie Gomot  5 , Martial Mermillod  1
Affiliations

Cognitive flexibility in autism: How task predictability and sex influence performances

Adeline Lacroix et al. Autism Res. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

While cognitive flexibility challenges are frequently reported in autistic individuals, inconsistencies in the findings prompt further investigation into the factors influencing this flexibility. We suggest that unique aspects of the predictive brain in autistic individuals might contribute to these challenges, potentially varying by sex. Our study aimed to test these hypotheses by examining cognitive flexibility under different predictability conditions in a sample including a similar number of males and females. We conducted an online study with 263 adults (127 with an autism diagnosis), where participants completed a flexibility task under varying levels of predictability (unpredictable, moderately predictable, and predictable). Our results indicate that as task predictability increases, performance improves; however, the response time gap between autistic and non-autistic individuals also widens. Moreover, we observe significant differences between autistic males and females, which differ from non-autistic individuals, highlighting the need to consider sex differences in research related to the cognition of autistic individuals. Overall, our findings contribute to a better understanding of cognitive flexibility and sex differences in autism in light of predictive brain theories and suggest avenues for further research.

Keywords: autism; cognitive flexibility; gender differences; predictive brain; sex differences.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Stimuli and procedure. (a) Number of participants in each group. (b) Procedure including the three conditions. Predictable condition = task shifting every three trials. Moderately predictable condition = task shifting every three trials 70% of the trials, and after two trials 30% of the trials. Unpredictable condition = task shifting randomly. (c) Example of a screen when a wrong answer is given (top) and enlargement of the message (bottom).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Significant main effects on correct response (CR) and response time (RT). The box plots on the left represent the observed median percentage of CR for figures (a) and (b) and the median observed RT in second for figures (c) and (d), with the interquartile range and individual data points for each condition. The red crosses represent the observed means. The line plots on the right represent the estimated marginal means with their 95% CI. (a) Main effect of shift on CR, (b) Main effect of predictability on CR. (c) Main effect of shift on RT, (d) Main effect of predictability on RT. pred, predictable; mod pred, moderately predictable; unpred, unpredictable; S, shift; NS, non‐shift.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Significant interactions on response time (on correct responses). The box plots on the left represent the observed median response time (RT) in second with the interquartile range and individual data points for each condition, and the red crosses represent the observed means. The line plots on the right represent the estimated marginal means with their 95% CI. (a) Interaction between shift condition and predictability. (b) Interaction between group and predictability. (c) Interaction between shift condition and sex. (d) Interaction between shift condition, predictability, group and sex. pred, predictable; mod pred, moderately predictable; unpred, unpredictable.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Significant interaction on correct responses. The only significant interaction on correct responses (CR) was between group and sex. The box plots on the left represent the observed median percentage of CR with the interquartile range and individual data points for each condition, and the red crosses represent the observed means. The line plots on the right represent the estimated marginal means with their 95% CI.
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