Episodic memory and episodic future thinking in adults with autism.

The ability to remember past experiences (episodic memory) is thought to be related to the ability to imagine possible future experiences (episodic future thinking). Although previous research has established that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have diminished episodic memory, episodic future thinking has not previously been investigated within this population. In the present study, high-functioning adults with ASD were compared to closely matched typical adults on a task requiring participants to report a series of events that happened to them in the past and a series of events that might happen to them in the future. For each event described, participants completed two modified Memory Characteristics Questionnaire items to assess self-reported phenomenal qualities associated with remembering and imagining, including self-perspective and degree of autonoetic awareness. Participants also completed letter, category, and ideational fluency tasks. Results indicated that participants with ASD recalled/imagined significantly fewer specific events than did comparison participants and that participants with ASD demonstrated impaired episodic memory and episodic future thinking. In line with this finding, participants with ASD were less likely than comparison participants to report taking a field (first-person) perspective and were more likely to report taking an observer (third-person) perspective during retrieval of past events (but not during simulation of future events), highlighting that they were less likely to mentally reexperience past events from their own point of view. There were no group differences in self-reported levels of autonoetic awareness or fluency task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Word learning in children with autism spectrum disorders.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been gaining attention, partly as an example of unusual developmental trajectories related to early neurobiological differences. The present investigation addressed the process of learning new words to explore mechanisms of language delay and impairment. The sample included 21 typically developing toddlers matched on expressive vocabulary with 21 young children with ASD. Two tasks were administered to teach children a new word and were supplemented by cognitive and diagnostic measures. In most analyses, there were no group differences in performance. Children with ASD did not consistently make mapping errors, even in word learning situations that required the use of social information. These findings indicate that some children with ASD, in developmentally appropriate tasks, are able to use information from social interactions to guide word–object mappings. This result has important implications for understanding of how children with ASD learn language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Play and the child with autism spectrum disorder: From possibilities to practice.

In this article, the author (a) examines the nature of play as it pertains to children with autism spectrum disorder and (b) analyzes the theories surrounding play deficit explanations in this population of children. Possibilities for practice are discussed in terms of behavioral and developmental approaches to play. An argument is made in favor of developmental play therapy for children who have autism spectrum disorder. Support for developmental approaches is shaped by a definition of play that embraces a child-directed model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A practical approach to implementing theraplay for children with autism spectrum disorder.

Theraplay is a counseling approach that uses elements of play therapy to help children build better attachment relationships with others through attachment-based play. This article describes a practical approach for implementing Group Theraplay with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), particularly those that are mainstreamed in a kindergarten classroom setting. The approach uses resources that are already in place in schools today, such as mental health professionals (e.g., school counselor, social worker, etc.) and teachers. Foundational Theraplay assumptions, therapeutic goals, empirical support, and implementation guidelines are provided. Comparative effectiveness research examining the use of Group Theraplay with this population in this setting versus the use of alternative therapeutic approaches is needed. To help guide future research in this needed area of outcomes investigation, several assessment instruments appropriate for clinical research use with this population are suggested. Ethical and cultural implications pertinent to the application of Group Theraplay for children with ASD also are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term memory scanning viewed as exemplar-based categorization.

Exemplar-similarity models such as the exemplar-based random walk (EBRW) model (Nosofsky & Palmeri, 1997b) were designed to provide a formal account of multidimensional classification choice probabilities and response times (RTs). At the same time, a recurring theme has been to use exemplar models to account for old–new item recognition and to explain relations between classification and recognition. However, a major gap in research is that the models have not been tested on their ability to provide a theoretical account of RTs and other aspects of performance in the classic Sternberg (1966) short-term memory-scanning paradigm, perhaps the most venerable of all recognition-RT tasks. The present research fills that gap by demonstrating that the EBRW model accounts in natural fashion for a wide variety of phenomena involving diverse forms of short-term memory scanning. The upshot is that similar cognitive operating principles may underlie the domains of multidimensional classification and short-term old–new recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The profile of memory function in children with autism.

A clinical memory test was administered to 38 high-functioning children with autism and 38 individually matched normal controls, 8-16 years of age. The resulting profile of memory abilities in the children with autism was characterized by relatively poor memory for complex visual and verbal information and spatial working memory with relatively intact associative learning ability, verbal working memory, and recognition memory. A stepwise discriminant function analysis of the subtests found that the Finger Windows subtest, a measure of spatial working memory, discriminated most accurately between the autism and normal control groups. A principal components analysis indicated that the factor structure of the subtests differed substantially between the children with autism and controls, suggesting differing organizations of memory ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interidentity memory transfer in dissociative identity disorder.

Controversy surrounding dissociative identity disorder (DID) has focused on conflicting findings regarding the validity and nature of interidentity amnesia, illustrating the need for objective methods of examining amnesia that can discriminate between explicit and implicit memory transfer. In the present study, the authors used a cross-modal manipulation designed to mitigate implicit memory effects. Explicit memory transfer between identities was examined in 7 DID participants and 34 matched control participants. After words were presented to one identity auditorily, the authors tested another identity for memory of those words in the visual modality using an exclusion paradigm. Despite self-reported interidentity amnesia, memory for experimental stimuli transferred between identities. DID patients showed no superior ability to compartmentalize information, as would be expected with interidentity amnesia. The cross-modal nature of the test makes it unlikely that memory transfer was implicit. These findings demonstrate that subjective reports of interidentity amnesia are not necessarily corroborated by objective tests of explicit memory transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relative risk and timing of divorce in families of children with an autism spectrum disorder.

We compared the occurrence and timing of divorce in 391 parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and a matched representative sample of parents of children without disabilities using a survival analysis. Parents of children with an ASD had a higher rate of divorce than the comparison group (23.5% vs. 13.8%). The rate of divorce remained high throughout the son's or daughter's childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood for parents of children with an ASD, whereas it decreased following the son's or daughter's childhood (after about age 8 years) in the comparison group. Younger maternal age when the child with ASD was born and having the child born later in the birth order were positively predictive of divorce for parents of children with an ASD. Findings have implications for interventions focused on ameliorating ongoing and long-term marital strains for parents of children with an ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Executive function in individuals with subthreshold autism traits.

Objective: Recent research has documented increased psychosocial difficulties in individuals who report higher-than-typical autistic traits but without an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Less is known, however, regarding the cognitive profile of individuals with subthreshold autism symptomatology. The objective of the present study was to provide additional insight into this issue and examine whether young adults who report higher degrees of autism traits also report experiencing increased difficulties with executive control. Method: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function was utilized to evaluate behavioral aspects of executive functioning in 66 and 28 individuals who endorsed high and low subthreshold levels of autism symptomatology, respectively. Results: After accounting for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptomatology at both the group and individual participant levels, we found that autism traits continued to explain a significant amount of variance in participants' overall level of executive function (Global Executive Composite) as well as within most individual executive domains. Interestingly, the high and low trait groups did not differ on the inhibitory control and organization of materials scales, areas of functioning that appears to be largely spared in individuals with ASD as well. Conclusions: Findings from the present study are consistent with past research linking ASD and executive control impairment. In addition, ASD and ADHD traits were associated with unique contributions to the executive control profile of individuals with subthreshold autism symptomatology. This finding underscores the importance of accounting for ADHD symptomatology in studying ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for selective inhibitory impairment in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Objective: The social and communicative challenges faced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often compounded by additional difficulties with executive function. It remains unclear, however, to what the extent individuals with ASD experienced impairment in inhibitory control. The objective of the present study was to assess the three main subtypes of executive inhibitory control within a single ASD sample thus providing new insight into the unique ASD-related pattern of sparing and impairment observed across different aspects of inhibitory control. Method: A sample of 28 children with ASD (mean age = 13.1 years) and a comparison group of 49 neurologically uncompromised children (mean age = 13.3 years) participated. A prepotent response inhibition task, a flanker visual filtering task, and a proactive interference memory task were used to evaluate prepotent response inhibition, resistance to distracter interference, and resistance to proactive interference, respectively. Results: After accounting for individual differences in noninhibition abilities (e.g., processing speed) and overall level of functioning, there was no evidence of group-related differences in inhibitory performance on the prepotent response inhibition test or proactive interference test. ASD-related impairments in inhibitory control were evident, however, on the flanker visual filtering task. Conclusions: Taken together, the present findings indicate that ASD is associated with impairments in some, but not all, aspects of inhibitory control. Individuals with ASD appear to have difficulty ignoring distracting visual information, but prepotent response inhibition and resistance to proactive interference are relatively intact. The current findings also provide support for a multitype model of inhibitory control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intact implicit learning of spatial context and temporal sequences in childhood autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by atypicalities in domains that are posited to rely on implicit learning processes such as social communication, language, and motor behavior. The authors examined 2 forms of implicit learning in 14 children with high-functioning ASD (10 of whom were diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome) and 14 control children, learning of spatial context known to be mediated by the medial temporal lobes (using the contextual cueing task) and of sequences known to be mediated by frontal-striatal and frontal-cerebellar circuits (using the alternating serial reaction time task). Both forms of learning were unimpaired in ASD. Spatial contextual implicit learning was spared in ASD despite slower visual search of spatial displays. The present findings provide evidence for the integrity of learning processes dependent on integration of spatial and sequential contextual information in high-functioning children with ASD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of monetary reward on memory in schizophrenia spectrum disorder.

The impact of monetary reward on verbal working memory (vWM) and verbal long-term memory (vLTM) was evaluated in 50 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 52 matched healthy participants. This research was motivated by the observations that negative symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with reduced drive and that patients with these symptoms exhibit greater mnemonic impairments. Reward-related gains were evaluated across two levels of vWM load on the n-back task and across three aspects of vLTM derived from the California Verbal Learning Test-II (i.e., learning, total immediate recall, and retention). Although healthy individuals benefited from reward at a high vWM load level, schizophrenia patients exhibited no reward-related improvements in vWM. In contrast, improvement in vLTM retention was induced by reward for both patients and controls. Finally, symptomatic and pharmacology treatment factors were associated with reward-related gains in persons with schizophrenia. In conclusion, contingent monetary rewards delivered during vWM and vLTM enhanced specific aspects of memory. The influence was relatively small and dependent on the specific neurocognitive operation examined, the mental health status of the participants, and for patients, their particular symptoms and pharmacological treatments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patterns of growth in verbal abilities among children with autism spectrum disorder.

Verbal skills were assessed at approximately ages 2, 3, 5, and 9 years for 206 children with a clinical diagnosis of autism (n = 98), pervasive developmental disorders-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; n = 58), or nonspectrum developmental disabilities (n = 50). Growth curve analyses were used to analyze verbal skills trajectories over time. Nonverbal IQ and joint attention emerged as strong positive predictors of verbal outcome. The gap between the autism and other 2 groups widened with time as the latter improved at a higher rate. However, there was considerable variability within diagnostic groups. Children with autism most at risk for more serious language impairments later in life can be identified with considerable accuracy at a very young age, while improvement can range from minimal to dramatic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term memory factor in the design of data-entry keyboards: An interface between short-term memory and S-R compatibility.

An experiment on immediate recall of an 8-digit sequence was carried out. Mode of recall was via a data-entry keyboard. 2 keyboard layouts were used, 1 of high and 1 of low compatibility. The low-compatibility keyboard required more time for entry and gave more errors. These extra errors were identified as being primarily memory rather than aiming errors. The results are discussed in terms of an interface between short-term memory and S-R compatibility; they are held to support a memory model involving a limited-capacity channel, and a practical design conclusion is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Short-term memory and time estimation: Beyond the 2-second "critical" value.

The authors showed previously that when time intervals around two sec are reproduced concurrently with a memory task, intervals are positively related to duration of memory processing. However, some data in research on timing as well as in memory research suggest that 2 sec might be a critical duration beyond which different mechanisms or structures would support performance. This implies that the interference observed between memory processing and 2-sec productions could be specific to these durations, and would not be obtained with longer durations. In this experiment, intervals ranging from 1.85 to 6.45 sec were reproduced by participants (16 females and 12 males, aged 18-33 yrs), who were searching simultaneously for a memory probe. At all durations, reproductions were positively related to memory set size. These findings have implications with regards to previous research indicating a discontinuity around 2-3 sec in time perception. They suggest in particular that the role of memory is similar in reproduction of durations around 2 sec and of longer durations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ease of access to list items in short-term memory depends on the order of the recognition probes.

We report data from 4 experiments using a recognition design with multiple probes to be matched to specific study positions. Items could be accessed rapidly, independent of set size, when the test order matched the study order (forward condition). When the order of testing was random, backward, or in a prelearned irregular sequence (reordered conditions), the classic Sternberg result was obtained: Response times were slow and increased linearly with set size. A number of explanations for forward-condition facilitation were ruled out, such as the predictability of the study order (Experiment 2), the predictability of the probe order (Experiment 1), the covariation of study and test orders (Experiments 1, 2, and 4), processes of probe encoding and perception that did not rely on STM access (Experiments 1, 2, and 4), specific support of the forward condition by articulatory processes (Experiment 3), or condition-dependent strategic differences (Experiment 4). More detailed analyses demonstrated that fast forward responses could not be accounted for by the effects of input position and output position that modulated random responses, effects that did account for the slower responses of the reordered conditions (Experiments 1, 3, and 4). A final analysis of probe-to-probe transitions as a function of encoding distance revealed a sizeable single-step benefit in the random condition. We concluded that STM representations were serial rather than spatial and that forward probes benefited from their serial adjacency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Successive responses to simultaneous stimulation in elderly patients with memory disorder.

"This study was designed to test the notion that memory disorder, clinically ascertained in elderly persons, may be related to a breakdown in the kind of storage system which has been adduced to explain successive responses to simultaneous stimulation in normal young adults… . The results… support the hypothesis." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4FI09I. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problems of method in the study of short-term memory.

Considerations of design which have been problems in the study of long-term memory are discussed in the context of short-term memory research. These problems include the type of experimental design (independent versus repeated measures), the measurement of immediate retention, and the means by which the retention interval is filled. This review indicates that these methodological problems are also present in the investigation of short-term memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance of schizophrenia and bipolar patients on verbal and figural working memory tasks.

Working memory (WM) was studied in 82 healthy volunteers, 43 schizophrenia patients, and 81 bipolar patients. Schizophrenia patients were impaired on verbal and figural WM tasks that possessed similar test discriminating power. Bipolar patients performed similarly to healthy volunteers. A mathematical model of WM performance revealed a primary role for reduced WM span in accounting for the impaired verbal WM of schizophrenia patients and a primary role for diminished attention in accounting for impaired figural WM. Although WM impairment in schizophrenia is due neither to the general effects of severe mental illness nor to the specific type of material studied, the microarchitecture of abnormal WM in schizophrenia may depend on the stimulus material presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)