Abstract
Background
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects many aspects of life, from social interactions
to (multi)sensory processing. Similarly, the condition expresses at a variety of levels
of description, from genetics to neural circuits and interpersonal behavior. We attempt
to bridge between domains and levels of description by detailing the behavioral, electrophysiological,
and putative neural network basis of peripersonal space (PPS) updating in ASD during
a social context, given that the encoding of this space relies on appropriate multisensory
integration, is malleable by social context, and is thought to delineate the boundary
between the self and others.
Methods
Fifty (20 male/30 female) young adults, either diagnosed with ASD or age- and sex-matched
individuals, took part in a visuotactile reaction time task indexing PPS, while high-density
electroencephalography was continuously recorded. Neural network modeling was performed
in silico.
Results
Multisensory psychophysics demonstrates that while PPS in neurotypical individuals
shrinks in the presence of others—as to “give space”—this does not occur in ASD. Likewise,
electroencephalography recordings suggest that multisensory integration is altered
by social context in neurotypical individuals but not in individuals with ASD. Finally,
a biologically plausible neural network model shows, as a proof of principle, that
PPS updating may be inflexible in ASD owing to the altered excitatory/inhibitory balance
that characterizes neural circuits in animal models of ASD.
Conclusions
Findings are conceptually in line with recent statistical inference accounts, suggesting
diminished flexibility in ASD, and further these observations by suggesting within
an example relevant for social cognition that such inflexibility may be due to excitatory/inhibitory
imbalances.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: April 09, 2021
Accepted:
March 29,
2021
Received in revised form:
March 8,
2021
Received:
December 19,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.