Overactive Pattern Separation Memory Associated with Negative Emotionality in Adults Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Adults with autism mix up look-alike pictures more often and feel worse while doing it.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked adults with autism to look at pictures that looked almost the same.
They had to tell which ones were brand new and which ones they had seen before.
The adults also filled out mood and motivation forms. A same-age group without autism did the same tasks.
What they found
The autism group mixed up the similar pictures more often.
They also reported more bad moods and less drive to finish tasks.
The worse the picture memory, the stronger the bad mood and low drive.
How this fits with other research
Antaki et al. (2008) first showed that strong feelings do not help adults with autism remember pictures better. Perez et al. (2015) now show that bad feelings go hand in hand with weaker picture memory.
Giesbers et al. (2020) found that children with autism also make more false memories. Together the studies say memory slips start early and stay into adulthood.
Ben Hassen et al. (2023) add that many adults with autism cannot name their feelings and notice body cues less. This may explain why bad mood and memory errors show up together.
Why it matters
When you teach a skill, do not trust that small changes will be noticed. Use clear, different examples and check for understanding each time. Add mood checks and simple feeling labels to your session. A calm body and clear labels may help the memory stick.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Bowler et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 44(9):2355-2362. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2105-y, 2014) have suggested that a specific memory impairment in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) arises from hippocampal failure to consolidate multiple related pieces of information. Twenty-four adults diagnosed with ASD and matched healthy controls completed a pattern separation memory task that is known to critically depend on hippocampal involvement. They additionally completed questionnaires regarding anxiety, depression, and behavioral motivation. Specific deficits in pattern separation were significantly correlated with negative emotionality; the best predictor of memory deficit was from a measure of achievement motivation that has also been associated with hyperactivity and impulsivity. In the context of impaired emotion regulation in ASD, there is a need for integrated cognitive, affective, and neural systems approaches to build targeted interventions.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2547-x