eprintid: 1516135 rev_number: 27 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/01/51/61/35 datestamp: 2016-10-05 13:21:16 lastmod: 2021-09-26 22:23:27 status_changed: 2016-10-05 13:21:16 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Tillmann, J creators_name: Swettenham, J title: Visual perceptual load reduces auditory detection in typically developing individuals but not in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C07 divisions: D05 divisions: F71 note: Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. abstract: Objective: Previous studies examining selective attention in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yielded conflicting results, some suggesting superior focused attention (e.g. on visual search tasks), others demonstrating greater distractibility. This pattern could be accounted for by the proposal (derived by applying the Load theory of attention, e.g. Lavie, 2005) that ASD is characterized by an increased perceptual capacity (Remington, Swettenham, Campbell, & Coleman, 2009). Recent studies in the visual domain support this proposal. Here we hypothesize that ASD involves an enhanced perceptual capacity that also operates across sensory modalities, and test this prediction, for the first time using a signal detection paradigm. Method: 17 neurotypical (NT) and 15 ASD adolescents performed a visual search task under varying levels of visual perceptual load while simultaneously detecting presence/absence of an auditory tone embedded in noise. Results: Detection sensitivity (d’) for the auditory stimulus was similarly high for both groups in the low visual perceptual load condition (e.g. 2 items: p = .391, d = 0.31, 95% CI [-.39, 1.00]). However, at a higher level of visual load, auditory d’ reduced for the NT group but not the ASD group leading to a group difference (p = .002, d = 1.2, 95% CI [.44, 1.96]). As predicted, when visual perceptual load was highest, both groups then showed a similarly low auditory d’ (p = .9, d = 0.05, 95% CI [-.65, .74]). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that increased perceptual capacity in ASD operates across modalities. date: 2017 date_type: published publisher: American Psychological Association official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/neu0000329 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1159614 doi: 10.1037/neu0000329 lyricists_name: Swettenham, John lyricists_id: JGSWE94 actors_name: Swettenham, John actors_id: JGSWE94 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Neuropsychology volume: 31 number: 2 pagerange: 181-190 issn: 1931-1559 citation: Tillmann, J; Swettenham, J; (2017) Visual perceptual load reduces auditory detection in typically developing individuals but not in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neuropsychology , 31 (2) pp. 181-190. 10.1037/neu0000329 <https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000329>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1516135/1/Swettenham_Tillmann%2C%20J%20%26%20Swettenham%2C%20J%20%282016%29.pdf