Inverted event-related potentials response to illusory contour in boys with autism.

• We examined the hypothesis of lower-level processing abnormalities related to perceptual grouping in boys with autism aged 3-6 years. We investigated event-related potentials response to visual elements that either formed perceptually coherent illusory contour or were arranged in a noncoherent way. The results showed that in healthy boys the illusory contour as compared with control stimulus elicited enhanced negativity of N1 peak (C effect), which has been previously found in adults. Autistic boys demonstrated the reliable inverted illusory contour effect, that is, more positive N1 amplitude to illusory contour. We hypothesized that boys with autism were sensitive to difference between illusory contour and control figures basing on collinearity processing mechanisms implemented in neural circuitry of primary visual cortex.

Keyword

Autistic Disorder

physiopathology

Child

Child

Preschool

Evoked Potentials

Visual

physiology

Humans

Illusions

physiology

Male

Photic Stimulation

Psychiatric Status Rating Scales

Visual Cortex

physiopathology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)