Executive functions are employed to process episodic and relational memories in children with autism spectrum disorders
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In: Neuropsychology, Vol. 27, No. 6, 11.2013, p. 615-27.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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T1 - Executive functions are employed to process episodic and relational memories in children with autism spectrum disorders
AU - Maister, Lara
AU - Simons, Jon S
AU - Plaisted-Grant, Kate
N1 - PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Long-term memory functioning in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is marked by a characteristic pattern of impairments and strengths. Individuals with ASD show impairment in memory tasks that require the processing of relational and contextual information, but spared performance on tasks requiring more item-based, acontextual processing. Two experiments investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying this memory profile.METHOD: A sample of 14 children with a diagnosis of high-functioning ASD (age: M = 12.2 years), and a matched control group of 14 typically developing (TD) children (age: M = 12.1 years), participated in a range of behavioral memory tasks in which we measured both relational and item-based memory abilities. They also completed a battery of executive function measures.RESULTS: The ASD group showed specific deficits in relational memory, but spared or superior performance in item-based memory, across all tasks. Importantly, for ASD children, executive ability was significantly correlated with relational memory but not with item-based memory. No such relationship was present in the control group. This suggests that children with ASD atypically employed effortful, executive strategies to retrieve relational (but not item-specific) information, whereas TD children appeared to use more automatic processes.CONCLUSIONS: The relational memory impairment in ASD may result from a specific impairment in automatic associative retrieval processes with an increased reliance on effortful and strategic retrieval processes. Our findings allow specific neural predictions to be made regarding the interactive functioning of the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex in ASD as a neural network supporting relational memory processing.
AB - OBJECTIVE: Long-term memory functioning in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is marked by a characteristic pattern of impairments and strengths. Individuals with ASD show impairment in memory tasks that require the processing of relational and contextual information, but spared performance on tasks requiring more item-based, acontextual processing. Two experiments investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying this memory profile.METHOD: A sample of 14 children with a diagnosis of high-functioning ASD (age: M = 12.2 years), and a matched control group of 14 typically developing (TD) children (age: M = 12.1 years), participated in a range of behavioral memory tasks in which we measured both relational and item-based memory abilities. They also completed a battery of executive function measures.RESULTS: The ASD group showed specific deficits in relational memory, but spared or superior performance in item-based memory, across all tasks. Importantly, for ASD children, executive ability was significantly correlated with relational memory but not with item-based memory. No such relationship was present in the control group. This suggests that children with ASD atypically employed effortful, executive strategies to retrieve relational (but not item-specific) information, whereas TD children appeared to use more automatic processes.CONCLUSIONS: The relational memory impairment in ASD may result from a specific impairment in automatic associative retrieval processes with an increased reliance on effortful and strategic retrieval processes. Our findings allow specific neural predictions to be made regarding the interactive functioning of the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex in ASD as a neural network supporting relational memory processing.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Analysis of Variance
KW - Child
KW - Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/complications
KW - Cognition Disorders/etiology
KW - Executive Function/physiology
KW - Female
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Memory Disorders/etiology
KW - Mental Recall/physiology
KW - Neuropsychological Tests
KW - Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
KW - Psychometrics
KW - Statistics as Topic
KW - Verbal Learning
U2 - 10.1037/a0034492
DO - 10.1037/a0034492
M3 - Article
C2 - 24245930
VL - 27
SP - 615
EP - 627
JO - Neuropsychology
JF - Neuropsychology
SN - 0894-4105
IS - 6
ER -