Neural mechanisms of "reduced adaptation" in autism spectrum disorder from the perspetive of the perception to repetitive stimuli.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K20311
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0110:Psychology and related fields
• Research Institution: NTT Communication Science Laboratories (2022); National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities (2021)
• Principal Investigator: ITOI Chihiro 日本電信電話株式会社NTTコミュニケーション科学基礎研究所, 柏野多様脳特別研究室, リサーチアソシエイト (30912878)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-08-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 自閉スペクトラム症 / 知覚 / 反復単語変形効果

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we focused on differences in perception of repetitive stimuli in order to gain insight into the neural mechanisms underlying the "reduced adaptation" phenomenon of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous studies have focused on the characteristic that the neural response of ASD individuals to repetitive stimuli is not diminished, but on the other hand, the aspect that the neural response is highly variable has also been noted. We examined the differences in the perceptual content of ASD and typically developing individuals using the verbal transformation effect, a type of auditory illusionthat changes how we hear (perceive) words when repeatedly presented.However, the neural mechanisms associated with the differences in their perceptual content are not clear.
Therefore, we conducted preliminary experiments to investigate the neural mechanisms involved in the qualitative differences in the perception of ASD and typical developmental individuals to repetitive stimuli.

Free Research Field

実験心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究成果は、自閉スペクトラム症者の生活上の困難の一つである「慣れなさ」を、感情的な反応の違いではなく、知覚そのものの違いから捉えることにより、そのメカニズムをより深く理解し、対応方法に関する知見を提供することに社会的意義がある。