Dickinson, A., Jones, M. and Milne, E. orcid.org/0000-0003-0127-0718 (2014) Oblique Orientation Discrimination Thresholds Are Superior in Those with a High Level of Autistic Traits. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44 (11). pp. 2844-2850. ISSN 0162-3257
Abstract
Enhanced low-level perception, although present in individuals with autism, is not seen in individuals with high, but non-clinical, levels of autistic traits (Brock et al.in Percept Lond 40(6):739. doi:10.1068/p6953, 2011). This is surprising, as many of the higher-level visual differences found in autism have been shown to correlate with autistic traits in non-clinical samples. Here we measure vertical–oblique and, more difficult, oblique–oblique orientation discrimination thresholds in a non-clinical sample. As predicted, oblique–oblique thresholds provided a more sensitive test of orientation discrimination, and were negatively related to autistic traits (N = 94, r = −.356, p < .0001). We conclude that individual differences in orientation discrimination and autistic traits are related, and suggest that both of these factors could be mediated by increased levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Autistic traits; Orientation discrimination; Visual perception |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 13 Apr 2016 11:42 |
Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2016 11:24 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2147-1 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s10803-014-2147-1 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:98308 |