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PMID: 9018582 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Inhibitory function in nonretarded children with autism.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders ·Vol. 27 ·No. 1 ·1997-02-00 ·Pages 59-77

Ozonoff S, Strayer DL

Abstract

This study examined inhibitory function in nonretarded children with autism (n = 13) and normally developing controls (n = 13) matched on age and IQ. Tasks measuring motor and cognitive components of inhibition were administered to both groups. On the Stop-Signal paradigm, children with autism were able to inhibit motor responses to neutral and prepotent stimuli as well as control subjects. On the Negative Priming task, the groups were equally capable of inhibiting processing of irrelevant distractor stimuli in a visual display. Results suggest that at least two components of inhibition are spared in individuals with autism, standing in contrast to flexibility and other executive deficits that have been found in previous studies. These findings may help distinguish children with autism from those with other neurodevelopmental conditions that involve executive dysfunction.

MeSH Terms
Adolescent Attention Autistic Disorder/diagnosis,psychology Child Female Humans Inhibition, Psychological Male Psychomotor Performance Reaction Time
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ozonoff S
University of Utah, USA.
Strayer D L
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of autism and developmental disorders
Abbr.
J Autism Dev Disord
ISSN
0162-3257
DOI
10.1023/a:1025821222046
Published
1997-02-00
Pages
59-77
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
7904301
Subset
IM
Grants
NIMH NIH HHS · R29-MH52229 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1023/a:1025821222046 View journal details
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