Cited by 22Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchVisual perception and processing mechanismsChild and Animal Learning Development

Structural and contextual priors affect visual search in children with and without autism

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Van de Cruys, Sander, Lemmens, Lisa, Sapey‐Triomphe, Laurie‐Anne, Chetverikov, Andrey, Noens, Ilse, Wagemans, Johan·2021·Autism Research

Abstract

Bayesian predictive coding theories of autism spectrum disorder propose that impaired acquisition or a broader shape of prior probability distributions lies at the core of the condition. However, we still know very little about how probability distributions are learned and encoded by children, let alone children with autism. Here, we take advantage of a recently developed distribution learning paradigm to characterize how children with and without autism acquire information about probability distributions. Twenty-four autistic and 25-matched neurotypical children searched for an odd-one-out target among a set of distractor lines with orientations sampled from a Gaussian distribution repeated across multiple trials to allow for learning of the parameters (mean and variance) of the distribution. We could measure the width (variance) of the participant's encoded distribution by introducing a target-distractor role-reversal while varying the similarity between target and previous distractor mean. Both groups performed similarly on the visual search task and learned the distractor distribution to a similar extent. However, the variance learned was much broader than the one presented, consistent with less informative priors in children irrespective of autism diagnosis. These findings have important implications for Bayesian accounts of perception throughout development, and Bayesian accounts of autism specifically. LAY SUMMARY: Recent theories about the underlying cognitive mechanisms of autism propose that the way autistic individuals estimate variability or uncertainty in their perceptual environment may differ from how typical individuals do so. Children had to search an oddly tilted line in a set of lines pointing in different directions, and based on their response times we examined how they learned about the variability in a set of objects. We found that autistic children learn variability as well as typical children, but both groups learn with less precision than typical adults do on the same task.

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  • Individuals with autism spectrum disorder showed faster responses to certain stimuli, such as detecting odd stimuli in patterns of similar stimuli.

    “However, individuals with ASD showed faster responses to certain stimuli (i.e., detecting the odd stimuli in patterns of similar stimuli) (Van de Cruys et al., 2021)”

    From Predictive coding in neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic transdiagnostic review. (2025) · cites this paper as Van de Cruys et al., 2021

    The ‘Average visual search performance’ section reports faster search among children with high autism-trait scores, particularly in the shortest response-time bins, during an odd-one-out task. But it describes typical overall performance for the ASD group; the Discussion says there was no overall group effect and reports greater accuracy, rather than faster responses, for children with ASD at very short response times. The claim overgeneralizes a qualified finding to individuals with ASD as a group. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • When asked to detect a target stimulus in a pattern of similar stimuli or the motion of an object, individuals with autism spectrum disorder process the information faster and better.

    “Specifically, when they are asked to detect a target stimulus in a pattern of similar stimuli or the motion of an object, individuals with ASD process the information faster and better (Van de Cruys et al., 2021).”

    From Predictive coding in neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic transdiagnostic review. (2025) · cites this paper as Van de Cruys et al., 2021

    The Average visual search performance section reports faster search without an accuracy cost among children with high autism traits in the shortest response-time bins, but says overall visual search performance in children with ASD was typical. The Discussion likewise limits an accuracy advantage to very short response times. Motion discrimination is mentioned as a related finding from other studies, not as a task this paper tested, so the claim overgeneralizes both the population and the conditions. (LLM, conf=0.89)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Individuals with autism spectrum disorder had intact sensorimotor control.

    “and intact sensorimotor control.”

    From Predictive coding in neuropsychiatric disorders: a systematic transdiagnostic review. (2025) · cites this paper as Van de Cruys et al., 2021

    The Average visual search performance section reports typical visual-search performance in children with ASD, but it does not assess whether their sensorimotor control was intact. Searches for “sensorimotor control” and motor-control-related task measures found no passage addressing that claim; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.72)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Wechsler, D. (1992). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd Edition NL). The Psychological Corporation.
  2. Jeffreys, H. (1998). The Theory of Probability. OUP Oxford.

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Authors
Van de Cruys, S., Lemmens, L., Sapey‐Triomphe, L., Chetverikov, A., Noens, I., & Wagemans, J.
Affiliations
  • Laboratory of Experimental Psychology KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
  • KU Leuven (BE)
  • Visual Computation Lab, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior Nijmegen The Netherlands
Venue
Autism Research
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2021-04-02
Volume
14
Issue
7
Pages
1484-1495
ISSN
  • 1939-3792 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-3806
OpenAlex
W3151618560
Cited by
22
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3
FWCI
1.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Autism Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (1171717N, METH/14/02)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, prior distributions, distribution learning, visual search, children, uncertainty estimation, odd-one-out task, role reversal
MeSH terms
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Adult, Autistic Disorder, Bayes Theorem, Child, Humans, Learning, Reaction Time, Visual Perception

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