How central is central coherence?: Preliminary evidence on the link between conceptual and perceptual processing in children with autism
Abstract
This study aimed to test the assumption drawn from weak central coherence theory that a central cognitive mechanism is responsible for integrating information at both conceptual and perceptual levels. A visual semantic memory task and a face recognition task measuring use of holistic information were administered to 15 children with autism and 16 typically developing children. If there is a central integration mechanism, performance on the two tasks should be positively associated. No relationship was found, however, between the two abilities in the comparison group and, unexpectedly, a strong significant inverse correlation was found in the autism group. Classification data further confirmed this finding and indicated the possibility of the presence of subgroups in autism. The results add to emerging evidence suggesting that central coherence is not a unitary construct.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Classically, three main theoretical frameworks explaining underlying neuropsychological functioning in ASD were presented: Theory of Mind, Executive Functioning, and Central Coherence.
“Classically, three main theoretical frameworks explaining underlying neuropsychological functioning were presented; Theory of Mind (ToM; e.g., Andreou & Skrimpa, 2020), Executive Functioning (EF; e.g., Demetriou et al., 2019) and Central Coherence (CC; e.g., López et al., 2008).”
From Innovations of the ICD-11 in the Field of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Psychological Approach (2022) · cites this paper as López et al., 2008
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association (2013) · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 · Cited by 116,369 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,842 · see citing works
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
&NA; (1988) · Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders · doi:10.1097/00002093-198802020-00022 · Cited by 12,603 · see citing works
Snodgrass, J. G., & Vanderwart, M. (1980) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Learning & Memory · doi:10.1037//0278-7393.6.2.174 · Cited by 5,604 · see citing works
Forest before trees: The precedence of global features in visual perception
Navon, D. (1977) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(77)90012-3 · Cited by 4,005 · see citing works
(1989) · UCL Discovery (University College London) · Cited by 2,724 · see citing works
Enhanced Perceptual Functioning in Autism: An Update, and Eight Principles of Autistic Perception
Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Hubert, B., & Burack, J. (2006) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0040-7 · Cited by 1,957 · see citing works
Autism: Explaining the enigma.
Wolff, S. (2004) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.t01-3-00211.x · Cited by 822 · see citing works
(1970) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 739 · see citing works
Reading for meaning and reading for sound in autistic and dyslexic children
Frith, U., & Snowling, M. (1983) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-835x.1983.tb00906.x · Cited by 506 · see citing works
Executive Function Abilities in Autism and Tourette Syndrome: An Information Processing Approach
Ozonoff, S. J., Strayer, D. L., McMahon, W. M., & Filloux, F. M. (1994) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1994.tb01807.x · Cited by 491 · see citing works
Jolliffe, T., & Baron-Cohen, S. (1999) · Cognition · doi:10.1016/s0010-0277(99)00022-0 · Cited by 467 · see citing works
Identifying neurocognitive phenotypes in autism
Tager-Flusberg, H., & Joseph, R. M. (2003) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2002.1198 · Cited by 460 · see citing works
Central coherence and theory of mind in autism: Reading homographs in context
Happe, F. G. E. (1997) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-835x.1997.tb00721.x · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Plaisted, K. C., O’Riordan, M., & Baron‐Cohen, S. (1998) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00375 · Cited by 356 · see citing works
Mottron, L., Burack, J. A., Iarocci, G., Belleville, S., & Enns, J. T. (2003) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00174 · Cited by 345 · see citing works
Face Perception in Children with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
Davies, S., Bishop, D., Manstead, A. S. R., & Tantam, D. (1994) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1994.tb01808.x · Cited by 325 · see citing works
A Study of Perceptual Analysis in a High-Level Autistic Subject with Exceptional Graphic Abilities
Mottron, L., & Belleville, S. (1993) · Brain and Cognition · doi:10.1006/brcg.1993.1060 · Cited by 267 · see citing works
Rinehart, N., Bradshaw, J. L., Moss, S. A., Brereton, A. V., & Tonge, B. J. (2000) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00664 · Cited by 232 · see citing works
Do children with autism fail to process information in context?
López, B., & Leekam, S. (2003) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00121 · Cited by 228 · see citing works
Self-citationTager-Flusberg, H. B. (1991) · British Journal of Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-835x.1991.tb00886.x · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Susceptibility to Illusions and Performance on Visuospatial Tasks in Individuals with Autism
Ropar, D., & Mitchell, P. (2001) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00748 · Cited by 205 · see citing works
Reduced Generalization in Autism: An Alternative to Weak Central Coherence
Plaisted, K. C. (2001) · Apollo (University of Cambridge) · Cited by 205 · see citing works
A Deficit in Shifting Attention Present in High-Functioning Autism but not Asperger’s Disorder
Rinehart, N., Bradshaw, J. L., Moss, S. A., Brereton, A. V., & Tonge, B. J. (2001) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361301005001007 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
REMEMBERING OF WORDS BY PSYCHOTIC AND SUBNORMAL CHILDREN
Hermelin, B., & O’Connor, N. (1967) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1967.tb01075.x · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Face processing in autistics: Evidence for a generalised deficit?
Gepner, B., de Gelder, B., & de Schonen, S. (1996) · Child Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/09297049608401357 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Face processing in high‐functioning adolescents with autism: Evidence for weak central coherence
López, B., Donnelly, N., Hadwin, J. A., & Leekam, S. (2004) · Visual Cognition · doi:10.1080/13506280344000437 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Self-citationLamb, M. R., & Robertson, L. C. (1989) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03208087 · Cited by 110 · see citing works
The Mental Representations of Faces and Houses: Issues Concerning Parts and Wholes
Donnelly, N., & Davidoff, J. B. (1999) · Visual Cognition · doi:10.1080/135062899395000 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Verbal Association for Simple Common Words in High-Functioning Autism
Toichi, M., & Kamio, Y. (2001) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/a:1012216925216 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Weak Central Coherence: A Cross-Domain Phenomenon Specific to Autism?
Hoy, J. A., Hatton, C., & Hare, D. J. (2004) · Autism · doi:10.1177/1362361304045218 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Further Evidence of Preserved Priming and Impaired Recall in Adults with Asperger's Syndrome
Gardiner, J. M., Bowler, D., & Grice, S. J. (2003) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1023/a:1024450416355 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Pellicano, E., Maybery, M. T., & Durkin, K. (2005) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00380.x · Cited by 53 · see citing works
The nature and specificity of the language coding deficit in autistic children
Ramondo, N., & Milech, D. (1984) · British Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1984.tb02793.x · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Santangelo, S. L., & Folstein, S. E. (1999) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/4945.003.0024 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 36 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Embodiment and sense-making in autism
Jaegher, H. D. (2013) · Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnint.2013.00015 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
A quantitative meta-analysis of face recognition deficits in autism: 40 years of research.
Griffin, J. W., Bauer, R. M., & Scherf, K. S. (2020) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000310 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Memory in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of experimental studies.
Desaunay, P., Briant, A. R., Bowler, D., Ring, M., Gérardin, P., Baleyte, J., Guenolé, F., Eustache, F., Parienti, J., & Guillery‐Girard, B. (2020) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/bul0000225 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Update on autism: A review of 1300 reports published in 2008
Hughes, J. R. (2009) · Epilepsy & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.09.023 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Xu, L., Liu, Y., Yu, J., Li, X., Yu, X., Cheng, H., & Li, J. (2019) · Journal of Neuroscience Methods · doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108538 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Psychiatry Beyond the Brain: Externalism, Mental Health, and Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Roberts, T., Krueger, J., & Glackin, S. (2019) · Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology · doi:10.1353/ppp.2019.0030 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Big heads, small details and autism
White, S. J., O’Reilly, H., & Frith, U. (2009) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.01.012 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Autistic Spectrum Disorders as Functional Disconnection Syndrome
Melillo, R. J., & Leisman, G. (2009) · Reviews in the Neurosciences · doi:10.1515/revneuro.2009.20.2.111 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Faja, S., Webb, S. J., Merkle, K. L., Aylward, E., & Dawson, G. (2008) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-008-0635-x · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The autistic mind in the light of neuropsychological studies
Pisula, E. (2010) · Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis · doi:10.55782/ane-2010-1784 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Innovations of the ICD-11 in the Field of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Psychological Approach
Greaves-Lord, K., Skuse, D., & Mandy, W. (2022) · Clinical Psychology in Europe · doi:10.32872/cpe.10005 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Face processing in children with ASD: Literature review
Campatelli, G., Federico, R. R., Apicella, F., Sicca, F., & Muratori, F. (2012) · Research in Autism · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2012.10.003 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Evaluating information processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The case for Fuzzy Trace Theory
Miller, H. L., Odegard, T. N., & Allen, G. (2014) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2013.12.002 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Sourn‐Bissaoui, S. L., Caillies, S., Gierski, F., & Motte, J. E. (2010) · Research in Autism · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.07.012 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
How do we comprehend linguistic and visual narratives? A study in children with typical development
Adornetti, I., Chiera, A., Altavilla, D., Deriu, V., Lecci, C. M., Marini, A., Valeri, G., Magni, R., & Ferretti, F. (2022) · Language Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.langsci.2022.101500 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Riches, N. G., Loucas, T., Baird, G., Charman, T., & Simonoff, E. A. (2015) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-015-2560-0 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Teoría de la coherencia central: una revisión de los supuestos teóricos
López, B., & Leekam, S. R. (2007) · Journal for the Study of Education and Development Infancia y Aprendizaje · doi:10.1174/021037007781787462 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationNeuropsychologische Modelle von Autismus-Spektrum-Störungen
Dziobek, I., & Bölte, S. (2011) · Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie · doi:10.1024/1422-4917/a000094 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
The biopsychosocial processes in autism spectrum disorder
Silva, E. B., Filipini, R., Monteiro, C. B. D. M., Valenti, V. E., de Carvalho, S. M. F., Wajnsztejn, R., de Farias, M. D. C. A. D., Macêdo, C. C., & de Abreu, L. C. (2013) · International Archives of Medicine · doi:10.1186/1755-7682-6-22 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Visuospatial Processing in Children with Autism: No Evidence for (Training-Resistant) Abnormalities
Chabani, E., & Hommel, B. (2014) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2107-9 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Adornetti, I., Chiera, A., Deriu, V., Altavilla, D., & Ferretti, F. (2023) · Language & Communication · doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2023.10.001 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Poquérusse, J., Pagnini, F., & Langer, E. J. (2020) · Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s41252-020-00180-9 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Visual, Motor, and Visual-Motor Integration Difficulties in Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Oliver, K. L. (2022) · Digital Archive @ GSU · doi:10.57709/4163851 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Neurobiologically based interventions for autism spectrum disorders-rationale and new directions
Poustka, L., Brandeis, D., Hohmann, S., Holtmann, M. H., Bölte, S., & Banaschewski, T. (2014) · Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience · doi:10.3233/rnn-139010 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Maljaars, J., Noens, I. L. J., SCHOLTE, E. M., Verpoorten, R., & van Berckelaer‐Onnes, I. A. (2010) · Journal of Intellectual Disability Research · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01351.x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Greaves‐Lord, K., Alma, M., de Graaff, B., Landsman-Dijkstra, J., van der Weide, K., Jagersma, G., Beskers, T., Wubs, M., Mandemaker, H., van Daalen, E., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1229596 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Gillberg, C., Allely, C. S., Bourgeron, T., Coleman, M., Fernell, E., Hadjikhani, N. K., & Sarovic, D. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108297769.007 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
López, B., Kargas, N., Udell, J. E., Rubin, T. R., Burgess, L., Dew, D., McDonald, I., O’Brien, A., & Templeton-Mepstead, K. (2021) · Advances in Autism · doi:10.1108/aia-11-2019-0038 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationPellicano, E. (2012) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315455.003.0007 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Face Identity Recognition Deficit across Ages
Song, Y. (2023) · Graduate Student Journal of Psychology · doi:10.52214/gsjp.v20i1.10622 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Bae, Y. S. (2013) · ProQuest LLC eBooks · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Effects of Propranolol on Cognition and Eye Contact in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Saklayen, S. S. (2010) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Face Processing Strategies in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Daniel, N. (2011) · City Research Online (City University London) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Programa de integración gestáltico (PIG) aplicado a estudiantes con trastornos del espectro autista
Rúa, M. O. (2009) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Cognition and Drawing in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder
Eycke, K. T. (2013) · UVic’s Research and Learning Repository (University of Victoria)
Emotion processing in high-functioning autistic children: a priming task
Ruggles, A. (2020) · Western CEDAR (Western Washington University) · doi:10.25710/78at-ph78
(2010) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781118269954.refs
سالم, أ. (2021) · مجلة التربية الخاصة · doi:10.21608/mtkh.2021.232038
Humor in neurodevelopmental conditions
Treichel, N. (2023) · doi:10.51363/unifr.lth.2024.027
Code Psychology: How Organic Codes Create Mind
Vedor, J. E. (2026) · Theory & Psychology · doi:10.1177/09593543261445014
Category learning in children with ASD: a systematic review
Luzhnova, K. Т. (2026) · Психологические исследования · doi:10.54359/ps.v19i107.2145
- Authors
- López, B., Leekam, S. R., & Arts, G. R. J.
- Affiliations
- University of the West of England (GB)
- Durham University (GB)
- Venue
- Autism
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2008-03
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 159-171
- ISSN
- 1362-3613 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7005
- OpenAlex
- W2057233137
- Cited by
- 44
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Autism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Keywords
- central coherence, holistic processing, face recognition (cognition), children, autism subgroups, cognitive classification
- MeSH terms
- Autistic Disorder, Child, Cognition Disorders, Concept Formation, Humans, Memory Disorders, Neuropsychological Tests, Perceptual Disorders, Reaction Time, Visual Perception, Case-Control Studies
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review