Williams Diane L, Goldstein Gerald, Carpenter Patricia A, Minshew Nancy J
School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2005 Dec;35(6):747-56. doi: 10.1007/s10803-005-0021-x.
Verbal and spatial working memory were examined in high-functioning children, adolescents, and adults with autism compared to age and cognitive-matched controls. No deficit was found in verbal working memory in the individuals with autism using an N-back letter task and standardized measures. The distinction between the N-back task and others used previously to infer a working memory deficit in autism is that this task does not involve a complex cognitive demand. Deficits were found in spatial working memory. Understanding the basis for the dissociation between intact verbal working memory and impaired spatial working memory and the breakdown that occurs in verbal working memory as information processing demands are increased will likely provide valuable insights into the neural basis of autism.
研究人员对高功能自闭症儿童、青少年和成年人的言语和空间工作记忆进行了测试，并与年龄和认知匹配的对照组进行了比较。使用N-back字母任务和标准化测量方法，未发现自闭症个体在言语工作记忆方面存在缺陷。N-back任务与之前用于推断自闭症工作记忆缺陷的其他任务的区别在于，该任务不涉及复杂的认知需求。研究发现自闭症个体在空间工作记忆方面存在缺陷。了解完整的言语工作记忆与受损的空间工作记忆之间分离的基础，以及随着信息处理需求增加言语工作记忆中出现的故障，可能会为自闭症的神经基础提供有价值的见解。
