Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Neuropsychology. 2013 Mar;27(2):152-60. doi: 10.1037/a0031721.
Restricted and repetitive behaviors, and a pronounced preference for behavioral and environmental consistency, are distinctive characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Whether these clinical features of ASD are related to fundamental neuropsychological impairments in behavioral flexibility remains to be clarified.
Forty-one individuals with ASD and 37 matched controls performed a probabilistic reversal learning task to assess behavioral flexibility. Participants learned to choose the correct stimulus location from a pair of locations to win points (acquisition). After making the correct choice over multiple trials, the rewarded stimulus location changed without warning (reversal). Feedback was provided on an 80:20 probabilistic schedule, with 80% of correct choices and 20% of incorrect choices randomly reinforced.
ASD and control participants performed comparably during acquisition. At reversal, ASD participants initially chose the new correct location as quickly as controls, but then more frequently reverted back to the previously preferred response. The ASD group also more frequently shifted back to the previous response choice immediately following intermittent non-reinforcement of the new correct response. The number of regressive errors was positively correlated with independently ascertained clinical ratings of restricted and repetitive behaviors, but not other core features of ASD.
Restricted and repetitive behaviors in ASD are associated with neurocognitive deficits in flexible choice behavior. Preclinical research has established that frontostriatal circuitry supports flexibility on reversal learning tasks. Thus, alterations in this circuitry may contribute to behavioral rigidity in ASD and represent a target for therapeutic intervention.
限制和重复的行为，以及对行为和环境一致性的明显偏好，是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的独特特征。这些 ASD 的临床特征是否与行为灵活性的基本神经心理损伤有关，仍需阐明。
41 名 ASD 患者和 37 名匹配的对照组参与者进行了概率反转学习任务，以评估行为灵活性。参与者学习从一对位置中选择正确的刺激位置以赢得分数（获得）。在多次试验中做出正确选择后，奖励的刺激位置会在没有警告的情况下发生变化（反转）。反馈以 80:20 的概率计划提供，80%的正确选择和 20%的错误选择随机强化。
ASD 和对照组参与者在获得阶段表现相当。在反转时，ASD 参与者最初像对照组一样快速选择新的正确位置，但随后更频繁地恢复到之前偏好的反应。ASD 组在新的正确反应随机强化的间歇性非强化后，也更频繁地立即回到之前的反应选择。回归错误的次数与独立确定的限制和重复行为的临床评分呈正相关，但与 ASD 的其他核心特征无关。
ASD 中的限制和重复行为与灵活选择行为的神经认知缺陷有关。临床前研究已经确定，额纹状体电路支持反转学习任务中的灵活性。因此，这种电路的改变可能导致 ASD 中的行为僵硬，并代表治疗干预的目标。
