Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18B Trumpington Rd, Cambridge CB2 8AH, UK.
Mol Autism. 2013 Nov 20;4(1):40. doi: 10.1186/2040-2392-4-40.
Synaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental condition in which a sensation in one modality triggers a perception in a second modality. Autism (shorthand for Autism Spectrum Conditions) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving social-communication disability alongside resistance to change and unusually narrow interests or activities. Whilst on the surface they appear distinct, they have been suggested to share common atypical neural connectivity.
In the present study, we carried out the first prevalence study of synaesthesia in autism to formally test whether these conditions are independent. After exclusions, 164 adults with autism and 97 controls completed a synaesthesia questionnaire, Autism Spectrum Quotient, and Test of Genuineness-Revised (ToG-R) online.
The rate of synaesthesia in adults with autism was 18.9% (31 out of 164), almost three times greater than in controls (7.22%, 7 out of 97, P <0.05). ToG-R proved unsuitable for synaesthetes with autism.
The significant increase in synaesthesia prevalence in autism suggests that the two conditions may share some common underlying mechanisms. Future research is needed to develop more feasible validation methods of synaesthesia in autism.
联觉是一种神经发育状况，其中一种感觉模式会引发另一种感觉模式的感知。自闭症（Autism Spectrum Conditions 的简称）是一种神经发育状况，涉及社交沟通障碍，以及对变化的抵制和异常狭窄的兴趣或活动。虽然它们表面上看起来不同，但有人认为它们具有共同的非典型神经连通性。
在本研究中，我们进行了自闭症中联觉的首次患病率研究，以正式测试这些情况是否独立。排除后，164 名自闭症成年人和 97 名对照者在线完成了联觉问卷、自闭症谱系商数和真实性测试修订版（ToG-R）。
自闭症成年人的联觉率为 18.9%（31 人），几乎是对照组的三倍（7.22%，7 人，P<0.05）。ToG-R 对自闭症的联觉者不适用。
自闭症中联觉患病率的显著增加表明，这两种情况可能具有一些共同的潜在机制。需要进一步研究来开发更可行的自闭症中联觉验证方法。
