Freyberg Jan, Robertson Caroline E, Baron-Cohen Simon
J Vis. 2015;15(13):11. doi: 10.1167/15.13.11.
The dynamics of binocular rivalry may be a behavioral footprint of excitatory and inhibitory neural transmission in visual cortex. Given the presence of atypical visual features in Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC), and the growing evidence in support of the idea of an imbalance in excitatory/inhibitory neural transmission in animal and genetic models of ASC, we hypothesized that binocular rivalry might prove a simple behavioral marker of such a transmission imbalance in the autistic brain. In support of this hypothesis, we previously reported a slower rate of rivalry in ASC, driven by longer transitional states between dominant percepts. We tested whether atypical dynamics of binocular rivalry in ASC are specific to certain stimulus features. 53 participants (26 with ASC, matched for age, sex, and IQ) participated in a binocular rivalry experiment in which the dynamics of rivalry were measured at two levels of stimulus complexity, low (grayscale gratings) and high (colored objects). Individuals with ASC experienced a slower rate of binocular rivalry, driven by longer transitional states between dominant percepts. These exaggerated transitional states were present at both low and high levels of stimulus complexity (gratings and objects), suggesting that atypical binocular dynamics in autism are robust with respect to stimulus choice. Interactions between stimulus properties and rivalry dynamics in autism indicate that achromatic grating stimuli produce stronger group differences. These results confirm the finding of atypical dynamics of binocular rivalry in ASC. These dynamics were present for stimuli of both low and high levels of visual complexity, suggesting a pervasive imbalance in competitive interactions throughout the visual system of individuals with ASC.
双眼竞争的动态变化可能是视觉皮层中兴奋性和抑制性神经传递的行为印记。鉴于自闭症谱系障碍（ASC）存在非典型视觉特征，且越来越多的证据支持在ASC的动物和遗传模型中兴奋性/抑制性神经传递失衡的观点，我们推测双眼竞争可能是自闭症大脑中这种传递失衡的一个简单行为标志物。为支持这一假设，我们之前报告了ASC中竞争速率较慢，这是由优势知觉之间较长的过渡状态驱动的。我们测试了ASC中双眼竞争的非典型动态变化是否特定于某些刺激特征。53名参与者（26名患有ASC，在年龄、性别和智商方面匹配）参与了一项双眼竞争实验，其中在两种刺激复杂度水平下测量竞争动态变化，低复杂度（灰度光栅）和高复杂度（彩色物体）。患有ASC的个体经历了较慢的双眼竞争速率，这是由优势知觉之间较长的过渡状态驱动的。这些夸张的过渡状态在低复杂度和高复杂度刺激水平（光栅和物体）下均存在，表明自闭症中双眼的非典型动态变化在刺激选择方面具有稳健性。自闭症中刺激属性与竞争动态之间的相互作用表明，消色差光栅刺激产生更强的组间差异。这些结果证实了ASC中双眼竞争非典型动态变化的发现。这些动态变化在低视觉复杂度和高视觉复杂度的刺激中均存在，表明ASC个体的整个视觉系统在竞争性相互作用中普遍存在失衡。
