Deschrijver Eliane, Wiersema Jan R, Brass Marcel
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Mar;47(3):690-700. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2991-2.
The role of imitation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is controversial. Researchers have argued that deficient control of self- and other-related motor representations (self-other distinction) might explain imitation difficulties. In a recent EEG study, we showed that control of imitation relies on high-level as well as on low-level cognitive processes. Here, we aimed to further our insights into control of imitation deficits in ASD. We focused on congruency effects in the P3 (high-level), the N190 and the readiness potential (RP; low-level). We predicted smaller congruency effects within the P3 in the ASD group. However, we found differences in the RP and not in the P3-component. Thus, high-level self-other distinction centred on motor actions may be preserved in ASD, while impairments are reflected during motor preparation.
模仿在自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）中的作用存在争议。研究人员认为，对自我和他人相关运动表征的控制不足（自我与他人的区分）可能解释了模仿困难。在最近的一项脑电图研究中，我们表明模仿的控制依赖于高级和低级认知过程。在这里，我们旨在进一步深入了解ASD中模仿缺陷的控制。我们关注P3（高级）、N190和准备电位（RP；低级）中的一致性效应。我们预测ASD组中P3内的一致性效应较小。然而，我们发现RP存在差异，而P3成分没有差异。因此，以运动行为为中心的高级自我与他人的区分在ASD中可能得以保留，而损伤则反映在运动准备过程中。
