Heightened sensitivity to low-level visual information in autism during an emotional attentional blink task

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Lacroix, A., Gomot, M., Fombonne, M., Perrier, M. J. R., Peyrin, C., Vermeulen, N., Park, G., Dutheil, F., & Mermillod, M. (2020). Heightened sensitivity to low-level visual information in autism during an emotional attentional blink task [Preprint]. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-16508/v1

Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication date: 10 Mar 2020 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Preprint Article language: English

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 9 (11.1%)

Abstract

Abstract Background Impairments in facial emotion recognition have been a hallmark of autism, which may contribute to the difficulty in social engagement and interpersonal interaction. Impaired facial emotion recognition in autism could be partly due to the asymmetrical perceptual bias to High Spatial Frequencies (HSF) information observed during visual perception. While Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF) convey coarse information, which would be critical for a fast analysis and categorization of emotional faces, HSF convey local information, which may serve a critical role in visual consciousness. However, to our knowledge, the effect of HSF on visual consciousness in autism has not been specifically studied so far. Methods Thirty-three adult autistic participants and 35 typically developing (TD) control participants performed an emotional attentional blink paradigm. Participants had to identify and report two targets (happy faces, T1 and T2) embedded in a stream of distractors (angry faces). The distractors between T1 and T2 were unfiltered or filtered in HSF or LSF. We used ANOVA to compare the impact of spatial frequency information on visual consciousness in the two groups of participants. Results TD control participants showed significantly reduced T2 accuracy (i.e., accuracy for the second target given the correct report of the first target T1) after unfiltered and HSF distractors compared to LSF distractors. As predicted, reduced T2 accuracy was observed after HSF distractors in the autistic group as compared to the TD group. Although we did not hypothesized, we also found reduced T2 accuracy after LSF distractors in the autistic group. The accuracy between the two groups did not differ regarding unfiltered distractors. Limitations Our sample was adult, high functioning and mainly late diagnosed. Therefore, our findings may not generalize to the whole autistic population. Conclusion Results confirm that HSF plays a critical role in visual consciousness in both TD and autistic participants. More importantly, autistic participants demonstrated impaired target detections after filtered distractors, suggesting that they have enhanced sensitivity for low-level characteristics, such as high and low spatial frequencies filtering. These findings are discussed in the context of the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning theory and predictive coding frameworks.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 17:07.

Cited references
61
With a DOI
60
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
0
2 / 61 (3.3%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 61 (1.6%)
References with detected author names
60 / 61 (98.4%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
0
Without a stable identifier
0
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
247
From DOI or external metadata
247
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
53 / 247 (21.5%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 194 / 247 (78.5%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
2 / 247 (0.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 2 / 53 (3.8%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 1 / 226 (0.4%).
  1. Louise Kauffmann , Alan Chauvin , Cédric Pichat , Carole Peyrin (2015). Effective connectivity in the neural network underlying coarse-to-fine categorization of visual scenes. A dynamic causal modeling study . Brain and Cognition, 99, 46-56. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  2. Charlotte B. Montgomery , Carrie T. Allison , Meng-Chuan Lai , Sarah Cassidy , Peter E. Langdon , Simon Baron-Cohen (2016). Do Adults with High Functioning Autism or Asperger Syndrome Differ in Empathy and Emotion Recognition? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(6), 1931-1940. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  3. Benjamin E. Yerys , Ericka Ruiz , John F. Strang , Jennifer Sokoloff , Lauren Kenworthy , Chandan J. Vaidya (2013). Modulation of attentional blink with emotional faces in typical development and in autism spectrum disorders . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(6), 636-643. Wiley.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  4. Anne G. Lever , Hilde M. Geurts (2016). Age‐related differences in cognition across the adult lifespan in autism spectrum disorder . Autism Research, 9(6), 666-676. Wiley.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1002/aur.1545 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W1943659515
    OpenAlex
  5. Marion Amirault , Kattalin Etchegoyhen , Sandrine Delord , Sandrine Mendizabal , Caroline Kraushaar , Isabelle Hesling et al. (2009). Alteration of Attentional Blink in High Functioning Autism: A Pilot Study . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(11), 1522-1528. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  6. Debbie S. Ma , Joshua Correll , Bernd Wittenbrink (2015). The Chicago face database: A free stimulus set of faces and norming data . Behavior Research Methods, 47(4), 1122-1135. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  7. Sander Van de Cruys , Lee de-Wit , Kris Evers , Bart Boets , Johan Wagemans (2013). Weak Priors versus Overfitting of Predictions in Autism: Reply to Pellicano and Burr (TICS, 2012) . i-Perception, 4(2), 95-97. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1068/i0580ic OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2105592419
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  8. Corrado Corradi-Dell'Acqua , Sophie Schwartz , Emilie Meaux , Bénédicte Hubert , Patrik Vuilleumier , Christine Deruelle (2014). Neural responses to emotional expression information in high- and low-spatial frequency in autism: evidence for a cortical dysfunction . Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 189-189. Frontiers Media SA.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  9. Troy A. W. Visser , Walter F. Bischof , Vincent Di Lollo (2004). Rapid serial visual distraction: Task-irrelevant items can produce an attentional blink . Perception & Psychophysics, 66(8), 1418-1432. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  10. Catherine Lord , Michael Rutter , Ann Le Couteur (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24(5), 659-685. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  11. Philippe G Schyns , Aude Oliva (1999). Dr. Angry and Mr. Smile: when categorization flexibly modifies the perception of faces in rapid visual presentations . Cognition, 69(3), 243-265. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  12. Frances A. Maratos , Karin Mogg , Brendan P. Bradley (2008). Identification of angry faces in the attentional blink . Cognition & Emotion, 22(7), 1340-1352. Informa UK Limited.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  13. Mirko Uljarevic , Antonia F. de C. Hamilton (2013). Recognition of Emotions in Autism: A Formal Meta-Analysis . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(7), 1517-1526. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  14. Jason Steffener , Yaakov Stern (2012). Exploring the neural basis of cognitive reserve in aging . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 1822(3), 467-473. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex
  15. Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis , Judy Tang , Yvette Vardy , Dianne Sheppard , Natalie Evans , Michelle Wilson et al. (2007). Progressive Age-Related Changes in the Attentional Blink Paradigm . Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 14(3), 213-226. Informa UK Limited.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  16. Marianne Latinus , Yassine Mofid , Klara Kovarski , Judith Charpentier , Magali Batty , Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault (2019). Atypical Sound Perception in ASD Explained by Inter-Trial (In)consistency in EEG . Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1177. Frontiers Media SA.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  17. Gábor Stefanics , Jan Kremláček , István Czigler (2014). Visual mismatch negativity: a predictive coding view . Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 666. Frontiers Media SA.
    OpenAlex
  18. Carole Peyrin , Christoph M. Michel , Sophie Schwartz , Gregor Thut , Mohamed Seghier , Theodor Landis et al. (2010). The Neural Substrates and Timing of Top–Down Processes during Coarse-to-Fine Categorization of Visual Scenes: A Combined fMRI and ERP Study . Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(12), 2768-2780. MIT Press.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  19. David I. Shore , Elizabeth N. McLaughlin , Raymond M. Klein (2001). Modulation of the attentional blink by differential resource allocation. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology / Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 55(4), 318-324. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/h0087379 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2021437246
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  20. Kathrin Müsch , Andreas K. Engel , Till R. Schneider (2012). On the Blink: The Importance of Target-Distractor Similarity in Eliciting an Attentional Blink with Faces . PLoS ONE, 7(7), e41257. Public Library of Science (PLoS).
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  21. Thomas W Frazier , Mark Strauss , Eric W. Klingemier , Emily E. Zetzer , Antonio Y. Hardan , Charis Eng et al. (2017). A Meta-Analysis of Gaze Differences to Social and Nonsocial Information Between Individuals With and Without Autism . Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(7), 546-555. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  22. K.L. Shapiro , J.E. Raymond , K.M. Arnell (1997). The attentional blink . Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 1(8), 291-296. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  23. Jon Brock (2012). Alternative Bayesian accounts of autistic perception: comment on Pellicano and Burr . Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(12), 573-574. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  24. James C. Elliott , Barry Giesbrecht (2010). Perceptual load modulates the processing of distractors presented at task-irrelevant locations during the attentional blink . Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 72(8), 2106-2114. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  25. Lorenza S. Colzato , Michiel M. A. Spapé , Merel M. Pannebakker , Bernhard Hommel (2007). Working memory and the attentional blink: Blink size is predicted by individual differences in operation span . Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14(6), 1051-1057. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  26. Emma Ashwin , Chris Ashwin , Danielle Rhydderch , Jessica Howells , Simon Baron-Cohen (2009). Eagle-Eyed Visual Acuity: An Experimental Investigation of Enhanced Perception in Autism . Biological Psychiatry, 65(1), 17-21. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  27. Philippe G Schyns (1998). Diagnostic recognition: task constraints, object information, and their interactions . Cognition, 67(1-2), 147-179. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  28. Boutheina Jemel , Laurent Mottron , Michelle Dawson *Autistic author. Learn more… (2006). Impaired Face Processing in Autism: Fact or Artifact? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 91-106. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
  29. Valerie Goffaux , Judith Peters , Julie Haubrechts , Christine Schiltz , Bernadette Jansma , Rainer Goebel (2011). From Coarse to Fine? Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Cortical Face Processing . Cerebral Cortex, 21(2), 467-476. Oxford University Press (OUP).
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  30. Christine Deruelle , Cécilie Rondan , Xavier Salle-Collemiche , Delphine Bastard-Rosset , David Da Fonséca (2008). Attention to low- and high-spatial frequencies in categorizing facial identities, emotions and gender in children with autism . Brain and Cognition, 66(2), 115-123. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  31. Francesca Happé , Uta Frith (2006). The Weak Coherence Account: Detail-focused Cognitive Style in Autism Spectrum Disorders . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 5-25. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  32. Nicole Rinehart , Bruce Tonge , Avril Brereton , John Bradshaw (2010). Attentional blink in young people with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder . Autism, 14(1), 47-66. SAGE Publications.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  33. Christian N. L. Olivers , Martijn Meeter (2008). A boost and bounce theory of temporal attention. Psychological Review, 115(4), 836-863. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/a0013395 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2093408756
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  34. Jason Steffener , Yaakov Stern (2012). Exploring the neural basis of cognitive reserve in aging . Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of Disease, 1822(3), 467-473. Elsevier BV.
    OpenCitations
  35. Gewnhi Park , Jay J. Van Bavel , Michael W. Vasey , Eric J.L. Egan , Julian F. Thayer (2012). From the heart to the mind's eye: Cardiac vagal tone is related to visual perception of fearful faces at high spatial frequency . Biological Psychology, 90(2), 171-178. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  36. Sebastian B. Gaigg , Dermot Bowler (2009). Brief Report: Attenuated Emotional Suppression of the Attentional Blink in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Another Non-Social Abnormality? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(8), 1211-1217. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  37. Peter J. de Jong , Ernst H. W. Koster , Rineke van Wees , Sander Martens (2009). Emotional facial expressions and the attentional blink: Attenuated blink for angry and happy faces irrespective of social anxiety . Cognition & Emotion, 23(8), 1640-1652. Informa UK Limited.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  38. Pawan Sinha , Margaret M. Kjelgaard , Tapan K. Gandhi , Kleovoulos Tsourides , Annie L. Cardinaux , Dimitrios Pantazis et al. (2014). Autism as a disorder of prediction . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(42), 15220-15225. National Academy of Sciences.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  39. R. Quian Quiroga , R. Mukamel , E. A. Isham , R. Malach , I. Fried (2008). Human single-neuron responses at the threshold of conscious recognition . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(9), 3599-3604. National Academy of Sciences.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  40. Arnaud Lanoue , Vincent Burlat , Ulrich Schurr , Ursula S.R. Röse (2010). Induced root-secreted phenolic compounds as a belowground plant defense . Plant Signaling & Behavior, 5(8), 1037-1038. Informa UK Limited.
    OpenAlex
  41. M. Bar , K. S. Kassam , A. S. Ghuman , J. Boshyan , A. M. Schmid , A. M. Dale et al. (2006). Top-down facilitation of visual recognition . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(2), 449-454. National Academy of Sciences.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  42. Joaquin Navajas , Maryam Ahmadi , Rodrigo Quian Quiroga (2013). Uncovering the Mechanisms of Conscious Face Perception: A Single-Trial Study of the N170 Responses . The Journal of Neuroscience, 33(4), 1337-1343. Society for Neuroscience.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  43. Vincent de Gardelle , Sid Kouider (2010). How Spatial Frequencies and Visual Awareness Interact During Face Processing . Psychological Science, 21(1), 58-66. SAGE Publications.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  44. Christine Deruelle , Cecilie Rondan , Bruno Gepner , Carole Tardif (2004). Spatial Frequency and Face Processing in Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(2), 199-210. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  45. Sander Van de Cruys , Kris Evers , Ruth Van der Hallen , Lien Van Eylen , Bart Boets , Lee de-Wit et al. (2014). Precise minds in uncertain worlds: Predictive coding in autism. Psychological Review, 121(4), 649-675. American Psychological Association (APA).
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1037/a0037665 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2098533845
    OpenAlex
  46. Marie Gomot , Bruno Wicker (2012). A challenging, unpredictable world for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder . International Journal of Psychophysiology, 83(2), 240-247. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  47. J. Grégoire , C. Wierzbicki (2009). Comparaison de quatre formes abrégées de l’échelle d’intelligence de Wechsler pour adultes – troisième édition (WAIS-III) . European Review of Applied Psychology, 59(1), 17-24. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  48. Karl Friston (2010). The free-energy principle: a unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127-138. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1038/nrn2787 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2148764920
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  49. Laurent Caplette , Bruno Wicker , Frédéric Gosselin (2016). Atypical Time Course of Object Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder . Scientific Reports, 6(1), 35494. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  50. Luc Kéïta , Jacalyn Guy , Claude Berthiaume , Laurent Mottron , Armando Bertone (2014). An early origin for detailed perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: biased sensitivity for high-spatial frequency information. Scientific Reports, 4(1), 5475. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  51. James W. Tanaka (2001). The entry point of face recognition: Evidence for face expertise. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 130(3), 534-543. American Psychological Association (APA).
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  52. Catherine RG Jones , Andrew Pickles , Milena Falcaro , Anita J.S. Marsden , Francesca Happé , Sophie K. Scott et al. (2011). A multimodal approach to emotion recognition ability in autism spectrum disorders . Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(3), 275-285. Wiley.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  53. Barry Wright , Natalie Clarke , JO Jordan , Andrew W. Young , Paula Clarke , Jeremy Miles et al. (2008). Emotion recognition in faces and the use of visual context Vo in young people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders . Autism, 12(6), 607-626. SAGE Publications.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  54. Meia Chita-Tegmark (2016). Social attention in ASD: A review and meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies . Research in Developmental Disabilities, 48, 79-93. Elsevier BV.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  55. Matthew F. Panichello , Olivia S. Cheung , Moshe Bar (2013). Predictive Feedback and Conscious Visual Experience . Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 620-620. Frontiers Media SA.
    OpenAlex
  56. Claire Sergent , Sylvain Baillet , Stanislas Dehaene (2005). Timing of the brain events underlying access to consciousness during the attentional blink . Nature Neuroscience, 8(10), 1391-1400. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1038/nn1549 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2168613608
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  57. Grace Iarocci , Jacob A. Burack , David I. Shore , Laurent Mottron , James T. Enns (2006). Global–Local Visual Processing in High Functioning Children with Autism: Structural vs. Implicit Task Biases . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 117-129. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    OpenAlex OpenCitations
  58. (2021). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) . In Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (pp. 1401-1401). Springer International Publishing.
    OpenAlex
  59. James Lani , David Wechsler (2010). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) .
    Type: Article OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2370820144
    OpenAlex
  60. Jane E. Raymond , Kimron L. Shapiro , Karen M. Arnell (1995). Similarity determines the attentional blink. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(3), 653-662. American Psychological Association (APA).
    OpenAlex