Motor Memory Deficits Contribute to Motor Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Sensorimotor abnormalities are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the processes underlying these deficits remain unclear. This study examined force production with and without visual feedback to determine if individuals with ASD can utilize internal representations t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders Vol. 49; no. 7; pp. 2675 - 2685
Main Authors:	Neely, Kristina A., Mohanty, Suman, Schmitt, Lauren M., Wang, Zheng, Sweeney, John A., Mosconi, Matthew W.
Format:	pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article
Published:	Springer Nature Jul2019
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

Description
Summary:	Sensorimotor abnormalities are common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, the processes underlying these deficits remain unclear. This study examined force production with and without visual feedback to determine if individuals with ASD can utilize internal representations to guide sustained force. Individuals with ASD showed a faster rate of force decay in the absence of visual feedback. Comparison of force output and tests of social and verbal abilities demonstrated a link between motor memory impairment and social and verbal deficits in individuals with ASD. This finding suggests that deficits in storage or retrieval of motor memories contribute to sensorimotor deficits and implicates frontoparietal networks involved in short-term consolidation of action dynamics used to optimize ongoing motor output.