Submission Date

4-24-2015

Document Type

Paper- Restricted to Campus Access

Department

Neuroscience

Adviser

Dr. Jennifer Stevenson

Committee Member

Dr. Joel Bish

Committee Member

Dr. Holly Hubbs

Committee Member

Dr. Jennifer Stevenson

Department Chair

Dr. Joel Bish

Project Description

The global precedence effect is a phenomenon in neurotypical individuals which accounts the processing of global aspects of visual stimuli before local aspects. This global preference is also seen in the auditory domain. Further, neurotypical individuals have shown asymmetrical hemispheric lateralization for local and global processing of sounds. Activation in the left hemisphere is associated with local processing while that in the right hemisphere is associated with global processing of sounds. Rather than a global precedence effect, autistic individuals demonstrate a local preference in the visual domain, but little research has been conducted exploring auditory global and local processing. The aim of the present study was to expand upon the findings of Ouimet, Foster, and Hyde (2012) and explore global and local auditory processing in autistic individuals and the lateralization of this processing. Data collected from 37 participants demonstrated evidence of the global precedence effect in neurotypical individuals, with participants responding significantly faster and more accurately in global trials than in local trials regardless of condition, and significantly faster and more accurately in the compatible condition than in the incompatible condition. Although data did not demonstrate a local precedence effect in autistic individuals, a positive correlation was observed between number of autistic traits and response time on global trials. Further, differences between the average brain activity of autistic and neurotypical individuals, measured by T5 (electrode over left temporal lobe) and T6 (electrode over right temporal lobe) electrodes, were observed, indicating the possibility of hemispheric asymmetry during auditory processing.

Comments

Funding provided by the FUTURE program through the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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