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Emotional Resonance Deficits in Autistic Children

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Abstract

According to some theories imitation, defined as an action resonance mechanism, is deficient in autism. In contrast, other theories (e.g., the “top down control of imitation” hypothesis) state that the problem is not in imitation per se but in the way social cues modulate imitative responses. In this study, 15 high-functioning children with autism and 15 matched controls were tested for their ability to imitate finger movements preceded by neutral and emotional facial expressions (primes) in a stimulus–response compatibility task. Hand movements performed after neutral expressions did not differ between the two groups (i.e., they both showed a normal imitative tendency). However, hand movements performed after emotional expressions significantly differed between the two populations, with controls, but not autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), showing enhanced imitation in the emotional condition. This study supports the view that, in ASD, imitation abilities are spared but they are not modulated according to the emotional and social context.

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Acknowledgments

PB was partly supported by the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education (APIRE), by the Italian Ministry for University and Research and by the Italian Ministry of Health (IRCCS “E. Medea”). RIR was supported by a grant awarded by Beneficentia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, International School for Advanced Study (SISSA/ISAS), via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy

    Alessandro Grecucci & Raffaella Ida Rumiati

  2. Department of Cognitive Science and Education (DiSCoF)/Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Faculty of Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Alessandro Grecucci

  3. Scientific Institute, IRCCS “E. Medea”, Udine, Italy

    Paolo Brambilla, Danielle Londero & Franco Fabbro

  4. Medical Image and Signal Processing (MEDISIP), Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University Hospital IBiTech, Block B De Pintelaan 185, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Roma Siugzdaite

  5. DISM, Inter-University Centre for Behavioural Neurosciences (ICBN), University of Udine, Udine, Italy

    Paolo Brambilla

  6. Department of Human Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy

    Franco Fabbro

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  1. Alessandro Grecucci
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Correspondence to Alessandro Grecucci.

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Grecucci, A., Brambilla, P., Siugzdaite, R. et al. Emotional Resonance Deficits in Autistic Children. J Autism Dev Disord 43, 616–628 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1603-z

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