Abstract
The “Attentional Blink” refers to difficulty in detecting the second of two target stimuli presented in rapid temporal succession. Studies have shown that salient target stimuli, such as one’s own name, reduce the magnitude of this effect. Given indications that self-related processing is altered in autism, it is an open question whether this attentional self-bias is reduced in autism. To investigate this, in the current study we utilised an Attentional Blink paradigm involving one’s own and others’ names, in a group of 24 autistic adults, and 22 neurotypical adults, while measuring EEG. In line with previous studies, the Attentional Blink was reduced when the participant’s own name was the second target, with no differences between autistic and neurotypical participants. ERP results show that the effect on the Attentional Blink of one’s own name was reflected in increased N2 and P3 amplitudes, for both autistic and nonautistic individuals. This is the first event-related potential study of own-name processing in the context of the Attentional Blink. The results provide evidence of an intact attentional self-bias in autism, both at the behavioural and neural level.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 625-639 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 11 Nov 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Annabel D. Nijhof is supported by a Newton International Fellowship awarded by the Royal Society. Geoffrey Bird is supported by the Baily Thomas Charitable Trust. All data and materials for this study are available upon request.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
Keywords
- Attentional Blink
- Autism
- EEG
- Self-bias
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience