The Impact of Sensory Integration on Attention in Autism

Официальное название

How the Simultaneous or Delayed Presentation of Visual and Auditory Stimuli Affects Response Accuracy and Reaction Times in Participants With Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) During an Association Task.

Обзор

The study aims to examine how the mode of presentation of visual and auditory stimuli-separate or simultaneous-affects accuracy and reaction time in visual-auditory association in participants with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) compared to neurotypical individuals. The study aims to evaluate whether sensory overlap (simultaneous stimuli) increases cognitive load and decreases performance, while stimulus separation (separate presentation of visual and auditory stimuli) may facilitate processing and improve performance, especially in participants with ASC. Participants will be divided into two main groups: the first consisting of individuals with ASD and the second of neurotypical individuals. Each group will be exposed to two modes of stimulus presentation: simultaneous mode, in which visual and auditory stimuli are presented at the same time, and separate mode, in which visual and auditory stimuli are presented separately with a time interval between each. Participants will be required to complete visual-auditory association tasks. In addition to assessment of reaction time and accuracy, psychophysiological parameters will be recorded to measure cognitive load and physiological reaction to stimuli. The main hypotheses are that the simultaneous presentation of visual and auditory stimuli will increase cognitive load and reduce accuracy and reaction time in individuals with ASC, while the separate mode will improve performance, especially in the group with ASC. This study could provide important insights into how stimulus presentation mode affects learning and performance in participants with ASC, suggesting that stimulus separation could be a useful strategy for optimizing sensory processing and improving learning in educational and therapeutic settings.

Вмешательства

• Поведенческое Autism Spectum Conditions - intervention
  Initially, participants will participate in a familiarization session in which they will see and hear all pairs of pictures and sounds without any associated task, thus ensuring adequate understanding of the stimuli. Next, each child will be tested for each predicted condition, receiving clear instructions on the task: they will have to indicate whether the picture and sound are related. The main task consists of presenting 40 pairs of image-sound stimuli. For each pair, participants must answer
• Поведенческое Typical Development - intervention
  Initially, participants will participate in a familiarization session in which they will see and hear all pairs of pictures and sounds without any associated task, thus ensuring adequate understanding of the stimuli. Next, each child will be tested for each predicted condition, receiving clear instructions on the task: they will have to indicate whether the picture and sound are related. The main task consists of presenting 40 pairs of image-sound stimuli. For each pair, participants must answer

Первичные конечные точки

• Accuracy [Срок оценки: The session needs approximately 50 minutes to complete]
• Reaction time [Срок оценки: The session needs approximately 50 minutes to complete]
• Heart rate variability [Срок оценки: The heart rate variability will be measured throughout the session (approximately 50 minutes)]

Вторичные конечные точки (2)

• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth edition (WISC-IV) [Срок оценки: The evaluation session will be scheduled pre-intervention. The test needs approximately 65-80 minutes]
• The Sensory Profile 2 [Срок оценки: The evaluation session will be scheduled pre-intervention. The test needs approximately 5-15 minutes]

Критерии участия

Критерии включения

• Diagnosis of Autism
• QI ≥ 80

Критерии исключения

• significant hearing or visual impairments
• presence of other medical disorders
• history of psychiatric diagnosis

Критерии приведены из реестра в оригинале (на английском). Окончательную оценку соответствия проводит исследовательский центр.

Здоровые добровольцы: Да

Дизайн исследования

Модель наблюдения

Случай-контроль

Центры проведения

Италия · 1 центр

• Institute for Biomedical Research and Innovation (IRIB) - National Research Council (CNR) — Messina

Публикации

• Stevenson RA, Siemann JK, Woynaroski TG, Schneider BC, Eberly HE, Camarata SM, Wallace MT. Evidence for diminished multisensory integration in autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2014 Dec;44(12):3161-7. doi: 10.1007/s10803-014-2179-6. PMID 25022248
• Noel JP, De Niear MA, Stevenson R, Alais D, Wallace MT. Atypical rapid audio-visual temporal recalibration in autism spectrum disorders. Autism Res. 2017 Jan;10(1):121-129. doi: 10.1002/aur.1633. Epub 2016 May 9. PMID 27156926
• Font-Alaminos M, Cornella M, Costa-Faidella J, Hervas A, Leung S, Rueda I, Escera C. Increased subcortical neural responses to repeating auditory stimulation in children with autism spectrum disorder. Biol Psychol. 2020 Jan;149:107807. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107807. Epub 2019 Nov 3. PMID 31693923
• Zhou HY, Yang HX, Shi LJ, Lui SSY, Cheung EFC, Chan RCK. Correlations Between Audiovisual Temporal Processing and Sensory Responsiveness in Adolescents with Autistic Traits. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Jul;51(7):2450-2460. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04724-9. PMID 32978707

Идентификаторы

NCT: NCT06872229 · CNR-IRIB-PRO-2025-002

Первоисточники (государственные реестры)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH, США)

Открыть это исследование на ClinicalTrials.gov ↗