Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder
Abstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRB). Previous studies have shown that children with ASD prefer observing repetitive movements over random movements, reflecting RRB symptoms, but the developmen...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89171-1 |
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| _version_ | 1823862206708580352 |
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| author | Mikimasa Omori |
| author_facet | Mikimasa Omori |
| author_sort | Mikimasa Omori |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRB). Previous studies have shown that children with ASD prefer observing repetitive movements over random movements, reflecting RRB symptoms, but the developmental timeline of this preference remains unclear. New evidence suggests that children with ASD may develop predictive processing abilities for repeated behaviors, providing insight into how they recognize and respond to predictable patterns. This study employed a preferential-looking paradigm to examine whether children with potential ASD demonstrated longer observation durations for predictable movements compared to typically developing (TD) children. Participants were presented with pairs of stimuli featuring predictable and unpredictable movements, which they freely observed side-by-side. Results showed that children with potential ASD spent significantly more time observing predictable movements, particularly during the latter part of the stimulus presentation. These findings suggest that a gradual increase in attention to predictable movements may reflect difficulties in learning cause-and-effect relationships between movement trajectories and the anticipation of complete shapes. This study highlights the potential utility of predictable movement stimuli as a behavioral marker for early ASD screening. It underscores the essential need for further research into predictive processing in children with ASD. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-984f1214b0c2405b89c0f3662c956215 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-984f1214b0c2405b89c0f3662c9562152025-02-09T12:36:09ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-89171-1Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorderMikimasa Omori0Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda UniversityAbstract Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often exhibit social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRB). Previous studies have shown that children with ASD prefer observing repetitive movements over random movements, reflecting RRB symptoms, but the developmental timeline of this preference remains unclear. New evidence suggests that children with ASD may develop predictive processing abilities for repeated behaviors, providing insight into how they recognize and respond to predictable patterns. This study employed a preferential-looking paradigm to examine whether children with potential ASD demonstrated longer observation durations for predictable movements compared to typically developing (TD) children. Participants were presented with pairs of stimuli featuring predictable and unpredictable movements, which they freely observed side-by-side. Results showed that children with potential ASD spent significantly more time observing predictable movements, particularly during the latter part of the stimulus presentation. These findings suggest that a gradual increase in attention to predictable movements may reflect difficulties in learning cause-and-effect relationships between movement trajectories and the anticipation of complete shapes. This study highlights the potential utility of predictable movement stimuli as a behavioral marker for early ASD screening. It underscores the essential need for further research into predictive processing in children with ASD.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89171-1 |
| spellingShingle | Mikimasa Omori Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder Scientific Reports |
| title | Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| title_full | Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| title_fullStr | Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| title_short | Increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| title_sort | increased observation of predictable visual stimuli in children with potential autism spectrum disorder |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-89171-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mikimasaomori increasedobservationofpredictablevisualstimuliinchildrenwithpotentialautismspectrumdisorder |