Visual processing in autism
The aims of this project are:
- to establish what levels of visual processing identified with the dorsal and ventral streams are atypical in children with autism, using psychophysical methods
- consequently, to identify possible neurological bases for the atypical perceptual and cognitive processing in autism
- to establish whether the profile of assets and deficits shown by individuals with autism on cognitive and psychophysical visuospatial tasks is similar to or distinct from the profile shown by individuals with specific language impairment (SLI)
- to develop a clearer understanding of the precise processes involved in cognitive tasks such as the emotional freedom techniques (EFT)
- to evaluate theoretical accounts of atypical processing in autism, such as the weak-central-coherence and dorsal-stream-vulnerability accounts
This work will advance considerably our understanding of atypical visual processing in autism. It may also provide cognitive and psychophysical markers that are useful in genetic studies aimed at identifying patterns of inheritance for atypical processes. Another application of the work may be in the early identification of the autism spectrum disorders.
Postgraduate studies
Contact
Researcher Dr Johanna Badcock Phone: +61 8 9347 6507