The Association among Autistic Traits, Interactional Synchrony and Typical Pattern of Motor Planning and Execution in Neurotypical Individuals

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in interactional synchrony and motor performance, but little is known about the association between them. The current study investigated the association among aberrant interactional synchrony (as measured by interactors’ symmetry in the for...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symmetry (Basel) 2021-06, Vol.13 (6), p.1034
Main Authors: Granner-Shuman, Michal, Dahan, Anat, Yozevitch, Roi, Gvirts Problovski, Hila Zahava
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ASD
Autism
autistic traits
Behavior
Communication
Communication skills
Correlation analysis
interactional synchrony
Motor ability
motor planning and execution
Planning
Quotients
Social interaction
Teenagers
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Summary:Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by deficits in interactional synchrony and motor performance, but little is known about the association between them. The current study investigated the association among aberrant interactional synchrony (as measured by interactors’ symmetry in the form of the hand at each time-point along movement’s execution), motor functioning and the level of Autistic traits. In this study, autistic traits were evaluated by the Autistic Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Two tasks were used: (1) an interactional synchrony task where participants and the research assistant were instructed to move their hands together; and (2) a motor planning task which allows for continuous monitoring of natural hand movements. Pearson correlation analysis indicated a significant association between lower communication skills (i.e., higher AQ communication scores) and lower intentional synchrony rates. In addition, lower communication skills were found associated with typical patterns of motor planning and execution characterized by shorter time to start the movement and higher value of max speed. Mediator analyses supported the notion that aberrant intentional synchrony in individuals with low communication skills is partially mediated through typical patterns of motor planning and execution. These results suggest typical patterns of motor functions may account for intentional synchrony difficulties.
ISSN:2073-8994
2073-8994
DOI:10.3390/sym13061034