An Exploratory Study of Imagining Sounds and “Hearing” Music in Autism

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reportedly possess preserved or superior music-processing skills compared to their typically developing counterparts. We examined auditory imagery and earworms (tunes that get “stuck” in the head) in adults with ASD and controls. Both groups completed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2020-04, Vol.50 (4), p.1123-1132
Main Authors: Bacon, Alex, Beaman, C. Philip, Liu, Fang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adults
Auditory Perception
Auditory Perception - physiology
Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder - physiopathology
Autism Spectrum Disorder - psychology
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child and School Psychology
Cognitive Processes
Female
Hearing
Humans
Imagery
Imagination - physiology
Male
Memories
Middle Aged
Music
Music - psychology
Musical ability
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Pediatrics
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Prosody
Psychological aspects
Psychological research
Psychology
Public Health
Questionnaires
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reportedly possess preserved or superior music-processing skills compared to their typically developing counterparts. We examined auditory imagery and earworms (tunes that get “stuck” in the head) in adults with ASD and controls. Both groups completed a short earworm questionnaire together with the Bucknell Auditory Imagery Scale. Results showed poorer auditory imagery in the ASD group for all types of auditory imagery. However, the ASD group did not report fewer earworms than matched controls. These data suggest a possible basis in poor auditory imagery for poor prosody in ASD, but also highlight a separability between auditory imagery and control of musical memories. The separability is present in the ASD group but not in typically developing individuals.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1007/s10803-019-04346-w