Intact Visual Correlation Detection in Autistic Adults

Abstract

The ability to detect recurring temporal co-occurrence, or temporal correlation, of sensory events is fundamental for organizing perceptual input into coherent representations. Although past work has revealed differences across several aspects of temporal processing in autism, it is unknown whether autistic and non-autistic individuals differ in the key computation of correlation detection. Here, we examined this question in the visual domain using an online task. A total of 143 age- and sex-matched adults (73 autistic, 70 non-autistic) viewed sequences in which three visual elements stochastically alternated between bright and dark states. Two of these were disks, and the third was a surrounding annulus. Participants indicated which of the two disks co-occurred more reliably with the annulus. Accuracy increased systematically with correlation strength in both groups, but there were no significant group differences and no negative association between performance and autistic trait scores when controlling for nonverbal IQ. These findings suggest that visual correlation detection, under the conditions tested here, is preserved in autistic adults. This points to a key aspect of temporal processing in autism that may provide a stable foundation for perceptual organization even amid challenges reported in other timing-related domains, such as higher-level temporal prediction. These results set the stage for future research to identify the mechanisms underlying both preserved and divergent temporal processes, and to translate these findings into evidence-based support that builds on the observed strengths of autistic individuals.