Biological motion perception in autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis 2017-2019

We aimed to create a quantitative summary of previous findings and investigate potential factors, which could lead to the variable and often contradictory results on perception of biological motion in autism. We included papers, which compared ASD and typically developing individuals, and focused on biological motion perception (detection, action and emotion perception). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition with recognised impact on social functioning. Dysfunctional processing of sensory information has recently been acknowledged as a key diagnostic criterion (APA, 2013). Hence, understanding how sensory information is processed in autism is a crucial part of understanding and improving the way we treat it. We aim to test an important new approach for modelling sensory and cognitive processing in autism (Van de Cruys et al., 2014). This approach uses a predictive coding framework to examine how mismatches between expectations and internally generated models of the world can lead to an abundance of error signals in the brains of individuals with ASD. These error signals lead to dysfunctional sensory processing that has the potential for creating anxiety and difficulty in perceiving social signals. To test this framework in ASD we will use behavioural and brain imaging experiments that involve observing object and human (biological) motion. This will enable us to investigate the processing of sensory information with and without a social component. Providing support for this framework will provide an evidence base for therapies focusing on learning and environment enrichment throughout the lifespan as interventions in ASD.