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SUMMARY:ERP evidence of reduced perceptual filtering predicts superior vis
 ual search in individuals with high levels of autistic traits. - Dr Elizab
 eth Milne\, Department of Psychology\, University of Sheffield
DTSTART:20121116T163000Z
DTEND:20121116T180000Z
UID:TALK38929@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Louise White
DESCRIPTION:Abstract\nA number of independent studies have demonstrated su
 perior visual search in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC).
  The current explanation for superior search in ASC rests predominantly on
  enhanced lower-level perceptual processing\, with a corresponding anatomi
 cal locus in the visual cortex. Here I will present work in which visual s
 earch efficiency and EEG indices of perceptual and attentional processes i
 nvolved in goal-driven perception were obtained from individuals with vary
 ing levels of self-reported autistic traits. Inline with others\, we found
  that individuals with higher levels of autistic traits were more efficien
 t visual searchers. We also found that one EEG variable – attention-base
 d modulation of P3b amplitude – predicted 30% of the variance in visual 
 search efficiency. This was also the only variable that was associated wit
 h level of autistic traits. Given that P3b is a relatively late-occurring 
 ERP deflection\, i.e. between 350 and 600 ms post stimulus onset\, and is 
 thought to be generated in the parietal cortex\, these data suggest that t
 he origin of enhanced visual search in those with ASC may stem from abnorm
 ality in attention-based mechanisms rather than low-level perceptual mecha
 nisms.      \n\nBiography\nI obtained my undergraduate degree in Experimen
 tal Psychology from Oxford University 1998. I then worked as a research as
 sistant for two years\, initially with Jordan Grafman in the National Inst
 itute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of 
 Health (Bethesda\, USA)\, and then with John Swettenham & Ruth Campbell at
  UCL\, in collaboration with Kate Plaisted at Cambridge. After completing 
 my PhD\, which was supervised by John Swettenham & Ruth Campbell at UCL\, 
 I took up an ESRC post-doctoral fellowship with Olivier Pascalis at Sheffi
 eld University where I set up the Sheffield Autism Research Lab (ShARL). I
 n the following year I was appointed as a lecturer at Sheffield where I co
 ntinue to work. In 2007 I took a 12-month sabbatical at the Swartz Center 
 for Computational Neuroscience (SCCN)\, UCSD. Here I worked with Scott Mak
 eig to learn and develop advanced techniques for EEG data analysis. My pri
 mary research area is the study of perception and attention in autism and 
 I use behavioural\, psychophysical and EEG methods to address questions in
  this area.\n
LOCATION:Ground Floor Lecture Theatre\, Department of Psychology
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