Newsletter: Summer 2016
Welcome to the fourth edition of the autism@icn newsletter. A big thank you to everyone who took part in our studies this year. To read about the findings from the studies you may have taken part in, see ‘Latest findings.’ For details of a collaboration with Flute Theatre, an autism theatre company, see ‘Events.’ To meet a new member of the team see “Spotlight on”, or, to read about the latest publications see “Publication Highlight.” To hear more about the latest news from autism@icn, follow us on Twitter.
What do you think?
If you have any comments on the newsletter, for example, what is good about it or what can be improved, please email your feedback to [email protected].
The autism@icn newsletter aims to highlight events related to autism that are taking place (or have taken place). If you have anything you want to include in the next newsletter, please email [email protected].
Latest findings
Is there a link between mind wandering and creativity?
When reading a book or driving a car people’s thoughts can often drift onto topics unrelated to the task at hand. This experience is called mind-wandering. Although mind-wandering (or ‘daydreaming’) is sometimes judged to be a negative thing, some studies have shown that people who mind wander more may be better at some types of creative problem solving.
MSc student Naima Nigar (right) and her supervisor Paul Burgess were interested in investigating mind wandering in people on the autism spectrum and how this might relate to their creativity. Naima investigated how much people mind wandered during a simple task on a computer. She also gave participants different types of creativity tasks, for example, thinking of lots of different uses for an object, such as a brick.
Naima found that mind wandering was related to increased creativity in both people with and without a diagnosis of autism. “There are lots of different types of creativity. The next step is to establish whether certain types of creativity benefit more from mind wandering than others” said Naima.
Gender dysphoria and autism
Gender dysphoria, previously known as gender identity disorder, is a condition where a person experiences distress due to feeling uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth. Evidence suggests that there is an overlap between gender dysphoria and autism. This research shows that individuals who are referred for gender dysphoria treatment show higher rates of autism.
MSc student Samir Pathan and his supervisor Will Mandy wanted to investigate if this relationship was also present in the general population. They measured levels of gender dysphoria and the broad autism phenotype (BAP). The BAP is a set of milder autistic traits found in the general population.
Samir collected demographic details, such as current gender, sexual orientation and family background, and, also measurements of anxiety and depression. Samir and Will found that difficulties with pragmatic language, a feature of the BAP, was significantly related to experiencing gender dysphoria. Anxiety and depression did not predict gender dysphoria.
“These results support previous research which suggested that difficulties in understanding others may impact the development of gender dysphoria. Our findings also show that social factors may shape gender identity in combination with genetic and biological factors,” said Samir.
Will and Samir say that future research needs to investigate if autistic traits contribute towards the onset of gender dysphoria, or, if the social impact of gender dysphoria increases the social difficulties associated with autism.
How does the brain perceive moving objects?
What do you think?
If you have any comments on the newsletter, for example, what is good about it or what can be improved, please email your feedback to [email protected].
The autism@icn newsletter aims to highlight events related to autism that are taking place (or have taken place). If you have anything you want to include in the next newsletter, please email [email protected].
Latest findings
Is there a link between mind wandering and creativity?
When reading a book or driving a car people’s thoughts can often drift onto topics unrelated to the task at hand. This experience is called mind-wandering. Although mind-wandering (or ‘daydreaming’) is sometimes judged to be a negative thing, some studies have shown that people who mind wander more may be better at some types of creative problem solving.
MSc student Naima Nigar (right) and her supervisor Paul Burgess were interested in investigating mind wandering in people on the autism spectrum and how this might relate to their creativity. Naima investigated how much people mind wandered during a simple task on a computer. She also gave participants different types of creativity tasks, for example, thinking of lots of different uses for an object, such as a brick.
Naima found that mind wandering was related to increased creativity in both people with and without a diagnosis of autism. “There are lots of different types of creativity. The next step is to establish whether certain types of creativity benefit more from mind wandering than others” said Naima.
Gender dysphoria and autism
Gender dysphoria, previously known as gender identity disorder, is a condition where a person experiences distress due to feeling uncomfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth. Evidence suggests that there is an overlap between gender dysphoria and autism. This research shows that individuals who are referred for gender dysphoria treatment show higher rates of autism.
MSc student Samir Pathan and his supervisor Will Mandy wanted to investigate if this relationship was also present in the general population. They measured levels of gender dysphoria and the broad autism phenotype (BAP). The BAP is a set of milder autistic traits found in the general population.
Samir collected demographic details, such as current gender, sexual orientation and family background, and, also measurements of anxiety and depression. Samir and Will found that difficulties with pragmatic language, a feature of the BAP, was significantly related to experiencing gender dysphoria. Anxiety and depression did not predict gender dysphoria.
“These results support previous research which suggested that difficulties in understanding others may impact the development of gender dysphoria. Our findings also show that social factors may shape gender identity in combination with genetic and biological factors,” said Samir.
Will and Samir say that future research needs to investigate if autistic traits contribute towards the onset of gender dysphoria, or, if the social impact of gender dysphoria increases the social difficulties associated with autism.
How does the brain perceive moving objects?
Visual illusions involve perceiving things that differ from the actual reality. For example, in the image below many people ‘see’ a white triangle facing upwards even though there isn’t one in the picture.
“Visual illusions are fascinating. They can give us important insights into how the brain deals with visual information,” said Shinya Takamuku who was interested in using visual illusions to investigate how people perceive moving objects. Previous research suggested that some people on the autism spectrum may be less susceptible to certain visual illusions than neurotypical people.
In Shinya’s study, participants observed a hand moving back-and-forth on a computer screen. Sometimes the hand was pulling a toy car and sometimes it was just being followed by the toy car. Participants were asked to judge how fast the hand was moving in the two conditions.
Although the hand was moving the same speed in both conditions, participants perceived the hand to be moving slower when it was pulling the toy car compared to when it was being followed by it. Interestingly, there were no differences between participants with and without autism - both groups were just as susceptible to the illusion.
"Many studies have suggested that some people on the autism spectrum display differences in how they process visual motion signals. So understanding how people on the autism spectrum respond to such motion-related illusions may be able to give us better understanding of the sensory differences in autism," said Shinya.
How does our motivation to engage with others relate to our understanding of others?
“Visual illusions are fascinating. They can give us important insights into how the brain deals with visual information,” said Shinya Takamuku who was interested in using visual illusions to investigate how people perceive moving objects. Previous research suggested that some people on the autism spectrum may be less susceptible to certain visual illusions than neurotypical people.
In Shinya’s study, participants observed a hand moving back-and-forth on a computer screen. Sometimes the hand was pulling a toy car and sometimes it was just being followed by the toy car. Participants were asked to judge how fast the hand was moving in the two conditions.
Although the hand was moving the same speed in both conditions, participants perceived the hand to be moving slower when it was pulling the toy car compared to when it was being followed by it. Interestingly, there were no differences between participants with and without autism - both groups were just as susceptible to the illusion.
"Many studies have suggested that some people on the autism spectrum display differences in how they process visual motion signals. So understanding how people on the autism spectrum respond to such motion-related illusions may be able to give us better understanding of the sensory differences in autism," said Shinya.
How does our motivation to engage with others relate to our understanding of others?
Whether we decide to approach others and interact with them depends on lots of different factors. For example, if we recognise a person in street we may be more likely to engage with them compared to someone we do not recognise. However, if that person’s body language suggests they are angry or disinterested then this may reduce the likelihood of us stopping and talking to them.
Roser Cañigueral (left), an MSc student supervised by Antonia Hamilton, wanted to investigate whether there are any differences in how some people on the autism spectrum use these different types of information. Specifically, Roser wanted to see whether people’s motivation to engage with other people was related to their ability to understand other people’s beliefs (known as ‘theory of mind’).
The findings suggested that neurotypical participants were more likely to engage with someone if they believed that person could see them, compared to when they believed they couldn’t see them. Participants with autism showed a similar pattern of results, but the effect was less pronounced.
Roser concluded, “the results indicate that some people with autism do, to some extent, use their knowledge of other people’s beliefs when deciding whether to engage with them. However, our study involved choosing different videos on a computer screen. The next challenge is to see whether we get similar findings in more naturalistic or ‘real-life’ settings.”
Spotlight on...
The autism@icn team is a diverse group of researchers interested in understanding autism. In each newsletter we highlight the role of one of our team members. In this issue, it’s Sujatha Krishnan-Barman. People call her Suze.
Roser Cañigueral (left), an MSc student supervised by Antonia Hamilton, wanted to investigate whether there are any differences in how some people on the autism spectrum use these different types of information. Specifically, Roser wanted to see whether people’s motivation to engage with other people was related to their ability to understand other people’s beliefs (known as ‘theory of mind’).
The findings suggested that neurotypical participants were more likely to engage with someone if they believed that person could see them, compared to when they believed they couldn’t see them. Participants with autism showed a similar pattern of results, but the effect was less pronounced.
Roser concluded, “the results indicate that some people with autism do, to some extent, use their knowledge of other people’s beliefs when deciding whether to engage with them. However, our study involved choosing different videos on a computer screen. The next challenge is to see whether we get similar findings in more naturalistic or ‘real-life’ settings.”
Spotlight on...
The autism@icn team is a diverse group of researchers interested in understanding autism. In each newsletter we highlight the role of one of our team members. In this issue, it’s Sujatha Krishnan-Barman. People call her Suze.
Suze started her PhD with Antonia Hamilton in October 2015. She is interested in how people move and interact with each other in different social settings, and whether this may differ in people on the autism spectrum. Suze uses a change of techniques to explore these questions, including virtual reality and neuroimaging.
Fun Fact: Suze travels. A lot! Suze has a suitcase with the names of every city she's ever been to written on it. Until she buys a bigger suitcase she can only travel to cities with fewer than five letters in their name.
For more information about the autism@icn team, please click here.
Events
“O you wonder!”
Fun Fact: Suze travels. A lot! Suze has a suitcase with the names of every city she's ever been to written on it. Until she buys a bigger suitcase she can only travel to cities with fewer than five letters in their name.
For more information about the autism@icn team, please click here.
Events
“O you wonder!”
In June several members of the autism@icn team found themselves in the unfamiliar setting of a theatre studio. As part of a UCL ‘Knowledge Exchange’ initiative, autism@icn teamed up with Flute Theatre, an organisation which creates Shakespeare plays for children with autism. The aim of the project was to share each other’s ideas and experiences of autism.
Across a two day workshop the director of Flute Theatre, Kelly Hunter, taught members of the autism@icn team about the theatre games she uses in her productions. Denise Gerber, an MSc student who took part in the workshop said, “I think theatre provides a really great platform for children with autism to practice skills that they might have difficulties with in the ‘real world’, such as emotion recognition, imitation and eye-contact. Not only does it give individuals the chance to practice these important skills, the games Kelly uses are also really fun! I very much enjoyed the workshop and am thinking about how I can incorporate Kelly’s ideas into my own research.”
Across a two day workshop the director of Flute Theatre, Kelly Hunter, taught members of the autism@icn team about the theatre games she uses in her productions. Denise Gerber, an MSc student who took part in the workshop said, “I think theatre provides a really great platform for children with autism to practice skills that they might have difficulties with in the ‘real world’, such as emotion recognition, imitation and eye-contact. Not only does it give individuals the chance to practice these important skills, the games Kelly uses are also really fun! I very much enjoyed the workshop and am thinking about how I can incorporate Kelly’s ideas into my own research.”
As part of the collaboration autism@icn were invited to one of Flute Theatre’s performances, The Tempest. This took place towards the end of July at the Southbank Centre, as part of their 'Festival of Love.' “It was a real privilege to see the techniques and games we had practised in the drama studio come to life on stage,” said Becky Lawson, a researcher who took part in the workshop. The performance was followed by a Q&A with Antonia Hamilton and other members of the autism@icn team. During this they had the chance to talk to the actors about their experiences of the performance and also ask the children and their parents what they thought. "For me it was like a cocoon, a warm, nurturing and totally accepting space where the children were able to just be exactly as they wanted," said one parent.
For a review of the performance, click here.
From 25 October to 4 November, Flute Theatre is coming to The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. For more information, click here.
For more information about Flute Theatre, click here.
Publication highlight
Many of the research projects conducted within the autism@icn team are published in scientific journals. In each issue we will highlight a publication of particular interest.
Gaze and mimicry in autism
For a review of the performance, click here.
From 25 October to 4 November, Flute Theatre is coming to The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond. For more information, click here.
For more information about Flute Theatre, click here.
Publication highlight
Many of the research projects conducted within the autism@icn team are published in scientific journals. In each issue we will highlight a publication of particular interest.
Gaze and mimicry in autism
People sometimes copy each other’s actions, often without realising they are doing it. For example, at a party we may change our voice or posture to match that of the person we are talking to. This behaviour is called mimicry.
There has been a long debate over whether there are any differences in mimicry in people who receive a diagnosis of autism. Paul Forbes and Antonia Hamilton were interested to explore these differences. Recent evidence has suggested people with autism can and do copy other people’s actions. However, the circumstances under which people with autism mimic may be different from neurotypical people.
Paul and Antonia, using a method devised by Antonia’s previous PhD student Yin Wang, wanted to see what effect eye-contact had on mimicry in adults with and without autism. They found that both participants with and without autism mimicked. However, participants without autism tended to mimic more when the person they were mimicking gave them eye-contact. Whereas, participants with autism tended to mimic the same amount regardless of whether the person they were mimicking was looking at them or not.
“Although we found a difference between the groups, there was also a lot of variation within the two groups in terms of how their mimicry was affected by eye-contact. The next stage is to investigate these differences within the groups more closely.” said Paul.
The paper is:
Forbes, P.A.G., Wang, Y. & de C. Hamilton, A.F. (2016). STORMy Interactions: Gaze and the Modulation of Mimicry in Adults on the Autism Spectrum. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.
For a complete list of publications from the autism@icn group, click here
If you would like a copy of any of these publications please email [email protected]
There has been a long debate over whether there are any differences in mimicry in people who receive a diagnosis of autism. Paul Forbes and Antonia Hamilton were interested to explore these differences. Recent evidence has suggested people with autism can and do copy other people’s actions. However, the circumstances under which people with autism mimic may be different from neurotypical people.
Paul and Antonia, using a method devised by Antonia’s previous PhD student Yin Wang, wanted to see what effect eye-contact had on mimicry in adults with and without autism. They found that both participants with and without autism mimicked. However, participants without autism tended to mimic more when the person they were mimicking gave them eye-contact. Whereas, participants with autism tended to mimic the same amount regardless of whether the person they were mimicking was looking at them or not.
“Although we found a difference between the groups, there was also a lot of variation within the two groups in terms of how their mimicry was affected by eye-contact. The next stage is to investigate these differences within the groups more closely.” said Paul.
The paper is:
Forbes, P.A.G., Wang, Y. & de C. Hamilton, A.F. (2016). STORMy Interactions: Gaze and the Modulation of Mimicry in Adults on the Autism Spectrum. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.
For a complete list of publications from the autism@icn group, click here
If you would like a copy of any of these publications please email [email protected]