Understanding visual consciousness in autism spectrum disorders.
Frontiers in human neuroscience January 1, 2015 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00204 via PubMed
Summary
Autistic individuals do not have a deficiency in basic perceptual consciousness (phenomenal consciousness). Instead, their perceptual differences are more conceptual and cognitive, involving higher-level integration of objects and concepts. Second-level visual processing, which underlies phenomenal consciousness, is typical in autism, while third-level cognitive access is atypical. This suggests that the basic visual experiences of autistic and typically developing individuals are similar, differing mainly in how they cognitively access those experiences.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical review |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Perceptual atypicality in autism is restricted to higher-level cognitive processing (third-level integration), not to basic phenomenal consciousness. |
Abstract
The paper focuses on the question of what the (visual) perceptual differences are between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing (TD) individuals. We argue against the view that autistic subjects have a deficiency in the most basic form of perceptual consciousness-namely, phenomenal consciousness. Instead, we maintain, the perceptual atypicality of individuals with autism is of a more conceptual and cognitive sort-their perceptual experiences share crucial aspects with TD individuals. Our starting point is Ben Shalom's (2005, 2009) three-level processing framework for explaining atypicality in several domains of processing among autistics, which we compare with two other tripartite models of perception-Jackendoff's (1987) and Prinz's (2000, 2005a, 2007) Intermediate Level Hypothesis and Lamme's (2004, 2006, 2010) neural account of consciousness. According to these models, whereas the second level of processing is concerned with viewer-centered visual representations of basic visual properties and incorporates some early forms of integration, the third level is more cognitive and conceptual. We argue that the data suggest that the atypicality in autism is restricted mainly to the third level. More specifically, second-level integration, which is the mark of phenomenal consciousness, is typical, yet third-level integration of perceptual objects and concepts is atypical. Thus, the basic experiences of individuals with autism are likely to be similar to typical subjects' experiences; the main difference lies in the sort of cognitive access the subjects have to their experiences. We conclude by discussing implications of the suggested analysis of experience in autism for conceptions of phenomenal consciousness.