An Exploratory Study of Imagining Sounds and “Hearing” Music in Autism (original) (raw)
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Beyond perception: Musical representation and on-line processing in autism
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Despite abundant research and clinical evidence of the effectiveness of music interventions for people in the autism spectrum, understanding of music processing in this community is limited. We explored whether research evidence of differences in music processing within the autistic community is available. We developed a scoping review to search for literature with the terms “music”, “processing,” and “autism” (and variants). We searched PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, and Music Index databases for a total of 10,857 articles, with 5,236 duplicates. The remaining 5,621 titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility by a team of four undergraduate and graduate students and the PI. Seventy-five studies were included for data extraction. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics regarding author, study, stimulus, and participant information, and a thematic analysis of outcome and findings. Our findings are preliminary given the ...
The Subjective Experience of Music In Autism Spectrum Disorder
… of the New York Academy of …, 2009
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 high-functioning adults on the autism spectrum in order to examine the nature of their personal experiences of music. The analysis showed that most participants exploit music for a wide range of purposes in the cognitive, emotional and social domains, but the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) group’s descriptions of mood states reflected a greater reliance on internally focused (arousal) rather than externally focused (emotive) language, when compared with studies of typically developing individuals.
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 2022
Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and low cognitive functioning tend to demonstrate regulatory responses to auditory sensations, leading to disturbed behaviours such as self-stimulation, stereotypical movements, even aggression and selfharm. The aim of this study was to investigate whether listening to specific sounds and music reduced these behaviours. A systematic observational study of 16 participants was carried out with parental consent. A range of music types and sounds were played to participants including dissonant music (contemporary classical with dissonant chords), consonant music (classical romantic with consonant chords) and ambient sounds. Intermittent periods of silence between tracks were introduced to check for any potential influence of previous listening. It was noted that disturbed behaviour was least evident during periods of "silence" (without additional auditory input), compared to any of the other conditions. Silence was therefore used as a baseline before listening to any sounds. Consonant music appeared to decrease disturbed behaviours compared with the other types of music and proved more effective than silence. These findings suggest that using specific types of music might help decrease some disturbed behaviour.
Sweet anticipation: Predictability of familiar music in autism
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Autism has been characterised by different behavioural and cognitive profiles compared to typically developing (TD) individuals, and increasingly these differences have been associated with differences in structural and functional brain connectivity. It is currently unknown as to whether autistic and TD listeners process music in the same way: emotionally, mnemonically, and perceptually. The present study explores the brain’s dynamical landscape linked to music familiarity in an fMRI dataset from autistic and TD individuals. Group analysis using leading eigenvector dynamics analysis (LEiDA) revealed significantly higher probability of occurrence of a brain network in TD compared to autistic individuals during listening to familiar music. This network includes limbic and paralimbic areas (amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporal pole). No significant differences were found between autistic and TD individuals while listening to a scrambled, i.e. unfamiliar and more u...
2015
A study was carried out to examine the interaction between music and language in learning and recall in children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). The research comprised initial interviews (N=12), a questionnaire (N=320), and a comparative intervention with children with ASC (N=24), and a comparison group of neurotypical individuals (N=32). Results from the questionnaire showed that, in the Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Reasons for carrying out this research 1 1.2 Objectives of this research 4 1.3 Hypotheses and research questions 5 Chapter 2: Review of Literature 7 2.1 IV 2.3 Language Processing 2.3.1 Autism and language impairment 2.3.2 Articulation 2.3.3 Word Use 2.3.4 Syntax 2.3.5 Echolalia 2.4 Music Processing 2.4.1 How music makes sense 2.4.2 How musicality develops 2.5 Music Language and Communication 2.5.1 The impact of music on cognitive processes 2.5.2 Overview of musical intervention for children with ASC 2.5.3 Evidence from neuroscience on the impact of music on language 2.5.4 Encoding of song in memory 2.5.5 Local bias in the processing of music and language in individuals with ASC 2.5.6 Exceptional Early Cognitive Environments in children with ASC 2.5.7 The prevalence of absolute pitch in children with ASC 2.6 Conclusion V Chapter 3: Rationale for the design of the investigation Chapter 2: Review of Literature 2.1 10 2.2.1.3 Wing (1981: p.18), who produced the first translation of Asperger's work in English, states that both Asperger's papers of and 1979 and Kanner's of 1943 show striking similarities between the children, in that both had an excess of males over females, both indicated social isolation, egocentricity and lack of interest in feelings of others, both included use of language in idiosyncratic ways, both showed impairment in non-verbal aspects of communication, both writers describe lack of imaginative play, both described a repetitive pattern of activities, both mentioned odd responses to sensory stimuli, both noted clumsiness in gait, yet enhanced dexterity in specific skills, both noted aggressiveness and negative attitudes to others, both noted uneven learning profiles with advanced abilities in rote memory and number tasks. 2.2.1.4 The main differences were as follows: children described by Asperger all developed language by school age, although socially isolated, they were not unaware of others, Asperger described children as odd-looking in appearance whereas Kanner often described an alert and attractive look, Asperger described and discussed clinical conditions and, unlike Kanner, did not compile a list of essential diagnostic criteria. 2.2.1.5 More recently, Wing's view was affirmed by Baron-Cohen (2008: p.13), who wrote that 'Classic autism and Asperger syndrome both share two key features: social communication difficulties and narrow interests and repetitive actions. Conversely classic autism and Asperger syndrome differ in that, in Asperger syndrome, IQ is at least average and there is no language delay. Moreover, in classic autism, IQ can be anywhere on the scale, and there is language delay.' 2.2.2 Contemporary thinking about autism 2.2.2.1 Contemporary definitions of autism, as set out by the World Health Organisation (WHO 1993) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA 2013), state that a diagnosis must include all three of the following criteria, which must have been present from childhood: 1) A qualitative impairment in social interaction 2) A qualitative impairment in communication 3) Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. In the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) amendments of 2014, however, instead of individuals on the autism spectrum receiving a diagnosis of 'autistic disorder', 'Aspergers disorder', 'childhood disintegrative disorder' and PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified), they are now given a diagnosis of ASC (National Autistic Society: 2014). Additionally, the previous use of three areas of impairment has been reduced to two main areas: social communication and interaction 12 restricted repetitive patterns of behaviours, interests or activities 2.2.2.2 In the last twenty years or so, different theories have been advanced concerning the causes of autism, which relate to one of the core impairments as defined by the DSM-5. With regard to 'a qualitative impairment in social interaction,' a defective 'theory of mind,' has been held responsible, in that an individual with ASC may have difficulties comprehending that another person may have a different state of mind to his/her own, or that another person may have differing ideas (Baron-Cohen
Questions about music's evolution and functions have long excited interest among scholars. More recent theoretical accounts have stressed the importance of music's social origins and functions. Autism and Williams syndrome, neurodevelopmental disorders supposedly characterized by contrasting social and musical phenotypes, have been invoked as evidence for these. However, empirical data on social skills and deficits in autism and Williams syndrome do not support the notion of contrasting social phenotypes: research findings suggest that the social deficits characteristic of both disorders may increase rather than reduce the importance of music. Current data do not allow for a direct comparison of musical phenotypes in autism and Williams syndrome, although it is noted that deficits in music cognition have been observed in Williams syndrome, but not in autism. In considering broader questions about musical understanding in neurodevelopmental disorders, we conclude that intellectual impairment is likely to result in qualitative differences between handicapped and typical listeners, but this does not appear to limit the extent to which individuals can derive benefits from the experience of listening to music.
Music: a unique window into the world of autism
Understanding emotions is fundamental to our ability to navigate the complex world of human social interaction. Individualswith autism spectrum disorders(ASD) experience difficultieswith the communication and understanding of emotions within the social domain. Their ability to interpret other people’s nonverbal, facial, and bodily expressions of emotion is strongly curtailed. However, there is evidence to suggest that many individuals with ASD show a strong and early preference for music and are able to understand simple and complex musical emotions in childhood and adulthood. The dissociation between emotion recognition abilities in musical and social domains in individuals with ASD provides us with the opportunity to consider the nature of emotion processing difficulties characterizing this disorder. There has recently been a surge of interest in musical abilities in individuals with ASD, and this has motivated new behavioral and neuroimaging studies.Here, we review this new work.We conclude by providing some questions for future directions.
Psychomusicology: Music, Mind, and Brain, 2013
Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) frequently display unusual reactions to sound, ranging from idiosyncratic responses to avoidances. This atypical sensitivity often decreases over time, but little is known about how early avoidance of sounds might affect later enjoyment of auditory stimuli such as music. We surveyed children and adolescents with ASD, and an age-matched group of typically developing (TD) adolescents and the parents of both groups about early auditory sensitivities and musical experience, preferences, and enjoyment in later childhood and adolescence using an adaptation of the Queen's University Music Questionnaire and the Salk and McGill Musical Inventory (SAMMI). Results showed that, although the group with ASD experienced much more auditory hypersensitivity than the TD group during childhood, there were no differences between groups in musical ability, memory, reproduction, creativity, or interest and emotional responsivity to music in later childhood and adolescence; both groups displayed a similar variety of genres in their musical preferences, with the exception that more participants with ASD reported classical as their favorite musical genre. We suggest that this latter pattern may arise from their lesser use of music as a mark of social affiliation and peer-group bonding, or from the increased complexity of classical music relative to other genres. We conclude that early childhood hypersensitivities to sound do not have detrimental effects on later enjoyment of music, although children and adolescents with ASD may use music in ways that differ from their TD peers.