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Temporal Processing Instability with Millisecond Accuracy is a Cardinal Feature of Sensorimotor Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Analysis Using the Synchronized Finger-Tapping Task

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Abstract

To identify a specific sensorimotor impairment feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we focused on temporal processing with millisecond accuracy. A synchronized finger-tapping task was used to characterize temporal processing in individuals with ASD as compared to typically developing (TD) individuals. We found that individuals with ASD showed more variability in temporal processing parameters than TD individuals. In addition, temporal processing instability was related to altered motor performance. Further, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses indicated that altered temporal processing can be useful for distinguishing between individuals with and without ASD. These results suggest that instability of temporal processing with millisecond accuracy is a fundamental feature of sensorimotor impairments in ASD.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of all participants and their families, and also the school officials involved in this study. We thank K. Hashimoto, M. Kakehashi, K. Yamaoka, M. Walters, Y. Ohnishi, and members of Okamura’s lab for their helpful advice and discussions. We also thank Rachel James, Ph.D., from Edanz Group (http://www.edanzediting.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

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The authors did not receive any financial support for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Biomedical & Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8551, Japan

    Chie Morimoto & Hitoshi Okamura

  2. Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, 565-0871, Japan

    Eisuke Hida

  3. Division of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501, Japan

    Keisuke Shima

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  1. Chie Morimoto
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  4. Hitoshi Okamura
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Contributions

CM and HO desinged the study. KS contributed the experimental tool. CM performed the data collection. CM and EH analyzed the data. CM, EH, KS and HO wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Hitoshi Okamura.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Morimoto, C., Hida, E., Shima, K. et al. Temporal Processing Instability with Millisecond Accuracy is a Cardinal Feature of Sensorimotor Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Analysis Using the Synchronized Finger-Tapping Task. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 351–360 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3334-7

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