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The enhanced perceptual functioning (EPF) model of autism proposes that superior function and increased independence of auditory and visual perceptual processes are responsible for the distinct pattern of cognitive, behavioral, and neural performance observed in autism. The EPF model emphasizes the primacy of perceptual processes, rather than social or higher order cognitive processes, in giving rise to the autistic phenotype.
Initially proposed by L. Mottron and colleagues as an alternative to the weak central coherence (WCC) model of perceptual functioning, the EPF outlines eight principles of perception in autism:
- 1.
More locally oriented perception is the default for individuals in autistic populations relative to typical populations.
- 2.
Neural complexity is inversely related to performance in low-level perceptual tasks.
- 3.
Early atypical behaviors regulate perceptual input.
- 4.
In autism, primary and associative brain regions involved in perception are...
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References and Readings
Caron, M. J., Mottron, L., Berthiaume, C., & Dawson, M. (2006). Cognitive mechanisms, specificity and neural underpinnings of the block design peak in autism. Brain, 129, 1789–1802.
Mottron, L., & Burack, J. A. (2001). Enhanced perceptual functioning in the development of autism. In J. A. Burack, T. Charman, N. Yirmiya, & P. R. Zelazo (Eds.), The development of autism: Perspectives from theory and research (pp. 131–148). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Hubert, B., & Burack, J. A. (2006). Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An updated model and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1), 27–43.
Samson, F., Mottron, L., Soulières, I., & Zeffiro, T. A. (2011). Enhanced visual functioning in autism: an ALE meta-analysis. Human Brain Mapping. doi:10.1002/hbm.21307.
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Mukerji, C., Mottron, L., McPartland, J.C. (2013). Enhanced Perceptual Functioning. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_723
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1698-3_723
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