自閉癥兒童在小范圍視覺搜尋方面的能力通常超過其他兒童,，例如，在一個(gè)盤子的各種物體中找到一只蘋果,，但是近來的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)他們?cè)诖蠓秶鷥?nèi)的搜尋方面的效率較低,，例如在一個(gè)食品雜貨店中尋找一只蘋果。Elizabeth Pellicano及其同事研究了自閉癥兒童的這種異乎尋常的搜尋能力是否能夠用于獨(dú)立生活必需的大范圍任務(wù),。這組作者特別檢驗(yàn)了一種觀點(diǎn),，即自閉癥者更需要系統(tǒng)化--即分析其所處環(huán)境，并且構(gòu)建一系列的在此環(huán)境中導(dǎo)航的規(guī)則,。這組作者用一個(gè)搜尋游戲測(cè)試了20位自閉癥兒童和20位非自閉癥兒童,。在該游戲中，80%的目標(biāo)在空間的一側(cè),。這組作者預(yù)測(cè)這種安排會(huì)讓具有高度系統(tǒng)化能力的人更可能發(fā)現(xiàn)這種不均勻的分布,。令人吃驚的是，典型發(fā)育的兒童在游戲中的表現(xiàn)超過了自閉癥兒童,，后者的搜尋效率不高,。這組科研人員把此結(jié)果部分歸結(jié)于短期空間記憶的問題，它可能阻止了自閉癥兒童識(shí)別并應(yīng)用這種搜索的規(guī)則,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1014076108
Children with autism are neither systematic nor optimal foragers
Elizabeth Pellicanoa,b,1, Alastair D. Smithc, Filipe Cristinod, Bruce M. Hoode, Josie Briscoee, and Iain D. Gilchriste
Abstract
It is well established that children with autism often show outstanding visual search skills. To date, however, no study has tested whether these skills, usually assessed on a table-top or computer, translate to more true-to-life settings. One prominent account of autism, Baron-Cohen's “systemizing” theory, gives us good reason to suspect that they should. In this study, we tested whether autistic children's exceptional skills at small-scale search extend to a large-scale environment and, in so doing, tested key claims of the systemizing account. Twenty school-age children with autism and 20 age- and ability-matched typical children took part in a large-scale search task in the “foraging room”: a purpose-built laboratory, with numerous possible search locations embedded into the floor. Children were instructed to search an array of 16 (green) locations to find the hidden (red) target as quickly as possible. The distribution of target locations was manipulated so that they appeared on one side of the midline for 80% of trials. Contrary to predictions of the systemizing account, autistic children's search behavior was much less efficient than that of typical children: they showed reduced sensitivity to the statistical properties of the search array, and furthermore, their search patterns were strikingly less optimal and less systematic. The nature of large-scale search behavior in autism cannot therefore be explained by a facility for systemizing. Rather, children with autism showed difficulties exploring and exploiting the large-scale space, which might instead be attributed to constraints (rather than benefits) in their cognitive repertoire.
