Biomedical subjects

Dermot M Bowler

Publications and source records attributed to Dermot M Bowler.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2007

Deficits in free recall persist in Asperger's syndrome despite training in the use of list-appropriate learning strategies.

Free recall in adults with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) was compared with that in matched controls in an experiment including semantically similar, phonologically similar and unrelated word lists. Without supportive instructions, adults with AS were significantly impaired in their recall of phonologically and semantically related lists, but not unrelated lists. Even when trained to make use at study of the relations among the words, the adults with AS recalled fewer words than the control group. Participants rehearsed the study lists out loud and the rehearsal data was analysed. Despite a very slight trend for adults with AS to engage in less elaborative rehearsal and more rote rehearsal, their rehearsal did not differ significantly from that of controls.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

Factors affecting conscious awareness in the recollective experience of adults with Asperger's syndrome.

have shown a small but significant impairment of autonoetic awareness or remembering involved in the episodic memory experiences of adults with Asperger's syndrome. This was compensated by an increase in experiences of noetic awareness or knowing. The question remains as to whether the residual autonoetic awareness in Asperger individuals is qualitatively the same as that of typical comparison participants. Three experiments are presented in which manipulations that have shown differential effects on different kinds of conscious awareness in memory in typical populations are employed with a sample of adults with Asperger's syndrome. The results suggest that the experiences of remembering reported by such individuals, although reduced in quantity, are qualitatively similar to those seen in the typical population. The results are discussed in the context of current theories of awareness in episodic memory.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

The prototype effect in recognition memory: intact in autism?

BACKGROUND: There are two accounts of categorization performance in autism: that there is an impairment in prototype formation (Klinger & Dawson, 2001) and that there is an impairment in processing features held in common between stimuli (Plaisted, O'Riordan, & Baron-Cohen, 1998). These accounts, together with central coherence theory (Frith, 1989; Frith & Happé, 1994), imply a reduced or absent prototype effect in autism. METHOD: Children with autism or Asperger syndrome (n = 15) matched on age, gender, and verbal mental age with typically developing children (n = 15) completed a picture recognition task (Experiment 1). These participants also studied categories of cartoon animals possessing either an average prototype structure (Experiment 2) based on (Younger's 1985) stimuli or a modal structure (Experiment 3) based on (Hayes and Taplin's 1993b) stimuli. Following the study phases, participants completed recognition tests comprising prototypes and other exemplars with varying degrees of similarity to the prototypes. RESULTS: For both participant groups, recognition memory appeared intact (Experiment 1) and a full prototype effect in recognition memory was observed in both Experiment 2 and Experiment 3. CONCLUSIONS: The present studies fail to support predictions of impaired prototype effects in autism. The discussion focuses on key methodological differences between these studies and those that support claims that central coherence, prototype formation, and common feature processing are impaired in autism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Source memory in adolescents and adults with Asperger's syndrome.

Memory difficulties in autism are observed mainly on measures like free recall, where test procedures provide no support for memory. When support is present, such as in cued recall, difficulties are less evident. Such observations may explain the mixed findings on source memory in autism. Bennetto, Pennington and Rogers (Child Development, 67, 1816-1835) found increased earlier-list intrusions in a multi-list free-recall paradigm (support absent), yet Farrant, Blades and Boucher (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 43-50) reported no impairment in identification of who had spoken a particular word at study (support present). We tested the effects on source memory of presence or absence of support for source in participants with Asperger's syndrome. The Asperger participants' overall deficit in source memory was largely eliminated when source was supported at test.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

On mosaics and melting pots: conceptual considerations of comparison and matching strategies.

Conceptual and pragmatic issues relevant to the study of persons with autism are addressed within the context of comparison groups and matching strategies. We argue that no choice of comparison group or matching strategy is perfect, but rather needs to be determined by specific research objectives and theoretical questions. Thus, strategies can differ between studies in which the goal is to delineate developmental profiles and those in which the focus is the study of a specific aspect of functioning. We promote the notion of a "mosaic," rather than a "melting pot," approach to science in which researchers communicate conservative and precise interpretations of empirical findings.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

Communicative interactions, knowledge of a second language, and theory of mind in young children.

In this study, the authors explored the effect that particular patterns of communicative interactions may have on young children's understanding of representations and the link between knowledge of a 2nd language and theory of mind. The authors tested 140 single language users and 57 dual language users (aged 3-4 years old) on a deceptive task with 3 experimental conditions. In the deceptive-context condition, an experimenter made a reference to the deceptive object. In the older peer condition, an experimenter made a reference to an older child who was actively participating in the experimental manipulations. In the deceptive-interaction condition, the experimenter made reference to his or her own deceptive interventions. The most significant finding was that knowledge of a 2nd language significantly improved young children's understanding of both mental and nonmental representations. Moreover, the results indicated that an experimenter's reference to a deceptive interaction greatly facilitated 3-year-old children's understanding of false belief.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2003

Further evidence of preserved priming and impaired recall in adults with Asperger's syndrome.

Two experiments compared incidental (implicit) and intentional (explicit) memory performance in adults with Asperger's syndrome and individually matched controls. Experiment 1 involved perceptual tests using word fragment cues, following study tasks in which the participants either generated the words from contextual cues or read the words alone, with no contextual cues. Experiment 2 involved conceptual tests using paired associate cues, following study tasks in which the paired associates were rated either for their relatedness or for their readability. Performance in both the incidental tests was similar for both groups. Performance in both the intentional tests was also similar for both groups, with one exception. The adults with Asperger's syndrome were more likely to falsely recall words that had not actually been studied. These findings further delimit the nature of memory impairments in adults with Asperger's syndrome, which seem restricted to certain aspects of episodic memory that include the tendency to make more intrusion errors in recall.

Adult↗