Associative Memory in Adults With an Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Associative Memory in Autism Spectrum Disorders Without Intellectual Disability

The objective of this multidisciplinary project is to explore the deficit of associative memory in ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) that could result from abnormal brain connectivity. The hypothesis of abnormal functioning of the fronto-hippocampal network has been evocated but has never been tested. Hence, the present project will include two complementary assessments conducted on a group of adults aged from 18 to 30 with ASD compared to a control group matched in chronological age and intellectual quotient. The first assessment is devoted to the study of associative memory and its EEG correlates and the second focused on the investigation of perceptual strategies related to associative memory using the technique of Eye-tracking. Both behavioral and imaging data would provide new insights on the relationship between perception and memory in ASD.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adult between 18 and 30 years old
• right handed
• affiliated to the french national health care system
• ASD only for the group of patients

Exclusion criteria :

• mental retardation
• schizophrenia
• ADHD
• brain injury with lost of consciousness
• neurological disease