Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: Predictive coding theories posit that autism is characterized by an over-adjustment to prediction errors, resulting in frequent updates of prior beliefs. Atypical weighting of prediction errors is generally considered to negatively impact the construction of stable models of the world, but may also yield beneficial effects. In a novel associative learning paradigm, we investigated whether unexpected events trigger faster learning updates in favour of subtle but fully predictive cues in autistic children compared to their non-autistic counterparts. We also explored the relationship between children\'s language proficiency and their predictive performances.
METHODS: Anticipatory fixations and explicit predictions were recorded during three associative learning tasks with deterministic or probabilistic contingencies. One of the probabilistic tasks was designed so that a fully predictive but subtle cue was overshadowed by a less predictive salient one.
RESULTS: Both autistic and non-autistic children based their learning on the salient cue, and, contrary to our predictions, showed no signs of updating in favour of the subtle cue. While both groups demonstrated associative learning, autistic children made less accurate explicit predictions than their non-autistic peers in all tasks. Explicit prediction performances were positively correlated with language proficiency in non-autistic children, but no such correlation was observed in autistic children.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest no over-adjustment to prediction errors in autistic children and highlight the need to control for general performance in cue-outcome associative learning in predictive processing studies. Further research is needed to explore the nature of the relationship between predictive processing and language development in autism.
METHODS: Anticipatory fixations and explicit predictions were recorded during three associative learning tasks with deterministic or probabilistic contingencies. One of the probabilistic tasks was designed so that a fully predictive but subtle cue was overshadowed by a less predictive salient one.
RESULTS: Both autistic and non-autistic children based their learning on the salient cue, and, contrary to our predictions, showed no signs of updating in favour of the subtle cue. While both groups demonstrated associative learning, autistic children made less accurate explicit predictions than their non-autistic peers in all tasks. Explicit prediction performances were positively correlated with language proficiency in non-autistic children, but no such correlation was observed in autistic children.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest no over-adjustment to prediction errors in autistic children and highlight the need to control for general performance in cue-outcome associative learning in predictive processing studies. Further research is needed to explore the nature of the relationship between predictive processing and language development in autism.
摘要：
目的：预测编码理论认为自闭症的特征是对预测误差的过度调整，导致先前信念的频繁更新。预测误差的非典型加权通常被认为会对世界稳定模型的构建产生负面影响，但也可能产生有益的效果。在一种新颖的联想学习范式中，我们调查了与非自闭症儿童相比,在自闭症儿童中,意外事件是否触发了更快的学习更新,从而有利于微妙但完全具有预测性的线索.我们还探讨了儿童语言能力与预测表现之间的关系。
方法：在三个具有确定性或概率性偶然性的联想学习任务中记录了预期的注视和明确的预测。其中一个概率任务的设计是为了让一个完全预测但微妙的线索被一个预测较少的突出线索所掩盖。
结果：自闭症和非自闭症儿童的学习都基于显著的线索，and,与我们的预测相反,没有显示出支持微妙线索的更新迹象。虽然两组都表现出联想学习，在所有任务中，自闭症儿童做出的明确预测不如非自闭症同龄人准确。非自闭症儿童的外显预测表现与语言能力呈正相关，但是在自闭症儿童中没有观察到这种相关性。
结论：这些结果表明自闭症儿童的预测误差没有过度调整，并强调了在预测处理研究中需要控制提示-结果联想学习的一般表现。需要进一步的研究来探索自闭症中预测处理与语言发展之间关系的性质。
方法：在三个具有确定性或概率性偶然性的联想学习任务中记录了预期的注视和明确的预测。其中一个概率任务的设计是为了让一个完全预测但微妙的线索被一个预测较少的突出线索所掩盖。
结果：自闭症和非自闭症儿童的学习都基于显著的线索，and,与我们的预测相反,没有显示出支持微妙线索的更新迹象。虽然两组都表现出联想学习，在所有任务中，自闭症儿童做出的明确预测不如非自闭症同龄人准确。非自闭症儿童的外显预测表现与语言能力呈正相关，但是在自闭症儿童中没有观察到这种相关性。
结论：这些结果表明自闭症儿童的预测误差没有过度调整，并强调了在预测处理研究中需要控制提示-结果联想学习的一般表现。需要进一步的研究来探索自闭症中预测处理与语言发展之间关系的性质。
