Autistic traits relate to speed/accuracy trade-off but not statistical learning and updating
Cognitive and social alterations characterize Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet comprehensive explanations are challenged by ASD's heterogeneity. One candidate framework is predictive processing, which posits that predictive processes are altered in ASD (e.g., slower internal model updating). We tested this framework using the spectrum approach, which suggests that subclinical autistic traits are continuously distributed in the general population, with most diagnosed individuals above a threshold. We recruited neurotypical adults (N = 296) to examine the relationship between autistic traits and predictive processing. Using an implicit statistical learning task, we tested model updating in an unsupervised, ecologically valid manner, and assessed speed/accuracy trade-off to control for potential visuomotor performance confounds in ASD. We found no difference in model updating rate along autistic traits, suggesting no relationship between these traits and model updating in the general population, contrary to the slow updating hypothesis. However, our results reveal a difference in the evolution of speed/accuracy trade-off along the degree of autistic traits, potentially indicating a shift in the balance of goal-directed and habitual systems related to autistic traits. These findings set the stage for further research on the interaction between executive functions and predictive, habitual processes related to autistic symptoms.
Authors
- Eszter Tóth-Fáber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7538-9995)
- Dezső Németh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9629-5856)
- Teodóra Vékony (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8620-5685)
- Bianka Brezóczki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5230-5525)
- Laurie‐Anne Sapey‐Triomphe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6564-5892)
- Kinga Farkas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1125-3957)
- Flóra Hann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5162-4836)
- Orsolya Pesthy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3927-125X)
- Bence Csaba Farkas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1815-5054)
- Cintia Anna Nagy
Institutions
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR)
- Semmelweis University (HU)
- Eötvös Loránd University (HU)
- Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Inserm (FR)
- Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure - PSL (FR)
- Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure (BI)
- Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations (FR)
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology (HU)
- HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences (HU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2025-08-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16138-7
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.29
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
- Hungarian Scientific Research Fund
- Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
- Nemzeti Kutatási, Fejlesztési és Innovaciós Alap
- National Research, Development and Innovation Office