Generating Inferences in the Visual Modality Across a Range of Autistic Traits

Autistic individuals have been found to show differences in their comprehension of linguistic narratives (i.e., stories told through verbal or written language) and general strengths in processing visuals (e.g., images). As a result, visuals are commonly used to support other complex cognitive processes in autistic individuals. However, strengths in visual processing have primarily been identified in studies examining single images, and little research has investigated visuals composed of sequences of panels depicting a cohesive narrative. Inferencing, the ability to bridge gaps in explicitly stated information to draw implicit conclusions, is essential for both linguistic and visual narrative processing and may contribute to comprehension challenges observed in autism. Similarly, fluency, defined as an individual’s experience and proficiency within a specific domain, has been found to influence reading comprehension, though its effect on comprehension in autism is not well understood. This study examined how an individual’s level of autistic traits influences the underlying neural mechanisms involved in inference generation, and how fluency may affect this relationship. We collected EEG data from 70 adults (mean age = 26.5, range = 18-65) with a range of autistic traits (measured by the Autism Quotient: M = 22.1, range = 4-44) and a range of fluency (measured by Visual Language Fluency Index: M = 9.1, range = 2.1-24.3) during an inferencing task. Participants either viewed a six- panel comic strip (normal condition) or a five-panel strip with the panel depicting the narrative climax removed (inference condition). AQ and fluency interacted at the left parietal site from 900-1000 ms, where participants with higher autistic traits and higher fluency showed differences in ERP amplitudes compared to participants with higher autistic traits and lower fluency. These findings suggest that cognitive processing strategies involved in inference generation vary depending on autistic traits and personal experience with visual stories.