Interoception

Interoception refers to the perception and awareness of internal bodily states. It involves the ability to sense and interpret physiological signals originating from within the body, such as hunger, thirst, heartbeat, temperature, respiration, and the need for bodily functions. Interoception is crucial for maintaining homeostasis and overall well-being as it allows an individual to respond appropriately to bodily needs and emotional states. This internal sensory system plays a significant role in emotional experiences and self-regulation by linking physical sensations with emotional responses.

Relevance to Autism

For example, interoceptive awareness includes the ability to feel a racing heartbeat when anxious or to recognize a sensation of fullness to prevent overeating. In autism, this sense may be heightened or diminished, leading to unique challenges such as difficulty in identifying states of discomfort or illness, or misinterpreting signals of emotional changes which are critical in social interactions and personal health management. Moreover, the role of interoception in autism extends to fundamental daily activities; it influences everything from toilet training—where recognizing the need to urinate can be delayed or unclear—to managing anxiety and stress levels in response to overstimulation or environmental changes. These distinct interoceptive experiences can significantly affect how individuals with autism recognize and communicate their needs and emotions, thus requiring tailored strategies that address these sensory processing differences to enhance their quality of life and autonomy."

Research time - Motion Tracking

 Checking out some new gadgets and tech being set up at our soon to be 'immersive VR cave" at our research lab. The optictrack glove has sensors on to track hand movements movements seen in the video when I moved my hand up and down. Will be using some of this cool tech in my research on Peri Personal Space. Still being set up so more to come.

Predictive Coding

Concepts in Sensorimotor Processing

Predictive coding is a theory that suggests our brain constantly makes predictions about the environment based on past experiences and then updates these predictions with incoming sensory information. When there's a mismatch between prediction and sensory input, the brain makes adjustments to reduce this error, improving future predictions. This process is crucial for efficient sensory processing and can influence how we perceive and interact with our surroundings.

Can CATI be used to measure autistic inertia

Can CATI be used to measure Autistic Inertia. 

Autistic inertia refers to the challenges autistics may face in initiating, switching, or stopping activities, which can significantly impact various aspects of their lives, from daily routines to employment and social interactions. It manifests in numerous ways, including difficulties with time management, adjusting to changes, motivation, and focusing on tasks. Support strategiesinclude providing structure, teaching time management, organizing activities around energy levels, using visual reminders, establishing routines, breaking tasks down into manageable steps, and offering prompts or assistance with task initiation. [More on autistic inertia here].

While there are no current scales to measure autistic inertia, we could perhaps use one of the measures like CATI (Comprehensive Autistic Trait Inventory) [post on CATI] which covers a broad range of autistic traits, and has subscales may indirectly relate to behaviors and experiences that could be associated with autistic inertia; specifically - social interactions (SOC), communication (COM), social camouflage (CAM), repetitive behaviors (REP), cognitive rigidity (RIG), and sensory sensitivity (SEN).

• Cognitive Rigidity (RIG) could relate to difficulties with changing activities or adapting to new tasks, as it may measure aspects of flexibility in thinking and behavior.
• Repetitive Behaviors (REP) might also have connections to autistic inertia, given that a preference for sameness and routine or repetitive actions could impact the ability to start or stop activities.
• Sensory Sensitivity (SEN) could influence autistic inertia by affecting how sensory inputs are processed, potentially making transitions between activities more challenging.
• Social Interactions (SOC): Difficulties in understanding and engaging in social interactions could exacerbate feelings of inertia by increasing anxiety or reluctance to transition into social activities or contexts, impacting the ability to initiate or change social engagements.
• Communication (COM): Challenges with verbal and non-verbal communication may contribute to autistic inertia by making the prospect of initiating or adapting to communicative tasks more daunting, leading to delays or avoidance of these activities.
• Social Camouflage (CAM): The effort required to mask autistic traits in social situations could lead to increased inertia, as the mental and emotional resources expended on camouflaging may reduce the capacity to engage with new tasks or changes.

While these subscales can provide insights into traits that might influence or correlate with autistic inertia, it's important to note that autistic inertia as a specific construct might require more targeted assessment tools or approaches to fully understand and measure its impact on autistics. The CATI provides a broad overview of autistic traits within the general population and is not designed to diagnose autism or directly measure autistic inertia. 

College Autism Summit

The Casio Lab and Wallace Lab booth at last month's college autism summit. 

Both labs study Sensory System in Autism. 

In layman's terms, the 2 labs study the internal and external sensory system respectively

The top photo shows Will doing the Rubber Hand Illusion with a conference attendee. 

Carbo the touch robot is used to study touch amongst other things. 

 

Alexithymia and Interoception

Alexithymia and interoception are intertwined aspects of emotional processing, yet they represent different dimensions of self-awareness. 

Alexithymia characterizes individuals who struggle to recognize and articulate their emotions, often leading to difficulties in interpersonal relationships and emotional expression. On the other hand, interoception pertains to the awareness of internal bodily sensations, providing individuals with valuable information about their emotional states. 

The ability to accurately interpret these internal cues is essential for emotional regulation and understanding. In the context of alexithymia, impaired interoceptive awareness can exacerbate the challenges faced by individuals, making it harder for them to connect their emotional experiences with physiological responses. Consequently, addressing both alexithymia and interoception is crucial in enhancing emotional intelligence and overall well-being.

And yes, both are issues seen in autism. 

Blindsight

Blindsight is the neurological phenomenon that challenges our understanding of human consciousness and perception. It occurs when individuals with damage to the primary visual cortex of the brain, the area responsible for conscious visual awareness, demonstrate a surprising ability to respond to visual stimuli despite claiming to be blind. In blindsight, sensory modalities are not limited to the subjective experience of seeing; instead, they encompass the brain's ability to process visual information and use it to guide behavior, even when the individual is not consciously aware of the visual input (ie: you have vision if your brain can use visual signals to orient behavior.) This challenges the traditional notion that vision is solely defined by conscious visual experiences. In blindsight, the brain can still receive and process visual signals, allowing individuals to navigate their surroundings, detect objects, and even respond to visual cues, all without the conscious experience of seeing. 

In the realm of blindsight, the dichotomy between subjective experience and functional ability becomes apparent. Despite the individual's assertion of being blind, the brain's ability to process visual information allows for subconscious recognition and response to visual stimuli. Studies have shown that patients with blindsight can accurately guess the location, movement, and even emotional expression of objects and faces they claim not to see consciously. Blindsight highlights the complexity of sensory processing, suggesting that perception involves multiple layers of neural processing beyond mere awareness. The brain, in cases of blindsight, can extract valuable information from visual input and integrate it into motor responses and decision-making processes, demonstrating that vision transcends the confines of conscious experience. Blindsight challenges our conventional understanding of vision by emphasizing the importance of the brain's ability to interpret sensory input and use it to shape behavior, underscoring the intricate interplay between sensory modalities and cognitive processes in the human brain.

Stims and Multisensory Integration

In the context of multisensory integration, autism stims or self-stimulatory can be understood as a way to manage and regulate sensory input from their environment. Multisensory integration refers to the neurological process where the brain combines information from different sensory systems to form a comprehensive understanding of one's surroundings. For autistics, this integration process can be atypical, leading to unique sensory experiences and responses.

Understanding Stims in Relation to Multisensory Integration:

• Compensating for Sensory Processing Differences: Autistics may experience hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to sensory stimuli. Stims can be a method to either dampen overwhelming sensory input or to seek additional stimulation to compensate for under-responsiveness.
• Creating Predictable Sensory Experiences: Repetitive behaviors, such as rocking or hand-flapping, provide a predictable and controllable sensory experience in a world that can often feel unpredictable and overwhelming. This predictability aids in multisensory integration by providing a constant sensory feedback loop.
• Facilitating Focus and Concentration: For some, engaging in stimming behaviors can enhance focus and help filter out extraneous sensory information. This self-regulation can aid in better integrating relevant sensory inputs.
• Self-Soothing and Emotional Regulation: Stimming can be a way to calm oneself in response to sensory overload. It serves as a mechanism to regulate emotional responses that arise from difficulties in processing multisensory information.
• Enhancing Sensory Discrimination: Certain stims may help autistics to differentiate between different sensory inputs. For example, tactile stims like rubbing textures might help in focusing on specific tactile sensations amidst a confusing array of sensory data.
• Aiding in Social and Communicative Functions: In a social context, stimming might assist autistics in managing the multisensory complexity of social interactions, such as processing visual, auditory, and spatial information simultaneously.

Implications for Support and Intervention: 

(THIS AREA IS STILL NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD & VERY MUCH A WORK IN PROGRESS)

• Personalized Sensory Environments: Creating environments that take into account an individual's specific sensory processing needs can reduce the necessity for stimming as a compensatory mechanism.
• Sensory Integration Therapy: In theory this therapy is supposed to help autistics develop better skills to integrate and process multisensory information, potentially reducing the reliance on stimming behaviors for sensory regulation. But there is a lot of confusing and conflicting information about what exactly constitutes SIT. 
• Educational and Behavioral Strategies: Incorporating multisensory learning and behavioral strategies that align with an individual's sensory preferences can enhance their ability to process information from multiple senses simultaneously.

Related Posts

• Autistics Must Stim 
• Stimming: The Why and What
• Stimming & Multisensory Integration
• Sensory Walkabout
• Is Stimming Soothing?
• Fidget Toys & Autism
• Autism & Trains.  
• Vestibular & Proprioception in Autism 
• Do Noise Cancelling Headphones work for Sensory Overstimulation

Saltafossi 2023 - The impact of cardiac phases on multisensory integration

 

The paper investigates how the cardiac phase affects multisensory integration, which is the process that allows information from multiple senses to combine non-linearly to reduce environmental uncertainty. The study found that the impact of the cardiac phase on multisensory integration may be specific for stimuli including somatosensory (i.e., tactile) inputs

Body Schema and Autism. How Our Bodies Shape Our World

Body Schema and Autism: How Our Bodies Shape Our World

Our bodies and brains are extraordinary, working together in harmony to help us navigate the world around us. Have you ever thought about how your brain creates a mental map of your body? It might sound strange, but this internal blueprint, known as the "body schema," plays a crucial role in how we interact with the world around us. For many autistics, this mental map can be a bit more complex, leading to challenges in motor coordination, body awareness, and proprioception - the sense of our body's position in space. 

What is Body Schema?

To put it simply, body schema is like a GPS system inside our brains. It constantly tracks the position of different body parts and their movements, allowing us to perform everyday tasks with ease. Think of it as an internal representation that guides our physical actions, helping us walk, talk, and even dance without consciously thinking about every single movement.

Autism and Body Schema: Unraveling the Connection

Researchers have uncovered a wealth of evidence indicating that autistics may experience unique challenges with their body schema. This could manifest in various ways, affecting their motor coordination, proprioceptive feedback, and overall body awareness. But how exactly do we know this?

Insights from Brain Scans: In a study by Haswell et al. (2009), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to observe the brains of autistic children. The researchers discovered differences in the internal model of action, a critical component of body schema related to the outcomes of motor actions. These differences in the motor system could be connected to the social and communication deficits often seen in autism.

Touch and Proprioception in Autism: Cascio et al. (2012) found that autistics might process touch and proprioception differently compared to neurotypical individuals. Proprioception refers to our sense of our body's position in space, and differences in how it is perceived could impact the development and maintenance of an accurate body schema in people with autism.

The Mystery of "Motor Noise": Another study by Izawa et al. (2012) shed light on the phenomenon of "motor noise" in autistics. Motor noise refers to inconsistent and uncontrolled movements, which could suggest disruptions in the body schema. This finding highlights a possible link between motor difficulties and the challenges in social communication often experienced by autistics.

Motor Difficulties and Proprioceptive Feedback: Whyatt and Craig (2013) conducted research that revealed children with autism faced greater difficulties in motor tasks that required proprioceptive feedback compared to neurotypical children. This points to a potential challenges in their body schema, further supporting the correlation between autism and challenges with body representation.

Implications and Hope for the Future: As our understanding of body schema and its connection to autism deepens, there is also hope for potential therapeutic interventions and supports. The emerging field of haptic technologies - technologies that engage our sense of touch - could hold promise in aiding individuals with autism to develop a more robust and accurate body schema.

References:

Haswell, C. C., Izawa, J., Dowell, L. R., Mostofsky, S. H., & Shadmehr, R. (2009). Representation of internal models of action in the autistic brain. Nature Neuroscience, 12(8), 970–972. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2356.
Cascio, C. J., Foss-Feig, J. H., Burnette, C. P., Heacock, J. L., & Cosby, A. A. (2012). The rubber hand illusion in children with autism spectrum disorders: Delayed influence of combined tactile and visual input on proprioception. Autism, 16(4), 406-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361311430404.
Izawa, J., Pekny, S. E., Marko, M. K., Haswell, C. C., Shadmehr, R., & Mostofsky, S. H. (2012). Motor learning relies on integrated sensory inputs in ADHD, but over-selectively on proprioception in autism spectrum conditions. Autism Research, 5(2), 124-136. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1222.
Whyatt, C., & Craig, C. (2013). Sensory-motor problems in Autism. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 7, 51. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2013.00051.

Simultaneity Window

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Simultaneity Window (SW) refers to a temporal window within which the brain perceives stimuli from different sensory modalities as occurring simultaneously. It represents the temporal range over which the brain integrates sensory inputs from different modalities into a coherent percept.

If stimuli from different modalities fall within the SW, they are likely to be perceptually integrated, whereas if they fall outside the SW, they may be perceived as separate events.

Commonly used research tasks to measure SW

• Temporal Order Judgment (TOJ): participants are presented with 2 stimuli, one in each sensory modality (e.g., a flash of light and a beep), and they have to determine the order in which the stimuli occurred.
• Simultaneity Judgment (SJ): Participants are presented with 2 stimuli, from different modalities, and they have to judge whether the stimuli were perceived as simultaneous or not.
• Temporal Alignment Task: Participants are presented with a stimulus in one modality and have to adjust the timing of a stimulus in the other modality until it is perceived as synchronous with the first stimulus. This helps in determining the temporal window of integration.
• Temporal Recalibration Task: Participants are exposed to a consistent asynchrony between stimuli from different modalities over a period of time. Following this exposure, their perception of simultaneity is tested to see if it has been recalibrated.

The perception of simultaneity can vary across individuals and is influenced by various factors such as attention, age, disability, the specific sensory modalities involved, and distance of stimuli (as determined by, say the PPS).

Oddball Paradigms

 [Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Oddball trials, also known as oddball tasks or oddball paradigms, are a type of research experimental design. In oddball trials, a sequence of stimuli is presented to participants, and their task is to detect and respond to specific target stimuli embedded within a stream of more frequent, standard stimuli. The oddball paradigm has been widely used in autism research to investigate sensory processing differences, attentional issues, and cognitive control.

The oddball paradigm typically consists of two types of stimuli:

• Standard Stimuli: These are the most common stimuli presented in the sequence and serve as the baseline / control stimuli, occurring with higher frequency. Participants are generally instructed to ignore standard stimuli and withhold any response to them
• Target Stimuli: These are the less frequent or "oddball" stimuli that differ in some way from the standard stimuli. Participants are instructed to actively detect and respond to these target stimuli. The target stimuli can be defined by various characteristics, such as a different color, shape, sound, or any other perceptual feature.

The purpose of oddball trials is to investigate how the brain processes and detects rare or deviant stimuli amidst a background of more common stimuli. By manipulating the frequency and characteristics of the target and standard stimuli, researchers can examine various aspects of cognitive processing, including

• Attention: how participants allocate and sustain their attention to detect infrequent target stimuli. It allows researchers to explore the mechanisms of selective attention, attentional capture, and the ability to filter out irrelevant information.
• Perception & perceptual processing: how the brain discriminates between different stimuli; how the brain detects and discriminates deviant stimuli based on sensory features, and how it forms representations and expectations about the environment
• Memory and Cognitive Control: Participants may be required to remember the occurrence or characteristics of the target stimuli and maintain this information for subsequent recall or recognition. Also sheds light on cognitive control processes, such as response inhibition and response selection when distinguishing between standard and target stimuli.

During an oddball task, researchers typically measure various physiological and behavioral responses, such as reaction times, accuracy rates, ERPs (via EEG) or fMRI (to examine neural activity patterns).

Proprioceptive feedback

Proprioceptive feedback refers to the sensory information that our body receives regarding the position, movement, and orientation of our body parts. It is a crucial component of our overall perception and awareness of our body in space. This feedback allows us to have a sense of where our body is located, how it is moving, and how our limbs are positioned without having to visually observe them.

Proprioception is mediated by specialized receptors known as proprioceptors, which are found in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. These proprioceptors detect changes in muscle length, muscle tension, joint angles, and joint pressure. They provide constant input to the central nervous system, particularly the brain and spinal cord, enabling us to have a continuous sense of our body's position and movement.

Examples of proprioceptors

• the muscle spindle located within skeletal muscles, responds to changes in muscle length. When a muscle is stretched or contracted, the muscle spindle sends signals to the CNS, providing information about the degree and speed of muscle stretch. This information helps the brain monitor and control muscle activity, contributing to coordinated movement.
• Golgi tendon organ, located at the junction between muscles and tendons, responds to changes in muscle tension or force exerted on the tendon. When muscle tension increases, the Golgi tendon organ detects this change and sends signals to the central nervous system, allowing for adjustments in muscle force and preventing excessive muscle contraction.
• Joint receptors  found in the capsules and ligaments surrounding joints,  detect changes in joint position and movement. There are different types of joint receptors, including Ruffini corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles, and free nerve endings, each specialized for different aspects of joint movement. These receptors provide information about joint angles, joint velocity, and joint pressure, allowing for precise control of limb movements.

Proprioceptive feedback is integrated with other sensory information, such as visual and vestibular input, to provide a comprehensive perception of body position and movement. The brain combines these different sensory inputs to create a coherent representation of the body in space, known as body schema.

Research has shown that proprioception plays a vital role in motor control, coordination, and balance. Impairments in proprioceptive feedback can lead to difficulties in performing precise movements, maintaining balance, and coordinating multiple body parts. For example, individuals with certain neurological conditions or injuries affecting proprioceptive pathways may experience problems with coordination and a reduced awareness of their body's position, potentially leading to increased risk of falls or accidents.

Proprioceptive feedback has been studied in the context of Autism to understand its potential role in the motor impairments and sensory processing differences and altered personal space.

Citations around Proprioceptive Feedback
Proske U, Gandevia SC. The Proprioceptive Senses: Their Roles in Signaling Body Shape, Body Position and Movement, and Muscle Force. Physiol Rev. 2012;92(4):1651-1697. doi:10.1152/physrev.00048.2011
Gandevia SC, McCloskey DI. Joint Sense, Muscle Sense, and Their Combination as Position Sense, Measured at the Elbow. J Physiol. 1976;260(2):387-407. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1976.sp011306
Roll JP, Vedel JP. Kinaesthetic Role of Muscle Afferents in Man, Studied by Tendon Vibration and Microneurography. Exp Brain Res. 1982;47(2):177-190. doi:10.1007/BF00239352
Gandevia SC. Kinesthesia: Roles for afferent signals and motor commands. In: Comprehensive Physiology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2011. doi:10.1002/cphy.c100058

Specific to Autism
Marco, E. J., Hinkley, L. B., Hill, S. S., & Nagarajan, S. S. (2011). Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings. Pediatric Research, 69(5 Pt 2), 48R-54R. doi: 10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54
Torres, E. B., & Donnellan, A. M. (2013). Autism: the micro-movement perspective. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 7, 32. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2013.00032
Haswell, C. C., Izawa, J., Dowell, L. R., Mostofsky, S. H., & Shadmehr, R. (2009). Representation of internal models of action in the autistic brain. Nature Neuroscience, 12(8), 970-972. doi: 10.1038/nn.2356
Glazebrook, C. M., Gonzalez, D. A., Hansen, S., Elliott, D., & Lyons, J. (2009). Impaired visuo-motor processing contributes to altered personal space in autism. Neuropsychologia, 47(13), 2811-2817. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2009.06.021
Cascio, C. J., Foss-Feig, J. H., Heacock, J., & Newsom, C. R. (2012). Tactile perception in adults with autism: a multidimensional psychophysical study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(11), 2270-2282. doi: 10.1007/s10803-012-1486-2
Hilton, C. L., Zhang, Y., Whilte, M. R., Klohr, C. L., & Constantino, J. N. (2012). Motor impairment in sibling pairs concordant and discordant for autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 16(4), 430-441. doi: 10.1177/1362361311435155
Glazebrook, C. M., & Elliott, D. (2010). Vision-action coupling for perceptual control of posture in children with and without autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Science, 13(5), 742-753. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00941.x

Neuro-verse

Neuro-verse

My mind sings verses that caress the senses, transforming my world into a synesthetic tapestry of words.
My brain, a maestro of emotions, conducts a raaga of imagery, metaphor, and laya, serenading the sensory symphony with poetic canvas.

Neurotransmitters thread words with grace, enchanting the sensory realm with refrains that waltz through the mind like melodic raagas.
Neurons engage in taal, harmonizing synapses with the hues of perception, painting poetry that captivates the optic cortex and cochlear nerve.

Dynamic neuroplasticity conducts a jugalbandi of words that sculpts multidimensional space, leaving the synapses swaying to the rhythm of words.
Neural artistry entwines poetry and swara, every ERP, illuminating kaleidoscopic realms.

from Indian Classical Music: Raaga (musical scale), Laya (rhythm), Taal (beat), Swara (musical note), 

Jugalbandi (collaborative improvisation).

ERP: Event Related Potential -   neuroscience measure (using EEG) to assess the electrical activity of the brain in response to specific events or stimuli.

Egocentric spatiotemporal perception

Concepts in Sensorimotor Research. 

Egocentric spatiotemporal perception refers to the perception of one's self and body in time and space. 

It is a fundamental aspect of self-consciousness and scaffolds our subjective experience of being present, in the here and now, which is vital for our survival and wellbeing. 

Alterations may lead to feelings of self-detachment, self-fragmentation, and body and world alienation.

Depersonalization and Autism

[a poem written many years back that captures the essence of Depersonlization]

What is  Depersonalization Disorder (DPD)

• Loss of body ownership /disembodiment feelings / somatosensory distortions/ loss of agency: distressing feelings of being 'spaced out', detached from one's self, body, and the world (observing yourself from a distance).
• atypical 'flat' time perception (alterations in perception, including disruptions in the perception of time. )

Research findings on DPD and atypical time perception in the NT population

• Distorted perception of time: Tendency to overestimate the duration of time intervals, perceiving time as slower than it actually is which can contribute to the overall sense of detachment (1,2)
• Neural correlates of time perception: fMRI studies show differences in brain activity and connectivity patterns in regions associated with time processing, eg: PFC and parietal cortex (3,4)
• Role of attentional processes: Difficulties in allocating attention appropriately, leading to a reduced ability to accurately perceive and process temporal information (5,6)
• Emotional factors: Emotional states, eg anxiety and stress, can modulate time perception, leading to temporal distortions. DP folks often experience heightened levels of anxiety and emotional distress, which may contribute to their altered perception of time. (1,2)

Caveat: This is a complex phenomena and further research is needed to fully understand underlying mechanisms.

Reasons why DPD may co-occur with autism

• Both involve atypical sensory processing suggesting a potential shared underlying connection. 
• Overlap in Symptoms: Though there are distinct dx criteria, both share some overlapping symptoms, such as a sense of detachment from oneself, difficulties with emotional regulation, and social challenges. 
• Neurobiological Factors: Though the specific mechanisms and neural circuits may differ, both potentially involve alterations in brain functioning and connectivity.
• Impact on Functioning: Co-occurrence may exacerbate the challenges in everyday functioning especially in areas of social interactions and emotional well-being.

Research Findings in Autism and Implications

• 17% autistics met the diagnostic criteria for DPD, compared to 2% non-autistic (7)
• Compared to controls, autism+DPD more likely to have
• higher anxiety and depression (8)
• more difficulty with social interaction and communication (9)
• more repetitive behaviors and special interests (10)

Caveat: Research is all over the place when it comes to autism, so nothing is set in stone.

 

Self Referencing and Self Projecting

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Within the context of multisensory integration, self-referencing and self-projecting skills play important roles in our perception of time. 

• Self-Referencing:  general capacity of using one's own position in time to estimate/situate events in time. This skill relies on internal cues such as memory and self-awareness to place events within a temporal framework. By referencing our own experiences and the temporal context in which they occurred, we can make sense of the timing and sequence of events in our environment.
• Self-Projecting: ability to mentally move back and forward in time, maintaining the competence of correctly situating events in time. This skill allows us to anticipate future events, plan our actions, and make decisions based on the temporal context. Self-projecting skill involves mental time travel, where we can mentally simulate and project ourselves into different points in time, drawing upon past experiences and knowledge to predict and shape future events.

Both self-referencing and self-projecting skills are closely intertwined with our sensory experiences. Our senses provide us with temporal information through various cues. For example, visual stimuli provide temporal cues through motion and changes in spatial patterns, while auditory stimuli provide temporal cues through changes in pitch, intensity, and rhythm. By integrating these sensory cues with our self-referencing and self-projecting abilities, we can accurately perceive and situate events in time.

Autistic Inertia

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Newton's Law of Inertia

The general law of inertia, also known as Newton's first law of motion, states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue moving in a straight line with a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force. This means that an object will maintain its state of motion (either at rest or in motion) unless some force is applied to change it.

Autistic Inertia

In Autistic inertia we draw on those parallels to describe the difficulty that some autistics experience in starting tasks and stopping tasks, whether it with reference to their behavior, thinking or attention to task. 

• An object at rest will stay at rest: This is the difficulty in starting tasks.like you are almost freezing and you need some external kickstart to achieve takeoff velocity to get that motion/task going.  Some of this could be due to catatonia [post on catatonia].
• An object in motion will stay in motion: The is difficulty with stopping tasks. Once you get moving, - its difficult to end whatever you are doing, so end up in this OCD loop of repeated  unproductive thoughts or action (some forms of stims are OCD too).
• other examples include difficulty with
• Transitioning between tasks, 
• Adjusting body movements and thoughts to suit a new and rapidly changing environment 
• Staying on task, maintaining attention 
• Transitioning between paying attention/focus mode to non-attention mode which is also needed at times. 
• Making decisions, planning, following through
• Anxiety, Depression

Part of your mind is aware you need to be doing starting/stopping/transitioning/planning but you are unable to initiate that action and remain stuck. All of this difficulty in initiating and stopping actions is mentally and physically exhausting as your body feels at war with itself.  It takes up more spoons [post on Spoon Theory] and  can contribute to autistic burnout [post on autistic burnout]. 

Causes

Autistic inertia can be caused by a number of factors, including sensory overload, motor-apraxia, movement-issues, body-coordination issues, executive dysfunction, and anxiety. 

Autistic inertia can make it difficult to complete tasks, meet deadlines, and maintain a job or school schedule. It can lead to autistic burnout [post on autistic burnout]

The flip side is that this inertia can also help with hyper-focus which is an advantage in terms of learning a specific area. 

Misconceptions

• Autistic inertia is often misunderstood as laziness, non-compliance, task avoidance, lack of effort or due to lack of motivation. 
• Many of these concepts in autism and neurodiversity are often though to apply to only those who have low/no support-needs. Spoken communication ability is not linked to inertia. In fact inertia may be even more complex in autistics who have movement-disorder-like-issues, apraxia, sensory dysregulation and body coordination challenges.

What can we do to help

• Put external assistances in place where possible to ease transitions. Whether its a reminder from others or something that you can put into place on your watch or calendar depending on context. And the amount and intensity of assistance varies from individual to individual. 

Related Terms: A Chara ,    Allistic,    Aspie,    Atypical,  Autistic Burnout,  Autistic Inertia,  Catatonia,   Crip Time,   Critical Disability Studies,   Disability Justice Movement,  Disability Rights Movement,   Disability Eugenics,   Feeble-Minded,   Imbecile,   Inspiration Porn,  Masking/Camoflauging,   Microaggressions,   Neurominority,   Ofa Ahi Latu,   R-Word,   Savant,   Spoon Theory,   Takiwatanga,  Trains,  Ubuntu,    Ugly Laws,   Upstander

Personal Space v PPS

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

Personal Space v PPS

Personal space refers is a social construct - refers to the physical or psychological distance individuals prefer to maintain between themselves and others. It is the immediate area surrounding a person that they consider as their own.

Peri-personal space is a neuroscience construct to describe the area immediately surrounding the body that is within reach of the individual. It encompasses the space where individuals feel they can manipulate/reach using their limbs / body parts. 

Past research has indicated autistics as  having a very constrained PPS. 

Principle of inverse effectiveness

[Concepts in Sensorimotor Research]

The principle of inverse effectiveness is a phenomenon observed in multisensory integration, which refers to how our brain combines information from multiple sensory modalities, such as vision, hearing, and touch. According to this principle, the strength or effectiveness of multisensory integration is greatest when the individual unisensory cues are weak or ineffective on their own.

Ergo, when the individual sensory cues are relatively weak or have low impact, the brain tends to rely more on multisensory integration to enhance the perception and processing of the stimuli. eg: people with hearing loss exhibit increased visual abilities, and increased crossmodal activation within the auditory cortex. 

This principle suggests that the brain optimally integrates sensory information from multiple modalities to improve perception and increase sensitivity, particularly in situations where the sensory cues are less informative or ambiguous.

The principle of inverse effectiveness highlights the advantage of combining multiple sensory inputs in situations where the individual senses may provide limited or unreliable information. By integrating sensory cues from different modalities, the brain can enhance the overall perception and make more accurate judgments about the external environment. This principle has been observed across various species and sensory domains and is believed to reflect a fundamental property of multisensory processing.