The impact of response complexity and cue modality for choice eye-hand coordination movements in typically developing individuals
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Abstract
Throughout their development humans learn to communicate using movements, or body language. These skills develop more slowly in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The present study examined how social communication skills correlate with movement performance in typically developing individuals. Participants performed eyes-only, button-press and pointing movements to a picture identified by a visual or auditory cue. Reaction time (RT) and movement time (MT) were analyzed and correlated with the scores on the broad autism phenotype questionnaire. Saccade RT was longest and most variable in the eyes-only condition, suggesting increased task difficulty. Hand RT was shorter for pointing movements, which is consistent with a peripheral vision advantage. Longer saccade RTs were correlated with higher rigidity in the eyes-only task. Lower pragmatic language was negatively correlated with hand RT and saccade MT for the visual eye-hand coordinated tasks. Overall, an individual’s self-report of their social communication skills were related to motor performance.