Neuropsychological profile of executive functions in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a comparative group study in adults

Abstract

[EN] As assessed by numerous neuropsychological tasks, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) have similar impairments related to executive functions (EFs). The neuropsychological profle of these two conditions was examined using the three-component EFs’ framework of Miyake and Friedman(Cogn Psychol 41(1):49-100, 2000). This approach assesses Inhibition (suppression of unwanted and irrelevant information/responses), Updating (use and control of contents of working memory), and Shifting (disengagement between activities or mental tasks) using nine diferent tasks. In line with previous research, we expected greater performance defcits in ASD in all three components compared to SSD, as well as faster responses for the SSD group. A self-paced task format allowed us to examine whether unlimited time given for a task would lead to better performance. The sample was constituted by the control group (N=25), ASD group (N=24), and SSD group (N=12). Groups did not difer on Inhibition performance. In Updating, individuals with SSD performed poorer than the other groups. As for Shifting, both groups demonstrated poorer performance compared to controls, with the SSD group presenting the greatest difculties. In terms of reaction time (RT), SSD participants’ RT were the slowest on Inhibition and Shifting tasks. There was a positive correlation between performance and time spent on Inhibition and Shifting only for the SSD group, which demonstrates that their performance improves when there are no time constraints. Our work provides a better understanding of spared and impaired EFs, which could be useful for designing strategies aimed at improving specifc EFs in each group.