Differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in audiovisual speech integration: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Jertberg, R. M., Wienicke, F. J., Andruszkiewicz, K., Begeer, S., Chakrabarti, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6649-7895, Geurts, H. M., de Vries, R. and Van der Burg, E. (2024) Differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals in audiovisual speech integration: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 105787. ISSN 1873-7528 doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105787 (In Press)

Abstract/Summary

Research has indicated unique challenges in audiovisual integration of speech among autistic individuals, although methodological differences have led to divergent findings. We conducted a systematic literature search to identify studies that measured audiovisual speech integration among both autistic and non-autistic individuals. Across the 18 identified studies (combined N = 952), autistic individuals showed impaired audiovisual integration compared to their non-autistic peers (g = 0.69, 95 CI 0.53, 0.85, p <.001). This difference was not found to be influenced by participants’ mean ages, studies’ sample sizes, risk-of-bias scores, or paradigms investigated. However, a subgroup analysis suggested that child studies may show larger between-group differences than adult ones. The prevailing pattern of impaired audiovisual speech integration in autism may have cascading effects on communicative and social behavior. However, small samples and inconsistency in design/analysis translated into considerable heterogeneity in findings and opacity regarding the influence of underlying unisensory and attentional factors. We recommend three key directions for future research: larger samples, more research with adults, and standardization of methodology and analytical approaches.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/117056
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105787
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN) Interdisciplinary centres and themes > ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) Research Network Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience
Publisher	Elsevier
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