Self-concept Clarity and Autobiographical Memory Functions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Intellectual Deficiency.

The structural characteristics of self-concept refer to the way in which the elements of self-knowledge are organized and can be experienced by individuals in the form of self-concept clarity. It is intimately linked to autobiographical memory. Therefore, we sought to compare self-concept clarity and autobiographical memory between adults with ASD without Intellectual Deficiency and controls. We also explored the association between self-concept clarity and autistic traits, autobiographical memory functions and executive functions. Statistical analyses were performed using Bayesian methods. Our results showed both a lower clarity of self-concept and a lower social function of autobiographical memory in the ASDwID than in the control group. We also presented a link between clarity of self-concept and the self-function of autobiographical memory.

Episodic Autobiographical Memory in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Exploration With the Autobiographical Interview.

Introduction: The literature has provided contradictory results regarding the status of episodic memory in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This might be explained by methodological differences across studies. In the present one, the well-recommended Autobiographical Interview was used in which important aspects of episodic memory were assessed, namely, the number and richness of phenomenological memory details, before and after a retrieval support. Method: Twenty-five well-documented adults with ASD without Intellectual Disability (nine women) and 25 control participants were included and asked to recall six specific autobiographical events. The number and richness of details were assessed globally and for five categories of details (perceptual/sensory, temporal, contextual, emotional, and cognitive), firstly before and then after a specific cueing phase consisting in a series of specific questions to elicit more precise memory details. Results: Cumulatively, from the spontaneous recall to the cueing phase, the number of internal details was lower in ASD individuals compared to controls, but this difference was relevant only after the specific cueing procedure and observed only for contextual details. In contrast, no relevant group difference was observed during spontaneous recall. The detail richness was not impaired in ASD throughout the Autobiographical Interview procedure. Conclusion: Our results speak against a clear impairment of episodicity of autobiographical memory in ASD individuals. They thus challenge previous ones showing both a reduced specificity and episodicity of autobiographical memory in this population and call for further studies to get a better understanding on the status of episodic autobiographical memory in ASD.