[article] 
inMolecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 47

Titre :	Different exploration strategies along the autism spectrum: diverging effects of autism diagnosis and autism traits
Type de document :	texte imprimé
Auteurs :	Fien GOETMAECKERS, Auteur ; Judith GORIS, Auteur ; Jan R. WIERSEMA, Auteur ; Tom VERGUTS, Auteur ; Senne BRAEM, Auteur ; Fien Secondary GOETMAECKERS, Auteur ; Judith GORIS, Auteur ; Jan R. WIERSEMA, Auteur ; Tom VERGUTS, Auteur ; Senne BRAEM, Auteur
Article en page(s) :	47
Langues :	Anglais (eng)
Mots-clés :	Autism  Computational cognitive modeling  Exploration  Uncertainty  Value-based decision-making  by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences  of Ghent University and all participants gave their informed consent. Consent for  publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no  competing interests.
Index. décimale :	PER Périodiques
Résumé :	BACKGROUND: When faced with many options to choose from, humans typically need to explore the utility of new choice options. People with an autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits are thought to avoid exploring such unknown options, but it remains unclear how autism affects exploration in decision spaces with many options. METHODS: In a large online sample (N = 588), we investigated the impact of autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits on exploration behavior during value-based decision-making in vast decision spaces. We used a 121-armed bandit with spatially correlated choice options, and a dedicated computational model to disentangle generalization, uncertainty-guided exploration, and random exploration strategies. RESULTS: Our findings show that participants with a self-reported autism diagnosis were less likely to explore novel choice options and more likely to exploit known high-value options. Computational modeling suggests they engaged in less uncertainty-driven exploration but exhibited equal random exploration and generalization strategies. Interestingly, among non-diagnosed participants, people with elevated autism traits did not explore less. LIMITATIONS: This study relies on self-reported autism diagnoses and trait measures collected online. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to clinically verified or more diverse autism populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight important differences in exploration strategies between clinical and subclinical populations and emphasize the importance of cognitive modeling and using vast decision spaces to better understand autism. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13229-025-00679-9.
En ligne :	https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00679-9
Permalink :	https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=569

[article] Different exploration strategies along the autism spectrum: diverging effects of autism diagnosis and autism traits [texte imprimé] / Fien GOETMAECKERS, Auteur ; Judith GORIS, Auteur ; Jan R. WIERSEMA, Auteur ; Tom VERGUTS, Auteur ; Senne BRAEM, Auteur ; Fien Secondary GOETMAECKERS, Auteur ; Judith GORIS, Auteur ; Jan R. WIERSEMA, Auteur ; Tom VERGUTS, Auteur ; Senne BRAEM, Auteur . - 47.
Langues : Anglais (eng)
in Molecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 47

Mots-clés :	Autism  Computational cognitive modeling  Exploration  Uncertainty  Value-based decision-making  by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences  of Ghent University and all participants gave their informed consent. Consent for  publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no  competing interests.
Index. décimale :	PER Périodiques
Résumé :	BACKGROUND: When faced with many options to choose from, humans typically need to explore the utility of new choice options. People with an autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits are thought to avoid exploring such unknown options, but it remains unclear how autism affects exploration in decision spaces with many options. METHODS: In a large online sample (N = 588), we investigated the impact of autism diagnosis or elevated autism traits on exploration behavior during value-based decision-making in vast decision spaces. We used a 121-armed bandit with spatially correlated choice options, and a dedicated computational model to disentangle generalization, uncertainty-guided exploration, and random exploration strategies. RESULTS: Our findings show that participants with a self-reported autism diagnosis were less likely to explore novel choice options and more likely to exploit known high-value options. Computational modeling suggests they engaged in less uncertainty-driven exploration but exhibited equal random exploration and generalization strategies. Interestingly, among non-diagnosed participants, people with elevated autism traits did not explore less. LIMITATIONS: This study relies on self-reported autism diagnoses and trait measures collected online. This may limit the generalizability of the findings to clinically verified or more diverse autism populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight important differences in exploration strategies between clinical and subclinical populations and emphasize the importance of cognitive modeling and using vast decision spaces to better understand autism. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13229-025-00679-9.
En ligne :	https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00679-9
Permalink :	https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=569