Publications by authors named "Natalie N Russo"

We examined whether reduced perceptual specialization underlies atypical perception in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) testing classifications of stimuli that differ either along integral dimensions (prototypical integral dimensions of value and chroma), or along separable dimensions (prototypical separable dimensions of value and size). Current models of the perception of individuals with an ASD would suggest that on these tasks, individuals with ASD would be as, or more, likely to process dimensions as separable, regardless of whether they represented separable or integrated dimensions. In contrast, reduced specialization would propose that individuals with ASD would respond in a more integral manner to stimuli that differ along separable dimensions, and at the same time, respond in a more separable manner to stimuli that differ along integral dimensions.

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Under noisy listening conditions, visualizing a speaker's articulations substantially improves speech intelligibility. This multisensory speech integration ability is crucial to effective communication, and the appropriate development of this capacity greatly impacts a child's ability to successfully navigate educational and social settings. Research shows that multisensory integration abilities continue developing late into childhood.

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A key feature of early visual cortical regions is that they contain discretely organized retinotopic maps. Titration of these maps must occur through experience, and the fidelity of their spatial tuning will depend on the consistency and accuracy of the eye movement system. Anomalies in fixation patterns and the ballistics of eye movements are well documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with off-center fixations a hallmark of the phenotype.

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Successful integration of auditory and visual inputs is crucial for both basic perceptual functions and for higher-order processes related to social cognition. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in social cognition and are associated with abnormalities in sensory and perceptual processes. Several groups have reported that individuals with ASD are impaired in their ability to integrate socially relevant audiovisual (AV) information, and it has been suggested that this contributes to the higher-order social and cognitive deficits observed in ASD.

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The visual system can automatically interpolate or "fill-in" the boundaries of objects when inputs are fragmented or incomplete. A canonical class of visual stimuli known as illusory-contour (IC) stimuli has been extensively used to study this contour interpolation process. Visual evoked potential (VEP) studies have identified a neural signature of these boundary completion processes, the so-called IC-effect, which typically onsets at 90-110 ms and is generated within the lateral occipital complex (LOC).

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The integration of multisensory information is essential to forming meaningful representations of the environment. Adults benefit from related multisensory stimuli but the extent to which the ability to optimally integrate multisensory inputs for functional purposes is present in children has not been extensively examined. Using a cross-sectional approach, high-density electrical mapping of event-related potentials (ERPs) was combined with behavioral measures to characterize neurodevelopmental changes in basic audiovisual (AV) integration from middle childhood through early adulthood.

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