Social motor synchronization: insights for understanding social behavior in autism

Paula Fitzpatrick; Veronica Romero; Joseph L. Amaral; Amie Duncan; Holly Barnard; Michael J. Richardson; R. C. Schmidt

doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3124-2

Social motor synchronization: insights for understanding social behavior in autism

Paula Fitzpatrick^*, Veronica Romero, Joseph L. Amaral, Amie Duncan, Holly Barnard, Michael J. Richardson, R. C. Schmidt

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

62 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Impairments in social interaction and communication are critical features of ASD but the underlying processes are poorly understood. An under-explored area is the social motor synchronization that happens when we coordinate our bodies with others. Here, we explored the relationships between dynamical measures of social motor synchronization and assessments of ASD traits. We found (a) spontaneous social motor synchronization was associated with responding to joint attention, cooperation, and theory of mind while intentional social motor synchronization was associated with initiating joint attention and theory of mind; and (b) social motor synchronization was associated with ASD severity but not fully explained by motor problems. Findings suggest that objective measures of social motor synchronization may provide insights into understanding ASD traits.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2092-2107
Number of pages	16
Journal	Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume	47
Issue number	7
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3124-2
Publication status	Published - Jul 2017
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

autism
social synchronization
dynamics
social interaction

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AU - Richardson, Michael J.

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Social motor synchronization: insights for understanding social behavior in autism

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Keywords

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