Emotional Arousal-Induced Episodic Memory Benefits Are Attenuated in Autism Spectrum Disorders, Especially in Older Age.

Researchers studied how emotions affect memory in 326 adults with and without autism. They found that autistic adults feel less emotionally aroused by positive images and don't get the same memory boost from emotional content that other people do. This difference gets worse with age, especially for positive memories. These findings help explain why some autistic people may have different patterns of remembering emotional experiences.

This large-scale online study examined how emotional arousal affects episodic memory in 326 adults with and without autism (163 per group, ages 18-67). Participants rated arousal levels for positive, negative, and neutral images, then completed a recognition task 48 hours later. Adults with autism reported lower arousal for positive images and showed reduced benefits from emotional arousal on memory formation for both positive and negative images compared to neurotypical adults. Age further worsened this reduced arousal-memory benefit in the autism group, particularly for positive stimuli.

These effects occurred independent of depression severity, despite autism being associated with higher depression rates.

Findings suggest therapeutic approaches should consider atypical emotional arousal patterns in autism. Interventions targeting positive emotion processing and memory strategies may be beneficial, particularly for older autistic adults. Understanding these differences can inform personalized memory support strategies.

Study relied on online methodology which may affect data quality. The abstract doesn't specify participant matching criteria or control for other neurodevelopmental conditions. Recognition task after 48 hours may not capture immediate memory effects or longer-term retention patterns.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder associated with episodic memory impairment. Although emotional factors such as arousal, as well as age and depression symptoms, are known to influence episodic memory in neurotypical (NT) populations, how these factors affect memory processes in ASD, which is associated with a higher prevalence of depression, remains unclear. In this large-scale online study, 326 adults (ages 18-67) with or without ASD (n = 163 per group) and varying levels of depressive symptoms rated their experienced arousal of positive, negative, and neutral images and performed a recognition task 48 h later. Adults with ASD reported lower arousal for positive images and exhibited reduced arousal-enhanced memory benefits for both positive and negative images compared to NT adults, independent of depression severity.

Age further exacerbated this reduced arousal memory benefit in the ASD group, specifically for positive stimuli. These findings underscore the role of atypical emotional arousal in ASD on episodic memory, with age-related declines suggesting accelerated vulnerability in positive memory retention.