Fascination with the brain: This is how visual stability influences our lives!

Fascination with the brain: This is how visual stability influences our lives!

Researchers at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf have published new findings on visual perception in people with autistic characteristics. This study looks at people's unconscious ability for “visual stability,” which prevents disorientation and dizziness from occurring. When attention shifts suddenly, the eyes move quickly, but the background remains stable. This research has been published in prestigious journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Current Biology. Dr. Antonella Pomè and Prof. Dr. Eckart Zimmermann is the main person responsible for the study and reports that the brain is adapted to expected movements and only perceives relevant visual information, thereby filtering out blur caused by eye movements.

The current study found that the ability to filter visual information was impaired in 49 people with severe autistic traits. In particular, it has been shown that stronger autistic features can negatively influence the perception of movements during eye movements. These individuals' brains cannot accurately match eye movement commands with what they see, resulting in sensory overload. As a result, important visual clues in everyday situations, such as road safety, are often overlooked.

Sensory characteristics and their effects

The sensory peculiarities discovered by the researchers are not just an isolated phenomenon. How autisminfo.com explains, people on the autism spectrum often have specific sensory sensitivities. These can appear as hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity and have a massive impact on everyday experiences. While some people are hypersensitive to loud noise or bright lights, others show low sensitivity to sensory stimuli. Such sensory challenges can cause significant difficulties in noisy, crowded environments.

Particularly in the context of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention deficit disorder (ADHD), those affected report altered stimulus processing. Difficulties in distinguishing between important and unimportant stimuli can not only affect everyday life, but can also trigger emotional stress such as stress, meltdowns or burnouts. The precise analysis of sensory processing and its disorders is therefore of great clinical importance.

Neurosensory research and perspectives

According to autism-culture.de It is important to understand that sensory peculiarities do not represent a dysfunction of the sensory organs. Rather, people on the autism spectrum have functioning sensory organs; their problems lie in the brain's perceptual processing processes. In this context, hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity can be observed in various sensory areas, including vision, hearing and one's own body sensation.

It is crucial that the findings of this research not only affect the academic community, but also have practical application. By developing new questionnaires on sensory and interoception as well as adapting therapeutic approaches, a significant long-term improvement in the quality of life for those affected can be achieved. The researchers emphasize the need to better understand the filtering mechanisms in the brain in order to be able to provide targeted help to people with sensory impairments.