Electromagnetic evidence of altered visual processing in autism

► We investigated the time course of local visual perception in autistic individuals. ► Autistic individuals processed the irrelevant context less than controls (100-150 ms). ► “Disembedding” processes were measured in controls only (350-400 ms). ► Autistic individuals' visual processing peaked in primary visual areas in both time windows. ► This indicates an effortless (automatic, bottom-up) local process.