In everyday life, we integrate information coming from different sensory channels. For example,
when having a conversation, what we hear (e.g., the words and intonation) and what we see (e.g., the
lip movements and the facial expressions) helps us understand what the other person communicates.
Because speech is a vital element of human social life, it has given rise to the suggestion that the
ability to efficiently integrate audio-visual speech information constitutes an important basis for socio-
communicative development.
Autism is a condition characterised by social difficulties and it has been linked to atypicalities in
integrating information coming from different sensory channels in speech processing. Such
atypicalities in multisensory integration have far-reaching negative consequences on every-day
functioning and thus have been proposed to lie at the root of complex social difficulties in this group.
This project aims to contribute to our understanding of multisensory integration in autism by
employing ecologically valid socially stimuli and investigating the modulatory influence of factors
like attention on the audio-visual integration processes in this population. To this end, we will explore
neuronal and behavioural markers of multisensory integration in autistic and non-autistic adults and
compare how this function is realised in both groups. The outcome of this project will add to our
understanding of the multisensory integration mechanisms in autism with the potential to inform
future treatment and intervention strategies in this group.

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