Scene construction and autobiographical memory retrieval in autism spectrum disorder

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently exhibit difficulties in retrieving autobiographical memories (AMs) of specific events from their life. Such memory deficits are frequently attributed to underlying disruptions in self-referential or social cognition processes. This makes intuitive sense as these are hallmarks of ASD. However, an emerging literature suggests that parallel deficits also exist in ASD individuals' ability to reconstruct the rich spatial contexts in which events occur. This is a capacity known as scene construction, and in typically developing individuals is considered a core process in retrieving AMs. In this review, we discuss evidence of difficulties with scene construction in ASD, drawing upon experiments that involve AM retrieval, other forms of mental time travel, and spatial navigation. We also highlight aspects of extant data that cannot be accounted for using purely social explanations of memory deficits in ASD. We conclude by identifying key questions raised by our framework and suggest how they might be addressed in future research. Difficulties in retrieving memories of specific events are well documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although it is commonly thought that these difficulties arise from a deficit in ASD individuals' social cognitive abilities, a growing literature suggests that a separate, parallel deficit also exists in the ability to mentally reconstruct aspects of the space, or scene, in which a remembered event occurred. In this review, we discuss what is known about the scene construction deficit in ASD and how its consideration might impact future research.