Although autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are commonly characterized by diminished episodic memory, the literature in this area is mixed. We address these inconsistent findings by employing multilevel Bayesian meta-analysis to quantify episodic memory differences between individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) controls. We used meta-regression to evaluate the effects of test modality (e.g., word list, story recall), delay interval (immediate vs. delayed), retrieval demands (recognition vs. recall), and sensory modality (auditory vs. visual) on episodic memory in ASD. A total of 338 effect sizes from 113 empirical articles, including 5,632 unique participants (ASD = 2,777, TD = 2,855), were included. Results show that the memory deficits associated with ASD were larger for recall (g = -0.52, se = 0.04, 95% CrI [-0.60, -0.43]) compared to recognition (g = -0.25, se = 0.05, 95% CrI [-0.35, -0.14]) and differed based on the testing modality. For example, effect sizes were smallest for words (g = -0.28, se = 0.05, 95% CrI [-0.38, -0.18]), pictures (g = -0.38, se = 0.07, 95% CrI [-0.52, -0.24]), and figure reproduction (g = -0.49, se = 0.11, 95% CrI [-0.70, -0.27]). However, effect sizes for sentences (g = -0.59, se = 0.20, 95% CrI [-1.00, -0.21]), stories (Hedges’ g = -0.54, se = 0.08, 95% CrI [-0.69, -0.38]) and staged events (g = -0.75, se = 0.10, 95% CrI [-0.95, -0.55]) were much larger. These findings suggest that ASD is associated with a small to medium reduction in scores on episodic memory tests relative to TD controls.

尽管自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 通常以情景记忆减少为特征，但该领域的文献参差不齐。我们通过采用多级贝叶斯荟萃分析来量化患有 ASD 和通常发育 (TD) 控制的个体之间的情景记忆差异来解决这些不一致的发现。我们使用元回归来评估测试方式（例如，单词列表、故事回忆）、延迟间隔（立即 vs. 延迟）、检索需求（识别 vs. 回忆）和感觉方式（听觉 vs. 视觉）对ASD 中的情景记忆。共纳入 113 篇实证文章的 338 个效应量，包括 5,632 名独立参与者（ASD = 2,777，TD = 2,855）。结果表明，与 ASD 相关的记忆缺陷在回忆时更大（g  = -0.52，se  = 0.04, 95% CrI [-0.60, -0.43]) 与识别 ( g  = -0.25, se  = 0.05, 95% CrI [-0.35, -0.14]) 相比，并且根据测试方式而有所不同。例如，单词 ( g  = -0.28, se  = 0.05, 95% CrI [-0.38, -0.18])、图片 ( g  = -0.38, se  = 0.07, 95% CrI [-0.52, - 0.24]）和图形再现（g  = -0.49, se  = 0.11, 95% CrI [-0.70, -0.27]）。然而，句子的效果大小 ( g  = -0.59, se  = 0.20, 95% CrI [-1.00, -0.21])、故事 (Hedges' g  = -0.54, se = 0.08, 95% CrI [-0.69, -0.38]) 和分阶段事件 ( g  = -0.75, se  = 0.10, 95% CrI [-0.95, -0.55]) 要大得多。这些发现表明，与 TD 对照相比，ASD 与情景记忆测试分数的小到中等降低有关。