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Zhou Y, Nishimura M, Kawabata H. Gaze behavior when looking at paintings may predict autistic traits. Psych J 2025; 14:267-276. [PMID: 39763294 PMCID: PMC11961244 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 10/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/03/2025]
Abstract
From infancy, we spend considerable time absorbing social information from the external world. Social information processing, which starts with looking at facial expressions, affects behavior and cognition. Previous research has demonstrated that looking behaviors at social cues such as faces may differ in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by using eye-tracking studies with real photographs and movies. However, mixed results have been reported. In this study, we examined whether autistic traits in adults affected gaze behavior when participants viewed paintings. The eye-tracking results indicate that gaze patterns change over time during a 20-s free-viewing task. Although the fixations were not influenced during the first 10 s of the viewing, autistic tendencies affected gaze behavior after the overview of the painting was completed: the higher the autism-spectrum quotient scores, the shorter the fixation duration and the fewer the fixations on the facial areas of the paintings during the latter 10 s of viewing time. This result indicates that the atypical gaze behavior was more likely to be modulated by a generalized attentional process for endogenous orienting with reduced interest in social cues. Gaze patterns of viewing paintings may be used to predict autistic tendencies among people undiagnosed but suspected of having ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yizhen Zhou
- Global Research InstituteKeio UniversityTokyoJapan
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2
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Kollenda D, Reher AS, de Haas B. Individual gaze predicts individual scene descriptions. Sci Rep 2025; 15:9443. [PMID: 40108359 PMCID: PMC11923161 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-94056-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2025] [Indexed: 03/22/2025] Open
Abstract
Do different people looking at the same scene perceive individual versions of what's in front of them? If perception is individual, which mechanisms mediate our particular view of the world? Recent findings have shown systematic observer differences in gaze, but it is unclear whether individual fixation biases translate to divergent impressions of the same scene. Here, we find systematic differences in the scene descriptions individual observers provide for identical complex scenes. Crucially, observer differences in fixation patterns predicted pairwise differences in scene descriptions, particularly the use of nouns, even for out-of-sample images. Part of this could be explained by the individual tendency to fixate text and people predicting corresponding description references. Our results strongly suggest that subjective scene perception is shaped by individual gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Kollenda
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg and Giessen, Germany.
| | | | - Benjamin de Haas
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Marburg and Giessen, Germany
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3
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Portugal AM, Taylor MJ, Tammimies K, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Dissociable genetic influences on eye movements during abstract versus naturalistic social scene viewing in infancy. Sci Rep 2025; 15:4100. [PMID: 39900629 PMCID: PMC11791049 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-83557-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2024] [Accepted: 12/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2025] Open
Abstract
Eye-movement metrics like fixation location and duration are increasingly being used in infancy research. We tested whether fixation durations during meaningful social stimulus viewing involve common or different familial influences than fixation durations during viewing of abstract stimulus. We analysed the duration of fixations, and the allocation of fixations to face and motion, from 536 dizygotic and monozygotic 5-month-old twins in: naturalistic scenes including low- and high-level social features, and abstract scenes only having low-level features. We observed significant genetic influences in both conditions (h2naturalistic = 0.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14 to 0.44; h2abstract = 0.25, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.39), while shared environmental influences were negligible. Although some genetic influences were shared between the two conditions, unique genetic factors were linked to naturalistic scene viewing, indicating that fixation durations index different phenomena dependent on the context. Heritability for face looking was moderate (h2 = 0.19, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.34), and no familial influences were found for motion looking. Exploratory polygenic score analyses revealed no significant associations with fixation measures. This study underscores the dissociable genetic influences on infants' visual exploration of abstract versus naturalistic stimuli and the importance of considering context when interpreting eye-tracking data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
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4
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Gruskin DC, Vieira DJ, Lee JK, Patel GH. Heritability of movie-evoked brain activity and connectivity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2025:2024.09.16.612469. [PMID: 39345386 PMCID: PMC11429865 DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.16.612469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/01/2024]
Abstract
The neural bases of sensory processing are conserved across people, but no two individuals experience the same stimulus in exactly the same way. Recent work has established that the idiosyncratic nature of subjective experience is underpinned by individual variability in brain responses to sensory information. However, the fundamental origins of this individual variability have yet to be systematically investigated. Here, we establish a genetic basis for individual differences in sensory processing by quantifying (1) the heritability of high-dimensional brain responses to movies and (2) the extent to which this heritability is grounded in lower-level aspects of brain function. Specifically, we leverage 7T fMRI data collected from a twin sample to first show that movie-evoked brain activity and connectivity patterns are heritable across the cortex. Next, we use hyperalignment to decompose this heritability into genetic similarity in where vs. how sensory information is processed. Finally, we show that the heritability of brain activity patterns can be partially explained by the heritability of the neural timescale, a one-dimensional measure of local circuit functioning. These results demonstrate that brain responses to complex stimuli are heritable, and that this heritability is due, in part, to genetic control over stable aspects of brain function.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C. Gruskin
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | - Daniel J. Vieira
- Division of Experimental Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | - Jessica K. Lee
- Division of Experimental Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032, USA
| | - Gaurav H. Patel
- Division of Experimental Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York 10032, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
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5
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Borovska P, de Haas B. Individual gaze shapes diverging neural representations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2405602121. [PMID: 39213176 PMCID: PMC11388360 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2405602121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 08/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Complex visual stimuli evoke diverse patterns of gaze, but previous research suggests that their neural representations are shared across brains. Here, we used hyperalignment to compare visual responses between observers viewing identical stimuli. We find that individual eye movements enhance cortical visual responses but also lead to representational divergence. Pairwise differences in the spatial distribution of gaze and in semantic salience predict pairwise representational divergence in V1 and inferior temporal cortex, respectively. This suggests that individual gaze sculpts individual visual worlds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Borovska
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Marburg and Giessen, Darmstadt 35032, Germany
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6
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Zhang D, Ma C, Xu L, Liu X, Cui H, Wei Y, Zheng W, Hong Y, Xie Y, Qian Z, Hu Y, Tang Y, Li C, Liu Z, Chen T, Liu H, Zhang T, Wang J. Abnormal Scanning Patterns Based on Eye Movement Entropy in Early Psychosis. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024:S2451-9022(24)00161-7. [PMID: 38909898 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Restricted scan path mode is hypothesized to explain abnormal scanning patterns in patients with schizophrenia. Here, we calculated entropy scores (drawing on gaze data to measure the statistical randomness of eye movements) to quantify how strategical and random participants were when processing image stimuli. METHODS Eighty-six patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES), 124 individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis, and 115 healthy control participants (HCs) completed an eye-tracking examination while freely viewing 35 static images (each presented for 10 seconds) and cognitive assessments. We compared group differences in the overall entropy score, as well as entropy scores under various conditions. We also investigated the correlations between entropy scores and symptoms and cognitive function. RESULTS Increased overall entropy scores were noted in the FES and CHR groups compared with the HC group, and these differences were already apparent within 0 to 2.5 seconds. In addition, the CHR group exhibited higher entropy than the HC group when viewing low-meaning images. Moreover, the entropy within 0 to 2.5 seconds showed significant correlations with negative symptoms in the FES group, attention/vigilance scores in the CHR group, and speed of processing and attention/vigilance scores across all 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that individuals with FES and those at CHR scanned pictures more randomly and less strategically than HCs. These patterns also correlated with clinical symptoms and neurocognition. The current study highlights the potential of the eye movement entropy measure as a neurophysiological marker for early psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunyan Ma
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Lihua Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Huiru Cui
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanyan Wei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Wensi Zheng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yawen Hong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuou Xie
- First Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenying Qian
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yegang Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingying Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Chunbo Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi Liu
- Shanghai Institute for Advanced Communication and Data Science, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; School of Communication and Information Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Tao Chen
- Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Big Data Research Laboratory, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Niacin (Shanghai) Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Haichun Liu
- Department of Automation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianhong Zhang
- Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Psychological Evaluation and Intervention, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jijun Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
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7
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Falck-Ytter T. The breakdown of social looking. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 161:105689. [PMID: 38657844 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105689] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Individual differences in social looking are commonly believed to reflect one single heritable dimension tightly linked to autism. Yet, recent data suggest that in human infants, looking to eyes (rather than mouth) and preference for faces (versus non-social objects) reflect distinct genetic influences, and neither appear to have a clear-cut relation to autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
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8
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Viktorsson C, Portugal AM, Taylor MJ, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Sustained looking at faces at 5 months of age is associated with socio-communicative skills in the second year of life. INFANCY 2024; 29:459-478. [PMID: 38358338 DOI: 10.1111/infa.12586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Efficiently processing information from faces in infancy is foundational for nonverbal communication. We studied individual differences in 5-month-old infants' (N = 517) sustained attention to faces and preference for emotional faces. We assessed the contribution of genetic and environmental influences to individual differences in these gaze behaviors, and the association between these traits and other concurrent and later phenotypes. We found an association between the mean duration of looking at a face (before looking away from it) at 5 months and socio-communicative abilities at 14 months (β = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.08; 0.26, p < 0.001). Sustained attention to faces predicted socio-communicative abilities over and above variance captured by mean fixation duration. We also found a statistically significant but weak tendency to prefer looking at smiling faces (relative to neutral faces), but no indication that variability in this behavior was explained by genetic effects. Moderate heritability was found for sustained attention to faces (A = 0.23, CI: 0.06; 0.38), while shared environmental influences were non-significant for both phenotypes. These findings suggest that sustained looking at individual faces before looking away is a developmentally significant 'social attention' phenotype in infancy, characterized by moderate heritability and a specific relation to later socio-communicative abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden
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9
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Yamada Y, Shinkawa K, Kobayashi M, Nemoto M, Ota M, Nemoto K, Arai T. Distinct eye movement patterns to complex scenes in Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body disease. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1333894. [PMID: 38646608 PMCID: PMC11026598 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1333894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Lewy body disease (LBD), the two most common causes of neurodegenerative dementia with similar clinical manifestations, both show impaired visual attention and altered eye movements. However, prior studies have used structured tasks or restricted stimuli, limiting the insights into how eye movements alter and differ between AD and LBD in daily life. Objective We aimed to comprehensively characterize eye movements of AD and LBD patients on naturalistic complex scenes with broad categories of objects, which would provide a context closer to real-world free viewing, and to identify disease-specific patterns of altered eye movements. Methods We collected spontaneous viewing behaviors to 200 naturalistic complex scenes from patients with AD or LBD at the prodromal or dementia stage, as well as matched control participants. We then investigated eye movement patterns using a computational visual attention model with high-level image features of object properties and semantic information. Results Compared with matched controls, we identified two disease-specific altered patterns of eye movements: diminished visual exploration, which differentially correlates with cognitive impairment in AD and with motor impairment in LBD; and reduced gaze allocation to objects, attributed to a weaker attention bias toward high-level image features in AD and attributed to a greater image-center bias in LBD. Conclusion Our findings may help differentiate AD and LBD patients and comprehend their real-world visual behaviors to mitigate the widespread impact of impaired visual attention on daily activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasunori Yamada
- Digital Health, IBM Research, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | | | - Masatomo Kobayashi
- Digital Health, IBM Research, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Miyuki Nemoto
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Miho Ota
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Kiyotaka Nemoto
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Tetsuaki Arai
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan
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Haskins AJ, Mentch J, Van Wicklin C, Choi YB, Robertson CE. Brief Report: Differences in Naturalistic Attention to Real-World Scenes in Adolescents with 16p.11.2 Deletion. J Autism Dev Disord 2024; 54:1078-1087. [PMID: 36512194 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05850-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Sensory differences are nearly universal in autism, but their genetic origins are poorly understood. Here, we tested how individuals with an autism-linked genotype, 16p.11.2 deletion ("16p"), attend to visual information in immersive, real-world photospheres. We monitored participants' (N = 44) gaze while they actively explored 360° scenes via headmounted virtual reality. We modeled the visually salient and semantically meaningful information in scenes and quantified the relative bottom-up vs. top-down influences on attentional deployment. We found, when compared to typically developed control (TD) participants, 16p participants' attention was less dominantly predicted by semantically meaningful scene regions, relative to visually salient regions. These results suggest that a reduction in top-down relative to bottom-up attention characterizes how individuals with 16p.11.2 deletions engage with naturalistic visual environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J Haskins
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 3 Maynard Street, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
| | - Jeff Mentch
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | | | - Yeo Bi Choi
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 3 Maynard Street, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
| | - Caroline E Robertson
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 3 Maynard Street, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
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11
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Kojovic N, Cekic S, Castañón SH, Franchini M, Sperdin HF, Sandini C, Jan RK, Zöller D, Ben Hadid L, Bavelier D, Schaer M. Unraveling the developmental dynamic of visual exploration of social interactions in autism. eLife 2024; 13:e85623. [PMID: 38192197 PMCID: PMC10876216 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Atypical deployment of social gaze is present early on in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Yet, studies characterizing the developmental dynamic behind it are scarce. Here, we used a data-driven method to delineate the developmental change in visual exploration of social interaction over childhood years in autism. Longitudinal eye-tracking data were acquired as children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers freely explored a short cartoon movie. We found divergent moment-to-moment gaze patterns in children with ASD compared to their TD peers. This divergence was particularly evident in sequences that displayed social interactions between characters and even more so in children with lower developmental and functional levels. The basic visual properties of the animated scene did not account for the enhanced divergence. Over childhood years, these differences dramatically increased to become more idiosyncratic. These findings suggest that social attention should be targeted early in clinical treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Kojovic
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Sezen Cekic
- Faculte de Psychologie et Science de l’Education, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Santiago Herce Castañón
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Matemáticas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad UniversitariaMexico CityMexico
| | | | - Holger Franz Sperdin
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Corrado Sandini
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Reem Kais Jan
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health SciencesDubaiUnited Arab Emirates
| | | | - Lylia Ben Hadid
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Daphné Bavelier
- Faculte de Psychologie et Science de l’Education, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
| | - Marie Schaer
- Psychiatry Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of GenevaGenevaSwitzerland
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12
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Portugal AM, Viktorsson C, Taylor MJ, Mason L, Tammimies K, Ronald A, Falck-Ytter T. Infants' looking preferences for social versus non-social objects reflect genetic variation. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:115-124. [PMID: 38012276 PMCID: PMC10810753 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01764-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
To what extent do individual differences in infants' early preference for faces versus non-facial objects reflect genetic and environmental factors? Here in a sample of 536 5-month-old same-sex twins, we assessed attention to faces using eye tracking in two ways: initial orienting to faces at the start of the trial (thought to reflect subcortical processing) and sustained face preference throughout the trial (thought to reflect emerging attention control). Twin model fitting suggested an influence of genetic and unique environmental effects, but there was no evidence for an effect of shared environment. The heritability of face orienting and preference were 0.19 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.04 to 0.33) and 0.46 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.57), respectively. Face preference was associated positively with later parent-reported verbal competence (β = 0.14, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.25, P = 0.014, R2 = 0.018, N = 420). This study suggests that individual differences in young infants' selection of perceptual input-social versus non-social-are heritable, providing a developmental perspective on gene-environment interplay occurring at the level of eye movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
| | - Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Mark J Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Luke Mason
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab (DIVE), Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Childrn's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Mosconi MW, Stevens CJ, Unruh KE, Shafer R, Elison JT. Endophenotype trait domains for advancing gene discovery in autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2023; 15:41. [PMID: 37993779 PMCID: PMC10664534 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-023-09511-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with a diverse range of etiological processes, including both genetic and non-genetic causes. For a plurality of individuals with ASD, it is likely that the primary causes involve multiple common inherited variants that individually account for only small levels of variation in phenotypic outcomes. This genetic landscape creates a major challenge for detecting small but important pathogenic effects associated with ASD. To address similar challenges, separate fields of medicine have identified endophenotypes, or discrete, quantitative traits that reflect genetic likelihood for a particular clinical condition and leveraged the study of these traits to map polygenic mechanisms and advance more personalized therapeutic strategies for complex diseases. Endophenotypes represent a distinct class of biomarkers useful for understanding genetic contributions to psychiatric and developmental disorders because they are embedded within the causal chain between genotype and clinical phenotype, and they are more proximal to the action of the gene(s) than behavioral traits. Despite their demonstrated power for guiding new understanding of complex genetic structures of clinical conditions, few endophenotypes associated with ASD have been identified and integrated into family genetic studies. In this review, we argue that advancing knowledge of the complex pathogenic processes that contribute to ASD can be accelerated by refocusing attention toward identifying endophenotypic traits reflective of inherited mechanisms. This pivot requires renewed emphasis on study designs with measurement of familial co-variation including infant sibling studies, family trio and quad designs, and analysis of monozygotic and dizygotic twin concordance for select trait dimensions. We also emphasize that clarification of endophenotypic traits necessarily will involve integration of transdiagnostic approaches as candidate traits likely reflect liability for multiple clinical conditions and often are agnostic to diagnostic boundaries. Multiple candidate endophenotypes associated with ASD likelihood are described, and we propose a new focus on the analysis of "endophenotype trait domains" (ETDs), or traits measured across multiple levels (e.g., molecular, cellular, neural system, neuropsychological) along the causal pathway from genes to behavior. To inform our central argument for research efforts toward ETD discovery, we first provide a brief review of the concept of endophenotypes and their application to psychiatry. Next, we highlight key criteria for determining the value of candidate endophenotypes, including unique considerations for the study of ASD. Descriptions of different study designs for assessing endophenotypes in ASD research then are offered, including analysis of how select patterns of results may help prioritize candidate traits in future research. We also present multiple candidate ETDs that collectively cover a breadth of clinical phenomena associated with ASD, including social, language/communication, cognitive control, and sensorimotor processes. These ETDs are described because they represent promising targets for gene discovery related to clinical autistic traits, and they serve as models for analysis of separate candidate domains that may inform understanding of inherited etiological processes associated with ASD as well as overlapping neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew W Mosconi
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
- Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
| | - Cassandra J Stevens
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
- Clinical Child Psychology Program, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Kathryn E Unruh
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Robin Shafer
- Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies and Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (K-CART), University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Jed T Elison
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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14
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Jones W, Klaiman C, Richardson S, Aoki C, Smith C, Minjarez M, Bernier R, Pedapati E, Bishop S, Ence W, Wainer A, Moriuchi J, Tay SW, Klin A. Eye-Tracking-Based Measurement of Social Visual Engagement Compared With Expert Clinical Diagnosis of Autism. JAMA 2023; 330:854-865. [PMID: 37668621 PMCID: PMC10481242 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.13295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Importance In the US, children with signs of autism often experience more than 1 year of delay before diagnosis and often experience longer delays if they are from racially, ethnically, or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Most diagnoses are also received without use of standardized diagnostic instruments. To aid in early autism diagnosis, eye-tracking measurement of social visual engagement has shown potential as a performance-based biomarker. Objective To evaluate the performance of eye-tracking measurement of social visual engagement (index test) relative to expert clinical diagnosis in young children referred to specialty autism clinics. Design, Setting, and Participants In this study of 16- to 30-month-old children enrolled at 6 US specialty centers from April 2018 through May 2019, staff blind to clinical diagnoses used automated devices to measure eye-tracking-based social visual engagement. Expert clinical diagnoses were made using best practice standardized protocols by specialists blind to index test results. This study was completed in a 1-day protocol for each participant. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcome measures were test sensitivity and specificity relative to expert clinical diagnosis. Secondary outcome measures were test correlations with expert clinical assessments of social disability, verbal ability, and nonverbal cognitive ability. Results Eye-tracking measurement of social visual engagement was successful in 475 (95.2%) of the 499 enrolled children (mean [SD] age, 24.1 [4.4] months; 38 [8.0%] were Asian; 37 [7.8%], Black; 352 [74.1%], White; 44 [9.3%], other; and 68 [14.3%], Hispanic). By expert clinical diagnosis, 221 children (46.5%) had autism and 254 (53.5%) did not. In all children, measurement of social visual engagement had sensitivity of 71.0% (95% CI, 64.7% to 76.6%) and specificity of 80.7% (95% CI, 75.4% to 85.1%). In the subgroup of 335 children whose autism diagnosis was certain, sensitivity was 78.0% (95% CI, 70.7% to 83.9%) and specificity was 85.4% (95% CI, 79.5% to 89.8%). Eye-tracking test results correlated with expert clinical assessments of individual levels of social disability (r = -0.75 [95% CI, -0.79 to -0.71]), verbal ability (r = 0.65 [95% CI, 0.59 to 0.70]), and nonverbal cognitive ability (r = 0.65 [95% CI, 0.59 to 0.70]). Conclusions and Relevance In 16- to 30-month-old children referred to specialty clinics, eye-tracking-based measurement of social visual engagement was predictive of autism diagnoses by clinical experts. Further evaluation of this test's role in early diagnosis and assessment of autism in routine specialty clinic practice is warranted. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03469986.
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Affiliation(s)
- Warren Jones
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Autism & Related Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Cheryl Klaiman
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Autism & Related Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Shana Richardson
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Christa Aoki
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Mendy Minjarez
- Seattle Children’s Autism Center and Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Raphael Bernier
- Seattle Children’s Autism Center and Department of Psychiatry, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Ernest Pedapati
- Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Ami Klin
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Autism & Related Disorders, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
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15
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Linka M, Sensoy Ö, Karimpur H, Schwarzer G, de Haas B. Free viewing biases for complex scenes in preschoolers and adults. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11803. [PMID: 37479760 PMCID: PMC10362043 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38854-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Adult gaze behaviour towards naturalistic scenes is highly biased towards semantic object classes. Little is known about the ontological development of these biases, nor about group-level differences in gaze behaviour between adults and preschoolers. Here, we let preschoolers (n = 34, age 5 years) and adults (n = 42, age 18-59 years) freely view 40 complex scenes containing objects with different semantic attributes to compare their fixation behaviour. Results show that preschool children allocate a significantly smaller proportion of dwell time and first fixations on Text and instead fixate Faces, Touched objects, Hands and Bodies more. A predictive model of object fixations controlling for a range of potential confounds suggests that most of these differences can be explained by drastically reduced text salience in pre-schoolers and that this effect is independent of low-level salience. These findings are in line with a developmental attentional antagonism between text and body parts (touched objects and hands in particular), which resonates with recent findings regarding 'cortical recycling'. We discuss this and other potential mechanisms driving salience differences between children and adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Linka
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Özlem Sensoy
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Harun Karimpur
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Gudrun Schwarzer
- Department of Developmental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, 35394, Giessen, Germany
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16
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Ermakov PN, Vorobyeva EV, Denisova EG, Yavna DV, Babenko VV, Kovsh EM, Alekseeva DS. Recognition of Emotional and Neutral Visual Scenes in Carriers of the MAOA, COMT, DRD4, and 5HT2A Gene Polymorphisms. PSYCHOLOGY IN RUSSIA: STATE OF ART 2023; 15:159-169. [PMID: 36761718 PMCID: PMC9903230 DOI: 10.11621/pir.2022.0410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Background It is known that some genes regulate neurochemical metabolism, and their polymorphisms affect cognitive performance, including the ability to categorize emotionally significant information. Objective The aim of our study was to analyze the recognition of emotional and neutral visual scenes in carriers of different polymorphic variants of the MAOA, COMT, DRD4, and 5HT2A genes. Design The study sample consisted of 87 university students (Caucasians, women 63%, average age 20.4±2.6 years). The genotypes of the COMT, 5HT2A, and DRD4 genes were determined by polymerase chain reaction. Agarose gel electrophoresis was used to determine the number of tandem repeats of the MAOA gene. Three hundred sixty (360) photographic images of scenes of different emotional valence (positive, negative, and neutral - 120 images for each category) were used as stimuli. These images were classified by expert assessments. The images were presented in a random sequence. The exposure time was 700 ms. The research participants were asked to determine the emotional valence of each scene. Results We found that only the COMT gene genotype affected the recognition of emotional and neutral visual scenes. Carriers of the COMT Val/Val genotype, which causes dopamine to stay in the synaptic space for a shorter time, are better in recognizing and demonstrate higher sensitivity to the emotional content of scenes. Carriers of the Val/Met genotype demonstrated the worst ability to differentiate the emotional valence of visual scenes. Conclusion This study has shown that the length of stay of monoamines in the synaptic space regulated by the COMT gene affects the recognition of emotional visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ekaterina G. Denisova
- Don State Technical University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia,* Corresponding author. E-mail:
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17
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Viktorsson C, Portugal AM, Li D, Rudling M, Siqueiros Sanchez M, Tammimies K, Taylor MJ, Ronald A, Falck‐Ytter T. Preferential looking to eyes versus mouth in early infancy: heritability and link to concurrent and later development. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2023; 64:311-319. [PMID: 36426800 PMCID: PMC10100106 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND From birth, infants orient preferentially to faces, and when looking at the face, they attend primarily to eyes and mouth. These areas convey different types of information, and earlier research suggests that genetic factors influence the preference for one or the other in young children. METHODS In a sample of 535 5-month-old infant twins, we assessed eye (relative to mouth) preference in early infancy, i.e., before neural systems for social communication and language are fully developed. We investigated the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the preference for looking at eyes, and the association with concurrent traits and follow-up measures. RESULTS Eye preference was independent from all other concurrent traits measured, and had a moderate-to-high contribution from genetic influences (A = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.66). Preference for eyes at 5 months was associated with higher parent ratings of receptive vocabulary at 14 months. No statistically significant association with later autistic traits was found. Preference for eyes was strikingly stable across different stimulus types (e.g., dynamic vs. still), suggesting that infants' preference at this age does not reflect sensitivity to low-level visual cues. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that individual differences in infants' preferential looking to eyes versus mouth to a substantial degree reflect genetic variation. The findings provide new leads on both the perceptual basis and the developmental consequences of these attentional biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Viktorsson
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Karolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Danyang Li
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Karolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
| | - Maja Rudling
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
| | - Monica Siqueiros Sanchez
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Karolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences ResearchStanford UniversityStanfordCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kristiina Tammimies
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Karolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
| | - Mark J. Taylor
- Department of Medical Epidemiology & BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Angelica Ronald
- Department of Psychological SciencesBirkbeck, University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Terje Falck‐Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden
- Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Karolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced StudyUppsalaSweden
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18
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Broda MD, Haddad T, de Haas B. Quick, eyes! Isolated upper face regions but not artificial features elicit rapid saccades. J Vis 2023; 23:5. [PMID: 36749582 PMCID: PMC9919614 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.2.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Human faces elicit faster saccades than objects or animals, resonating with the great importance of faces for our species. The underlying mechanisms are largely unclear. Here, we test two hypotheses based on previous findings. First, ultra-rapid saccades toward faces may not depend on the presence of the whole face, but the upper face region containing the eye region. Second, ultra-rapid saccades toward faces (and possibly face parts) may emerge from our extensive experience with this stimulus and thus extend to glasses and masks - artificial features frequently encountered as part of a face. To test these hypotheses, we asked 43 participants to complete a saccadic choice task, which contrasted images of whole, upper and lower faces, face masks, and glasses with car images. The resulting data confirmed ultra-rapid saccades for isolated upper face regions, but not for artificial facial features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Davide Broda
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Theresa Haddad
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
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19
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Looking at faces in the wild. Sci Rep 2023; 13:783. [PMID: 36646709 PMCID: PMC9842722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25268-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Faces are key to everyday social interactions, but our understanding of social attention is based on experiments that present images of faces on computer screens. Advances in wearable eye-tracking devices now enable studies in unconstrained natural settings but this approach has been limited by manual coding of fixations. Here we introduce an automatic 'dynamic region of interest' approach that registers eye-fixations to bodies and faces seen while a participant moves through the environment. We show that just 14% of fixations are to faces of passersby, contrasting with prior screen-based studies that suggest faces automatically capture visual attention. We also demonstrate the potential for this new tool to help understand differences in individuals' social attention, and the content of their perceptual exposure to other people. Together, this can form the basis of a new paradigm for studying social attention 'in the wild' that opens new avenues for theoretical, applied and clinical research.
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20
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Weichselbaum C, Hendrix N, Albright J, Dougherty JD, Botteron KN, Constantino JN, Marrus N. Social attention during object engagement: toward a cross-species measure of preferential social orienting. J Neurodev Disord 2022; 14:58. [PMID: 36517753 PMCID: PMC9749210 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-022-09467-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A central challenge in preclinical research investigating the biology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the translation of ASD-related social phenotypes across humans and animal models. Social orienting, an observable, evolutionarily conserved behavior, represents a promising cross-species ASD phenotype given that disrupted social orienting is an early-emerging ASD feature with evidence for predicting familial recurrence. Here, we adapt a competing-stimulus social orienting task from domesticated dogs to naturalistic play behavior in human toddlers and test whether this approach indexes decreased social orienting in ASD. METHODS Play behavior was coded from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) in two samples of toddlers, each with and without ASD. Sample 1 (n = 16) consisted of community-ascertained research participants, while Sample 2 involved a prospective study of infants at a high or low familial liability for ASD (n = 67). Coding quantified the child's looks towards the experimenter and caregiver, a social stimulus, while playing with high-interest toys, a non-social stimulus. A competing-stimulus measure of "Social Attention During Object Engagement" (SADOE) was calculated by dividing the number of social looks by total time spent playing with toys. SADOE was compared based on ASD diagnosis and differing familial liability for ASD. RESULTS In both samples, toddlers with ASD exhibited significantly lower SADOE compared to toddlers without ASD, with large effect sizes (Hedges' g ≥ 0.92) driven by a lower frequency of child-initiated spontaneous looks. Among toddlers at high familial likelihood of ASD, toddlers with ASD showed lower SADOE than toddlers without ASD, while SADOE did not differ based on presence or absence of familial ASD risk alone. SADOE correlated negatively with ADOS social affect calibrated severity scores and positively with the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales social subscale. In a binary logistic regression model, SADOE alone correctly classified 74.1% of cases, which rose to 85.2% when combined with cognitive development. CONCLUSIONS This work suggests that a brief behavioral measure pitting a high-interest nonsocial stimulus against the innate draw of social partners can serve as a feasible cross-species measure of social orienting, with implications for genetically informative behavioral phenotyping of social deficits in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Weichselbaum
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8504, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8232, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Nicole Hendrix
- Department of Pediatrics, Marcus Autism Center, Emory University Pediatric Institute, 1920 Briarcliff Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA
| | - Jordan Albright
- Virginia Tech Autism Clinic & Center for Autism Research, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 3110 Prices Fork Rd, Blacksburg, VA, 24060, USA
| | - Joseph D Dougherty
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8504, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8232, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Kelly N Botteron
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8504, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, 35 Ave, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - John N Constantino
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8504, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Natasha Marrus
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Ave, Box 8504, St Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
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21
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One-year-later spontaneous EEG features predict visual exploratory human phenotypes. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1361. [PMID: 36509841 PMCID: PMC9744741 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04294-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
During visual exploration, eye movements are controlled by multiple stimulus- and goal-driven factors. We recently showed that the dynamics of eye movements -how/when the eye move- during natural scenes' free viewing were similar across individuals and identified two viewing styles: static and dynamic, characterized respectively by longer or shorter fixations. Interestingly, these styles could be revealed at rest, in the absence of any visual stimulus. This result supports a role of intrinsic activity in eye movement dynamics. Here we hypothesize that these two viewing styles correspond to different spontaneous patterns of brain activity. One year after the behavioural experiments, static and dynamic viewers were called back to the lab to record high density EEG activity during eyes open and eyes closed. Static viewers show higher cortical inhibition, slower individual alpha frequency peak, and longer memory of alpha oscillations. The opposite holds for dynamic viewers. We conclude that some properties of spontaneous activity predict exploratory eye movement dynamics during free viewing.
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22
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Haskins AJ, Mentch J, Botch TL, Garcia BD, Burrows AL, Robertson CE. Reduced social attention in autism is magnified by perceptual load in naturalistic environments. Autism Res 2022; 15:2310-2323. [PMID: 36207799 PMCID: PMC10092155 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) describe differences in both social cognition and sensory processing, but little is known about the causal relationship between these disparate functional domains. In the present study, we sought to understand how a core characteristic of autism-reduced social attention-is impacted by the complex multisensory signals present in real-world environments. We tested the hypothesis that reductions in social attention associated with autism would be magnified by increasing perceptual load (e.g., motion, multisensory cues). Adult participants (N = 40; 19 ASC) explored a diverse set of 360° real-world scenes in a naturalistic, active viewing paradigm (immersive virtual reality + eyetracking). Across three conditions, we systematically varied perceptual load while holding the social and semantic information present in each scene constant. We demonstrate that reduced social attention is not a static signature of the autistic phenotype. Rather, group differences in social attention emerged with increasing perceptual load in naturalistic environments, and the susceptibility of social attention to perceptual load predicted continuous measures of autistic traits across groups. Crucially, this pattern was specific to the social domain: we did not observe differential impacts of perceptual load on attention directed toward nonsocial semantic (i.e., object, place) information or low-level fixation behavior (i.e., overall fixation frequency or duration). This study provides a direct link between social and sensory processing in autism. Moreover, reduced social attention may be an inaccurate characterization of autism. Instead, our results suggest that social attention in autism is better explained by "social vulnerability," particularly to the perceptual load of real-world environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J. Haskins
- Department of Psychological & Brain SciencesDartmouth CollegeHanoverNew HampshireUSA
| | - Jeff Mentch
- Speech and Hearing Bioscience and TechnologyHarvard UniversityBostonMassachusettsUSA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, MITCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
| | - Thomas L. Botch
- Department of Psychological & Brain SciencesDartmouth CollegeHanoverNew HampshireUSA
| | - Brenda D. Garcia
- Department of Psychological & Brain SciencesDartmouth CollegeHanoverNew HampshireUSA
| | - Alexandra L. Burrows
- Department of Psychological & Brain SciencesDartmouth CollegeHanoverNew HampshireUSA
| | - Caroline E. Robertson
- Department of Psychological & Brain SciencesDartmouth CollegeHanoverNew HampshireUSA
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23
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Berlijn AM, Hildebrandt LK, Gamer M. Idiosyncratic viewing patterns of social scenes reflect individual preferences. J Vis 2022; 22:10. [PMID: 36583910 PMCID: PMC9807181 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.13.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In general, humans preferentially look at conspecifics in naturalistic images. However, such group-based effects might conceal systematic individual differences concerning the preference for social information. Here, we investigated to what degree fixations on social features occur consistently within observers and whether this preference generalizes to other measures of social prioritization in the laboratory as well as the real world. Participants carried out a free viewing task, a relevance taps task that required them to actively select image regions that are crucial for understanding a given scene, and they were asked to freely take photographs outside the laboratory that were later classified regarding their social content. We observed stable individual differences in the fixation and active selection of human heads and faces that were correlated across tasks and partly predicted the social content of self-taken photographs. Such relationship was not observed for human bodies indicating that different social elements need to be dissociated. These findings suggest that idiosyncrasies in the visual exploration and interpretation of social features exist and predict real-world behavior. Future studies should further characterize these preferences and elucidate how they shape perception and interpretation of social contexts in healthy participants and patients with mental disorders that affect social functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam M Berlijn
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Lea K Hildebrandt
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Gamer
- Department of Psychology, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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Falck-Ytter T, Kleberg JL, Portugal AM, Thorup E. Social Attention: Developmental Foundations and Relevance for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2022:S0006-3223(22)01695-X. [PMID: 36639295 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The use of the term "social attention" (SA) in the cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychopathology literature has increased exponentially in recent years, in part motivated by the aim to understand the early development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, theoretical discussions around the term have lagged behind its various uses. Here, we evaluate SA through a review of key candidate SA phenotypes emerging early in life, from newborn gaze cueing and preference for face-like configurations to later emerging skills such as joint attention. We argue that most of the considered SA phenotypes are unlikely to represent unique socioattentional processes and instead have to be understood in the broader context of bottom-up and emerging top-down (domain-general) attention. Some types of SA behaviors (e.g., initiation of joint attention) are linked to the early development of ASD, but this may reflect differences in social motivation rather than attention per se. Several SA candidates are not linked to ASD early in life, including the ones that may represent uniquely socioattentional processes (e.g., orienting to faces, predicting others' manual action goals). Although SA may be a useful superordinate category under which one can organize certain research questions, the widespread use of the term without proper definition is problematic. Characterizing gaze patterns and visual attention in social contexts in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD may facilitate early detection, but conceptual clarity regarding the underlying processes at play is needed to sharpen research questions and identify potential targets for early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Johan Lundin Kleberg
- Rare Diseases Research Group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emilia Thorup
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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25
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Keles U, Kliemann D, Byrge L, Saarimäki H, Paul LK, Kennedy DP, Adolphs R. Atypical gaze patterns in autistic adults are heterogeneous across but reliable within individuals. Mol Autism 2022; 13:39. [PMID: 36153629 PMCID: PMC9508778 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-022-00517-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Across behavioral studies, autistic individuals show greater variability than typically developing individuals. However, it remains unknown to what extent this variability arises from heterogeneity across individuals, or from unreliability within individuals. Here, we focus on eye tracking, which provides rich dependent measures that have been used extensively in studies of autism. Autistic individuals have an atypical gaze onto both static visual images and dynamic videos that could be leveraged for diagnostic purposes if the above open question could be addressed. METHODS We tested three competing hypotheses: (1) that gaze patterns of autistic individuals are less reliable or noisier than those of controls, (2) that atypical gaze patterns are individually reliable but heterogeneous across autistic individuals, or (3) that atypical gaze patterns are individually reliable and also homogeneous among autistic individuals. We collected desktop-based eye tracking data from two different full-length television sitcom episodes, at two independent sites (Caltech and Indiana University), in a total of over 150 adult participants (N = 48 autistic individuals with IQ in the normal range, 105 controls) and quantified gaze onto features of the videos using automated computer vision-based feature extraction. RESULTS We found support for the second of these hypotheses. Autistic people and controls showed equivalently reliable gaze onto specific features of videos, such as faces, so much so that individuals could be identified significantly above chance using a fingerprinting approach from video epochs as short as 2 min. However, classification of participants into diagnostic groups based on their eye tracking data failed to produce clear group classifications, due to heterogeneity in the autistic group. LIMITATIONS Three limitations are the relatively small sample size, assessment across only two videos (from the same television series), and the absence of other dependent measures (e.g., neuroimaging or genetics) that might have revealed individual-level variability that was not evident with eye tracking. Future studies should expand to larger samples across longer longitudinal epochs, an aim that is now becoming feasible with Internet- and phone-based eye tracking. CONCLUSIONS These findings pave the way for the investigation of autism subtypes, and for elucidating the specific visual features that best discriminate gaze patterns-directions that will also combine with and inform neuroimaging and genetic studies of this complex disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umit Keles
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.
| | - Dorit Kliemann
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA
| | - Lisa Byrge
- Department of Psychology, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, USA
| | - Heini Saarimäki
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Lynn K Paul
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
| | - Daniel P Kennedy
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
| | - Ralph Adolphs
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.,Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA.,Chen Neuroscience Institute, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
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26
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Linka M, Broda MD, Alsheimer T, de Haas B, Ramon M. Characteristic fixation biases in Super-Recognizers. J Vis 2022; 22:17. [PMID: 35900724 PMCID: PMC9344214 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.8.17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurotypical observers show large and reliable individual differences in gaze behavior along several semantic object dimensions. Individual gaze behavior toward faces has been linked to face identity processing, including that of neurotypical observers. Here, we investigated potential gaze biases in Super-Recognizers (SRs), individuals with exceptional face identity processing skills. Ten SRs, identified with a novel conservative diagnostic framework, and 43 controls freely viewed 700 complex scenes depicting more than 5000 objects. First, we tested whether SRs and controls differ in fixation biases along four semantic dimensions: faces, text, objects being touched, and bodies. Second, we tested potential group differences in fixation biases toward eyes and mouths. Finally, we tested whether SRs fixate closer to the theoretical optimal fixation point for face identification. SRs showed a stronger gaze bias toward faces and away from text and touched objects, starting from the first fixation onward. Further, SRs spent a significantly smaller proportion of first fixations and dwell time toward faces on mouths but did not differ in dwell time or first fixations devoted to eyes. Face fixation of SRs also fell significantly closer to the theoretical optimal fixation point for identification, just below the eyes. Our findings suggest that reliable superiority for face identity processing is accompanied by early fixation biases toward faces and preferred saccadic landing positions close to the theoretical optimum for face identification. We discuss future directions to investigate the functional basis of individual fixation behavior and face identity processing ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Linka
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | | | - Tamara Alsheimer
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Applied Face Cognition Lab, University of Lausanne, Institute of Psychology, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Meike Ramon
- Applied Face Cognition Lab, University of Lausanne, Institute of Psychology, Lausanne, Switzerland
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27
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Quinn PD, López Pérez D, Kennedy DP, Bölte S, D'Onofrio B, Lichtenstein P, Falck‐Ytter T. Visual search: Heritability and association with general intelligence. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12779. [PMID: 35044053 PMCID: PMC9744476 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Visual search guides goal-directed action in humans and many other species, and it has been studied extensively in the past. Yet, no study has investigated the relative contributions of genes and environments to individual differences in visual search performance, or to which extent etiologies are shared with broader cognitive phenotypes. To address this gap, we studied visual search and general intelligence in 156 monozygotic (MZ) and 158 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs. We found that different indexes of visual search performance (response latency and visual search efficiency) were moderately heritable. Phenotypic correlations between visual search and intelligence were small-to-moderate, and only a small proportion of the genetic variance in visual search was shared with genetic variance in intelligence. We discuss these findings in the context of the "generalist genes hypothesis" stating that different cognitive functions have a common genetic basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick D. Quinn
- Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public HealthIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA
| | - David López Pérez
- Neurocognitive Development UnitInstitute of Psychology, Polish Academy of SciencesWarsawPoland
| | - Daniel P. Kennedy
- Deparment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Cognitive Science Program, Program in NeuroscienceIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent PsychiatryStockholm Health Care Services, Region StockholmStockholmSweden,Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied HealthCurtin UniversityPerthWestern AustraliaAustralia
| | - Brian D'Onofrio
- Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public HealthIndiana UniversityBloomingtonIndianaUSA,Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Terje Falck‐Ytter
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research; Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Child and Adolescent PsychiatryStockholm Health Care Services, Region StockholmStockholmSweden,Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden,Swedish Collegium for Advanced StudyUppsalaSweden
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28
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Mangalam M, Fragaszy DM, Wagman JB, Day BM, Kelty-Stephen DG, Bongers RM, Stout DW, Osiurak F. On the psychological origins of tool use. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104521. [PMID: 34998834 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The ubiquity of tool use in human life has generated multiple lines of scientific and philosophical investigation to understand the development and expression of humans' engagement with tools and its relation to other dimensions of human experience. However, existing literature on tool use faces several epistemological challenges in which the same set of questions generate many different answers. At least four critical questions can be identified, which are intimately intertwined-(1) What constitutes tool use? (2) What psychological processes underlie tool use in humans and nonhuman animals? (3) Which of these psychological processes are exclusive to tool use? (4) Which psychological processes involved in tool use are exclusive to Homo sapiens? To help advance a multidisciplinary scientific understanding of tool use, six author groups representing different academic disciplines (e.g., anthropology, psychology, neuroscience) and different theoretical perspectives respond to each of these questions, and then point to the direction of future work on tool use. We find that while there are marked differences among the responses of the respective author groups to each question, there is a surprising degree of agreement about many essential concepts and questions. We believe that this interdisciplinary and intertheoretical discussion will foster a more comprehensive understanding of tool use than any one of these perspectives (or any one of these author groups) would (or could) on their own.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhur Mangalam
- Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Science, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
| | | | - Jeffrey B Wagman
- Department of Psychology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61761, USA
| | - Brian M Day
- Department of Psychology, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN 46208, USA
| | | | - Raoul M Bongers
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 GZ Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Dietrich W Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - François Osiurak
- Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Lyon 69361, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris 75231, France
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29
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Masulli P, Galazka M, Eberhard D, Johnels JÅ, Gillberg C, Billstedt E, Hadjikhani N, Andersen TS. Data-driven analysis of gaze patterns in face perception: Methodological and clinical contributions. Cortex 2021; 147:9-23. [PMID: 34998084 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Gaze patterns during face perception have been shown to relate to psychiatric symptoms. Standard analysis of gaze behavior includes calculating fixations within arbitrarily predetermined areas of interest. In contrast to this approach, we present an objective, data-driven method for the analysis of gaze patterns and their relation to diagnostic test scores. This method was applied to data acquired in an adult sample (N = 111) of psychiatry outpatients while they freely looked at images of human faces. Dimensional symptom scores of autism, attention deficit, and depression were collected. A linear regression model based on Principal Component Analysis coefficients computed for each participant was used to model symptom scores. We found that specific components of gaze patterns predicted autistic traits as well as depression symptoms. Gaze patterns shifted away from the eyes with increasing autism traits, a well-known effect. Additionally, the model revealed a lateralization component, with a reduction of the left visual field bias increasing with both autistic traits and depression symptoms independently. Taken together, our model provides a data-driven alternative for gaze data analysis, which can be applied to dimensionally-, rather than categorically-defined clinical subgroups within a variety of contexts. Methodological and clinical contribution of this approach are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Masulli
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science DTU Compute, Section of Cognitive Systems, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; iMotions A/S, Copenhagen V, Denmark
| | - Martyna Galazka
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - David Eberhard
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | | | | | - Eva Billstedt
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Nouchine Hadjikhani
- Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
| | - Tobias S Andersen
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science DTU Compute, Section of Cognitive Systems, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
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30
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Tenenbaum EJ, Major S, Carpenter KLH, Howard J, Murias M, Dawson G. Distance from Typical Scan Path When Viewing Complex Stimuli in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and its Association with Behavior. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:3492-3505. [PMID: 33387244 PMCID: PMC9903808 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04812-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Eye-tracking is often used to study attention in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous research has identified multiple atypical patterns of attention in children with ASD based on areas-of-interest analysis. Fewer studies have investigated gaze path, a measure which is dependent on the dynamic content of the stimulus presented. Here, rather than looking at proportions of looking time to areas of interest, we calculated mean fixations frame-by-frame in a group of typically developing children (36 to 72 months) and determined the distance from those typical fixations for 155 children with ASD (27-95 months). Findings revealed that distance from the typical scan path among the children with ASD was associated with lower communication abilities and greater ASD symptomatology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena J Tenenbaum
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
| | - Samantha Major
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Kimberly L H Carpenter
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - Jill Howard
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - Michael Murias
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60622, USA
| | - Geraldine Dawson
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
- Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
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31
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Zangrossi A, Cona G, Celli M, Zorzi M, Corbetta M. Visual exploration dynamics are low-dimensional and driven by intrinsic factors. Commun Biol 2021; 4:1100. [PMID: 34535744 PMCID: PMC8448835 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02608-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
When looking at visual images, the eyes move to the most salient and behaviourally relevant objects. Saliency and semantic information significantly explain where people look. Less is known about the spatiotemporal properties of eye movements (i.e., how people look). We show that three latent variables explain 60% of eye movement dynamics of more than a hundred observers looking at hundreds of different natural images. The first component explaining 30% of variability loads on fixation duration, and it does not relate to image saliency or semantics; it approximates a power-law distribution of gaze steps, an intrinsic dynamic measure, and identifies observers with two viewing styles: static and dynamic. Notably, these viewing styles were also identified when observers look at a blank screen. These results support the importance of endogenous processes such as intrinsic dynamics to explain eye movement spatiotemporal properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Zangrossi
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.428736.cVenetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, VIMM, Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgia Cona
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Miriam Celli
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.428736.cVenetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, VIMM, Padova, Italy
| | - Marco Zorzi
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.492797.6IRCCS San Camillo Hospital, Venice, Italy
| | - Maurizio Corbetta
- grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Department of Neuroscience, University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.5608.b0000 0004 1757 3470Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy ,grid.428736.cVenetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, VIMM, Padova, Italy
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32
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The Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS): A Multi-Method Infant Twin Study of Genetic and Environmental Factors Influencing Infant Brain and Behavioral Development. Twin Res Hum Genet 2021; 24:217-227. [PMID: 34521499 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2021.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Twin studies can help us understand the relative contributions of genes and environment to phenotypic trait variation, including attentional and brain activation measures. In terms of applying methodologies such as electroencephalography (EEG) and eye tracking, which are key methods in developmental neuroscience, infant twin studies are almost nonexistent. Here, we describe the Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS), a multi-method longitudinal twin study of 177 MZ and 134 DZ twin pairs (i.e., 622 individual infants) covering the 5-36 month time period. The study includes EEG, eye tracking and genetics, together with more traditional measures based on in-person testing, direct observation and questionnaires. The results show that interest in participation in research among twin parents is high, despite the comprehensive protocol. DNA analysis from saliva samples was possible in virtually all participants, allowing for both zygosity confirmation and polygenic score analyses. Combining a longitudinal twin design with advanced technologies in developmental cognitive neuroscience and genomics, BATSS represents a new approach in infancy research, which we hope to have impact across multiple disciplines in the coming years.
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33
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Stout D. The Cognitive Science of Technology. Trends Cogn Sci 2021; 25:964-977. [PMID: 34362661 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2021.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Revised: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Technology is central to human life but hard to define and study. This review synthesizes advances in fields from anthropology to evolutionary biology and neuroscience to propose an interdisciplinary cognitive science of technology. The foundation of this effort is an evolutionarily motivated definition of technology that highlights three key features: material production, social collaboration, and cultural reproduction. This broad scope respects the complexity of the subject but poses a challenge for theoretical unification. Addressing this challenge requires a comparative approach to reduce the diversity of real-world technological cognition to a smaller number of recurring processes and relationships. To this end, a synthetic perceptual-motor hypothesis (PMH) for the evolutionary-developmental-cultural construction of technological cognition is advanced as an initial target for investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dietrich Stout
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
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34
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Hedger N, Chakrabarti B. Autistic differences in the temporal dynamics of social attention. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2021; 25:1615-1626. [PMID: 33706553 PMCID: PMC8323332 DOI: 10.1177/1362361321998573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT One behaviour often observed in individuals with autism is that they tend to look less towards social stimuli relative to neurotypical individuals. For instance, many eye-tracking studies have shown that individuals with autism will look less towards people and more towards objects in scenes. However, we currently know very little about how these behaviours change over time. Tracking these moment-to-moment changes in looking behaviour in individuals with autism can more clearly illustrate how they respond to social stimuli. In this study, adults with and without autism were presented with displays of social and non-social stimuli, while looking behaviours were measured by eye-tracking. We found large differences in how the two groups looked towards social stimuli over time. Neurotypical individuals initially showed a high probability of looking towards social stimuli, then a decline in probability, and a subsequent increase in probability after prolonged viewing. By contrast, individuals with autism showed an initial increase in probability, followed by a continuous decline in probability that did not recover. This pattern of results may indicate that individuals with autism exhibit reduced responsivity to the reward value of social stimuli. Moreover, our data suggest that exploring the temporal nature of gaze behaviours can lead to more precise explanatory theories of attention in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Hedger
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology
& Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- Centre for Autism, School of Psychology
& Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, UK
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35
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Alvarez I, Finlayson NJ, Ei S, de Haas B, Greenwood JA, Schwarzkopf DS. Heritable functional architecture in human visual cortex. Neuroimage 2021; 239:118286. [PMID: 34153449 PMCID: PMC7611349 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyzed retinotopic maps from monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. Visual field maps in V1-V3 are more similar in monozygotic twins. Heritability is greater in V1 and V3 for polar angle and population receptive field sizes. Eccentricity maps show lesser degree of heritability. Further evidence for link between cortical morphology and topology of retinotopic maps.
How much of the functional organization of our visual system is inherited? Here we tested the heritability of retinotopic maps in human visual cortex using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We demonstrate that retinotopic organization shows a closer correspondence in monozygotic (MZ) compared to dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs, suggesting a partial genetic determination. Using population receptive field (pRF) analysis to examine the preferred spatial location and selectivity of these neuronal populations, we estimate a heritability around 10–20% for polar angle preferences and spatial selectivity, as quantified by pRF size, in extrastriate areas V2 and V3. Our findings are consistent with heritability in both the macroscopic arrangement of visual regions and stimulus tuning properties of visual cortex. This could constitute a neural substrate for variations in a range of perceptual effects, which themselves have been found to be at least partially genetically determined. These findings also add convergent evidence for the hypothesis that functional map topology is linked with cortical morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Alvarez
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, United States; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nonie J Finlayson
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom; Ipsos, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Shwe Ei
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom; GKT School of Medical Education, Kings College London, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - John A Greenwood
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - D Samuel Schwarzkopf
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom; School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
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36
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Linka M, de Haas B. OSIEshort: A small stimulus set can reliably estimate individual differences in semantic salience. J Vis 2021; 20:13. [PMID: 32945849 PMCID: PMC7509791 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.9.13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings revealed consistent individual differences in fixation tendencies among observers free-viewing complex scenes. The present study aimed at (1) replicating these differences, and (2) testing whether they can be estimated using a shorter test. In total, 103 participants completed two eye-tracking sessions. The first session was a direct replication of the original study, but the second session used a smaller subset of images, optimized to capture individual differences efficiently. The first session replicated the large and consistent individual differences along five semantic dimensions observed in the original study. The second session showed that these differences can be estimated using about 40 to 100 images (depending on the tested dimension). Additional analyses revealed that only the first 2 seconds of viewing duration seem to be informative regarding these differences. Taken together, our findings suggest that reliable individual differences in semantic salience can be estimated with a test totaling less than 2 minutes of viewing duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Linka
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig Universität, Giessen, Germany
| | - Benjamin de Haas
- Experimental Psychology, Justus Liebig Universität, Giessen, Germany
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Betti V, Della Penna S, de Pasquale F, Corbetta M. Spontaneous Beta Band Rhythms in the Predictive Coding of Natural Stimuli. Neuroscientist 2021; 27:184-201. [PMID: 32538310 PMCID: PMC7961741 DOI: 10.1177/1073858420928988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The regularity of the physical world and the biomechanics of the human body movements generate distributions of highly probable states that are internalized by the brain in the course of a lifetime. In Bayesian terms, the brain exploits prior knowledge, especially under conditions when sensory input is unavailable or uncertain, to predictively anticipate the most likely outcome of upcoming stimuli and movements. These internal models, formed during development, yet still malleable in adults, continuously adapt through the learning of novel stimuli and movements.Traditionally, neural beta (β) oscillations are considered essential for maintaining sensorimotor and cognitive representations, and for temporal coding of expectations. However, recent findings show that fluctuations of β band power in the resting state strongly correlate between cortical association regions. Moreover, central (hub) regions form strong interactions over time with different brain regions/networks (dynamic core). β band centrality fluctuations of regions of the dynamic core predict global efficiency peaks suggesting a mechanism for network integration. Furthermore, this temporal architecture is surprisingly stable, both in topology and dynamics, during the observation of ecological natural visual scenes, whereas synthetic temporally scrambled stimuli modify it. We propose that spontaneous β rhythms may function as a long-term "prior" of frequent environmental stimuli and behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Betti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefania Della Penna
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies and Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, “G. D’Annunzio” University, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Maurizio Corbetta
- Department of Neuroscience and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (VIMM), Padua, Italy
- Department of Neurology, Radiology, and Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
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38
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Siqueiros Sanchez M, Falck‐Ytter T, Kennedy DP, Bölte S, Lichtenstein P, D'Onofrio BM, Pettersson E. Volitional eye movement control and ADHD traits: a twin study. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2020; 61:1309-1316. [PMID: 32020616 PMCID: PMC7754462 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.13210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Top-down volitional command of eye movements may serve as a candidate endophenotype of ADHD, an important function underlying goal-directed action in everyday life. In this twin study, we examined the relation between performance on a response inhibition eye-tracking paradigm and parent-rated ADHD traits in a population-based twin sample. We hypothesized that altered eye movement control is associated with the severity of ADHD traits and that this association is attributable to genetic factors. METHODS A total of 640 twins (320 pairs, 50% monozygotic) aged 9-14 years) from the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS) participated. Twins performed the antisaccade task indexing inhibitory alterations as either direction errors (following exogenous cues rather than instructions) or premature anticipatory eye movements (failure to wait for cues). We calculated the associations of eye movement control and ADHD traits using linear regression mixed-effects models and genetic and environmental influences with multivariate twin models. RESULTS Premature anticipatory eye movements were positively associated with inattentive traits (β = .17; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.31), while controlling for hyperactive behaviors and other covariates. Both premature anticipatory eye movements and inattention were heritable (h2 = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.56; h2 = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.65; respectively), and their genetic correlation was small but statistically significant (r = .19, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.36). However, the genetic correlation did not remain significant after adjusting for covariates (age, sex, hyperactivity traits, IQ). No link was found between direction errors and ADHD traits. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that there is a specific, genetically influenced, relation between top-down eye movement control and the inattentive traits typical of ADHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Siqueiros Sanchez
- Karolinska Institutet Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Department of Women’s and Children’s HealthKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Terje Falck‐Ytter
- Karolinska Institutet Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Department of Women’s and Children’s HealthKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden,Department of PsychologyUppsala UniversityUppsalaSweden,Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS)UppsalaSweden
| | - Daniel P. Kennedy
- Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesIndiana UniversityBloomingtonINUSA
| | - Sven Bölte
- Karolinska Institutet Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)Department of Women’s and Children’s HealthKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden,Child and Adolescent PsychiatryStockholm Health Care ServicesStockholmSweden,Curtin Autism Research GroupSchool of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech PathologyCurtin UniversityPerthWAAustralia
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Brian M. D'Onofrio
- Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesIndiana UniversityBloomingtonINUSA,Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
| | - Erik Pettersson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and BiostatisticsKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
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39
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Goettker A, Agtzidis I, Braun DI, Dorr M, Gegenfurtner KR. From Gaussian blobs to naturalistic videos: Comparison of oculomotor behavior across different stimulus complexities. J Vis 2020; 20:26. [PMID: 32845961 PMCID: PMC7453049 DOI: 10.1167/jov.20.8.26] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Research on eye movements has primarily been performed in two distinct ways: (1) under highly controlled conditions using simple stimuli such as dots on a uniform background, or (2) under free-viewing conditions with complex images, real-world movies, or even with observers moving around in the world. Although both approaches offer important insights, the generalizability among eye movement behaviors observed under these different conditions is unclear. Here, we compared eye movement responses to video clips showing moving objects within their natural context with responses to simple Gaussian blobs on a blank screen. Importantly, for both conditions, the targets moved along the same trajectories at the same speed. We measured standard oculometric measures for both stimulus complexities, as well as the effect of the relative angle between saccades and pursuit, and compared them across conditions. In general, eye movement responses were qualitatively similar, especially with respect to pursuit gain. For both types of stimuli, the accuracy of saccades and subsequent pursuit was highest when both eye movements were collinear. We also found interesting differences; for example, latencies of initial saccades to moving Gaussian blob targets were significantly faster compared to saccades to moving objects in video scenes, whereas pursuit accuracy was significantly higher in video scenes. These findings suggest a lower processing demand for simple target conditions during saccade preparation and an advantage for tracking behavior in natural scenes due to higher predictability provided by the context information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Goettker
- Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie, Justus-Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
| | | | - Doris I. Braun
- Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie, Justus-Liebig University, Gießen, Germany
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40
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Siqueiros Sanchez M, Pettersson E, Kennedy DP, Bölte S, Lichtenstein P, D'Onofrio BM, Falck-Ytter T. Visual Disengagement: Genetic Architecture and Relation to Autistic Traits in the General Population. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:2188-2200. [PMID: 30859356 PMCID: PMC7261271 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-03974-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Visual disengagement has been hypothesized as an endophenotype for autism. In this study we used twin modelling to assess the role of genetics in basic measures of visual disengagement, and tested their putative association to autistic traits in the general population. We used the Gap Overlap task in a sample of 492 twins. Results showed that most of the covariance among eye movement latencies across conditions was shared and primarily genetic. Further, there were unique genetic contributions to the Gap condition, but not to the Overlap condition-i.e. the one theorized to capture visual disengagement. We found no phenotypic association between autistic traits and disengagement, thus not supporting the hypothesis of visual disengagement as an endophenotype for autistic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Siqueiros Sanchez
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 113 30, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, 113 64, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Erik Pettersson
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Daniel P Kennedy
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 113 30, Stockholm, Sweden
- Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, 113 64, Stockholm, Sweden
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm County Council, 113 30, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Paul Lichtenstein
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Brian M D'Onofrio
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, 171 65, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Division of Neuropsychiatry, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, 113 30, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Center of Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, 113 64, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, 751 42, Uppsala, Sweden.
- Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), Uppsala, 752 38, Sweden.
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Lombardo MV, Eyler L, Moore A, Datko M, Carter Barnes C, Cha D, Courchesne E, Pierce K. Default mode-visual network hypoconnectivity in an autism subtype with pronounced social visual engagement difficulties. eLife 2019; 8:47427. [PMID: 31843053 PMCID: PMC6917498 DOI: 10.7554/elife.47427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Social visual engagement difficulties are hallmark early signs of autism (ASD) and are easily quantified using eye tracking methods. However, it is unclear how these difficulties are linked to atypical early functional brain organization in ASD. With resting state fMRI data in a large sample of ASD toddlers and other non-ASD comparison groups, we find ASD-related functional hypoconnnectivity between ‘social brain’ circuitry such as the default mode network (DMN) and visual and attention networks. An eye tracking-identified ASD subtype with pronounced early social visual engagement difficulties (GeoPref ASD) is characterized by marked DMN-occipito-temporal cortex (OTC) hypoconnectivity. Increased DMN-OTC hypoconnectivity is also related to increased severity of social-communication difficulties, but only in GeoPref ASD. Early and pronounced social-visual circuit hypoconnectivity is a key underlying neurobiological feature describing GeoPref ASD and may be critical for future social-communicative development and represent new treatment targets for early intervention in these individuals. Many parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) spot the first signs when their child is still a toddler, by noticing that their child is less interested than other toddlers in people and in social play. These early differences in behavior can have long-term implications for brain development. The brains of toddlers with little interest in social stimuli will receive less social input than those of other toddlers. This will make it even harder for the brain to develop the circuits required to support social skills. But even among children with ASD, there are large differences in children's interest in the social world. One way of measuring these differences is to track eye movements. Lombardo et al. presented toddlers with and without ASD with images of moving colorful geometric shapes next to videos of dancing children. The majority of toddlers, including most of those with ASD, spent more time looking at the children than the shapes. But about 20% of the toddlers with ASD spent most of their time looking at the shapes. These toddlers also had the most severe social symptoms. To find out why, Lombardo et al. measured the toddlers' brain activity while they slept. During sleep, or when at rest, the brain shows stereotyped patterns of activity. Groups of brain regions that work together – such as those involved in vision – fire in synchrony. Lombardo et al. found that toddlers who preferred looking at shapes over people showed different patterns of brain activity while asleep compared to other children. In the toddlers who preferred shapes, brain networks involved in social skills were less likely to coordinate their activity with networks that support vision and attention. These findings suggest there may be multiple subtypes of ASD, with different symptoms resulting from different patterns of brain activity. At present, all children who receive a diagnosis of ASD receive much the same behavioral therapy. But in the future, studies of brain networks could allow children to receive more specific diagnoses. This could in turn lead to more effective and personalized treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael V Lombardo
- Laboratory for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy.,Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa Eyler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States.,VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, United States
| | - Adrienne Moore
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
| | - Michael Datko
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
| | - Cynthia Carter Barnes
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
| | - Debra Cha
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
| | - Eric Courchesne
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
| | - Karen Pierce
- Autism Center of Excellence, Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, United States
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Thorup E, Nyström P, Gredebäck G, Bölte S, Falck-Ytter T. Reduced Alternating Gaze During Social Interaction in Infancy is Associated with Elevated Symptoms of Autism in Toddlerhood. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [PMID: 29527625 PMCID: PMC6133004 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-017-0388-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
In typical development, infants often alternate their gaze between their interaction partners and interesting stimuli, increasing the probability of joint attention toward surrounding objects and creating opportunities for communication and learning. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been found to engage less in behaviors that can initiate joint attention compared to typically developing children, but the role of such atypicalities in the development of ASD during infancy is not fully understood. Here, using eye tracking technology in a live setting, we show that 10-month-olds at high familial risk for ASD engage less in alternating gaze during interaction with an adult compared to low risk infants. These differences could not be explained by low general social preference or slow visual disengagement, as the groups performed similarly in these respects. We also found that less alternating gaze at 10 months was associated with more social ASD symptoms and less showing and pointing at 18 months. These relations were similar in both the high risk and the low risk groups, and remained when controlling for general social preference and disengagement latencies. This study shows that atypicalities in alternating gaze in infants at high risk for ASD emerge already during the first 10 months of life - a finding with theoretical as well as potential practical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilia Thorup
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Pär Nyström
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gustaf Gredebäck
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sven Bölte
- Karolinska Institutet Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's & Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,BUP Stockholm, Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Uppsala Child and Baby Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.,Karolinska Institutet Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women's & Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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43
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Nyström P, Thorup E, Bölte S, Falck-Ytter T. Joint Attention in Infancy and the Emergence of Autism. Biol Psychiatry 2019; 86:631-638. [PMID: 31262432 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In typical infant development, parents and their children jointly contribute to establishing frequent episodes of joint attention that boost language acquisition and shape social cognition. Here we used novel live eye-tracking technology to evaluate the degree to which autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is related to reduced responding to others' joint attention bids in infancy (RJA) and to a reduced tendency to initiate joint attention episodes (IJA). Because young infants use their gaze for both RJA and IJA, this approach allowed us to quantify these elusive processes early in life. METHODS The final sample consisted of 112 infants (54 boys and 58 girls), of whom 81 were at familial risk for ASD and 31 were typically developing low-risk infants. At follow-up (36 months of age), 22 children in the high-risk group were diagnosed with ASD. RESULTS At 10 months of age, rates of IJA were lower in infants later diagnosed with ASD than in the comparison groups (effect sizes d = 0.78-0.95) and followed an atypical developmental trajectory from 10 to 18 months (p < .002). RJA distinguished infants based on familial ASD risk, albeit not ASD diagnosis. The differences in IJA could not be explained by overall looking time, social preference, eye movement latencies, or number of fixations. CONCLUSIONS This live eye-tracking study suggests that during an important period for the development of social cognition (10-18 months of age), infants later diagnosed with ASD show marked atypicalities in IJA but not in RJA. The results indicate that IJA is an important target for future prodromal intervention trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pär Nyström
- Uppsala Child & BabyLab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Emilia Thorup
- Uppsala Child & BabyLab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Sven Bölte
- Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet, Neuropsychiatry Division, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Terje Falck-Ytter
- Uppsala Child & BabyLab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders at Karolinska Institutet, Neuropsychiatry Division, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychiatry Research, Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden.
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44
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Pyykkö J, Ashorn P, Ashorn U, Niehaus DJH, Leppänen JM. Cross-cultural analysis of attention disengagement times supports the dissociation of faces and patterns in the infant brain. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14414. [PMID: 31595014 PMCID: PMC6783433 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51034-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Infants are slower to disengage from faces than non-face patterns when distracted by novel competing stimuli. While this perceptual predilection for faces is well documented, its universality and mechanisms in relation to other aspects of attention are poorly understood. We analysed attention disengagement times for faces and non-face patterns in a large sample of 6-to 9-month-old infants (N = 637), pooled from eye tracking studies in socioculturally diverse settings (Finland, Malawi, South Africa). Disengagement times were classified into distinct groups of quick and delayed/censored responses by unsupervised clustering. Delayed disengagement was frequent for faces (52.1% of trials), but almost negligible for patterns (3.9% of trials) in all populations. The magnitude of this attentional bias varied by individuals, whereas the impact of situational factors and facial expression was small. Individual variations in disengagement from faces were moderately stable within testing sessions and independent from variations in disengagement times for patterns. These results point to a fundamental dissociation of face and pattern processing in infants and demonstrate that the bias for faces can be robust against distractors and habituation. The results raise the possibility that attention to faces varies as an independent, early-emerging social trait in populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juha Pyykkö
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland.
| | - Per Ashorn
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
- Department of Paediatrics, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
| | - Ulla Ashorn
- Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Dana J H Niehaus
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jukka M Leppänen
- Infant Cognition Laboratory, Center for Child Health Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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Król ME, Król M. Scanpath similarity measure reveals not only a decreased social preference, but also an increased nonsocial preference in individuals with autism. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2019; 24:374-386. [DOI: 10.1177/1362361319865809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We compared scanpath similarity in response to repeated presentations of social and nonsocial images representing natural scenes in a sample of 30 participants with autism spectrum disorder and 32 matched typically developing individuals. We used scanpath similarity (calculated using ScanMatch) as a novel measure of attentional bias or preference, which constrains eye-movement patterns by directing attention to specific visual or semantic features of the image. We found that, compared with the control group, scanpath similarity of participants with autism was significantly higher in response to nonsocial images, and significantly lower in response to social images. Moreover, scanpaths of participants with autism were more similar to scanpaths of other participants with autism in response to nonsocial images, and less similar in response to social images. Finally, we also found that in response to nonsocial images, scanpath similarity of participants with autism did not decline with stimulus repetition to the same extent as in the control group, which suggests more perseverative attention in the autism spectrum disorder group. These results show a preferential fixation on certain elements of social stimuli in typically developing individuals compared with individuals with autism, and on certain elements of nonsocial stimuli in the autism spectrum disorder group, compared with the typically developing group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michał Król
- School of Social Sciences, The University of Manchester, UK
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46
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A novel perceptual trait: gaze predilection for faces during visual exploration. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10714. [PMID: 31341217 PMCID: PMC6656722 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-47110-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are social animals and typically tend to seek social interactions. In our daily life we constantly move our gaze to collect visual information which often includes social information, such as others’ emotions and intentions. Recent studies began to explore how individuals vary in their gaze behavior. However, these studies focused on basic features of eye movements (such as the length of movements) and did not examine the observer predilection for specific social features such as faces. We preformed two test-retest experiments examining the amount of time individuals fixate directly on faces embedded in images of naturally occurring scenes. We report on stable and robust individual differences in visual predilection for faces across time and tasks. Individuals’ preference to fixate on faces could not be explained by a preference for fixating on low-level salient regions (e.g. color, intensity, orientation) nor by individual differences in the Big-Five personality traits. We conclude that during visual exploration individuals vary in the amount of time they direct their gaze towards faces. This tendency is a trait that not only reflects individuals’ preferences but also influences the amount of information gathered by each observer, therefore influencing the basis for later cognitive processing and decisions.
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47
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The University of São Paulo Twin Panel: Current Status and Prospects for Brazilian Twin Studies in Behavioral Research. Twin Res Hum Genet 2019; 22:467-474. [PMID: 31317851 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2019.34] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The University of São Paulo Twin Panel (Painel USP de Gêmeos), based at the Institute of Psychology of the University of São Paulo, started formally in 2017. Our registry is new, but in only two years of formal existence, it comprises a volunteer sample of 4826 registered individuals (98% twins and 2% higher-order multiples), recruited at the University of São Paulo and by social media campaigns. Our main aim is to conduct and promote research with twins on psychological processes and behavior. The University of São Paulo is the largest higher education and research institution in South America, and the Painel USP de Gêmeos has great potential for fostering research on twin-related issues from a psychological perspective in Brazil and South America.
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Wang Q, Hoi SP, Wang Y, Song C, Li T, Lam CM, Fang F, Yi L. Out of mind, out of sight? Investigating abnormal face scanning in autism spectrum disorder using gaze‐contingent paradigm. Dev Sci 2019; 23:e12856. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.12856] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Qiandong Wang
- Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies Peking University Beijing China
| | - Sio Pan Hoi
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health Peking University Beijing China
| | - Yuyin Wang
- Department of Psychology Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Ci Song
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health Peking University Beijing China
| | - Tianbi Li
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health Peking University Beijing China
| | - Cheuk Man Lam
- Institute of Psychology Chinese Academy of Science Beijing China
| | - Fang Fang
- Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies Peking University Beijing China
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health Peking University Beijing China
- Key Laboratory of Machine Perception (Ministry of Education) Peking University Beijing China
- PKU‐IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Peking University Beijing China
| | - Li Yi
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Science & Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health Peking University Beijing China
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de Haas B, Iakovidis AL, Schwarzkopf DS, Gegenfurtner KR. Individual differences in visual salience vary along semantic dimensions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:11687-11692. [PMID: 31138705 PMCID: PMC6576124 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1820553116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
What determines where we look? Theories of attentional guidance hold that image features and task demands govern fixation behavior, while differences between observers are interpreted as a "noise-ceiling" that strictly limits predictability of fixations. However, recent twin studies suggest a genetic basis of gaze-trace similarity for a given stimulus. This leads to the question of how individuals differ in their gaze behavior and what may explain these differences. Here, we investigated the fixations of >100 human adults freely viewing a large set of complex scenes containing thousands of semantically annotated objects. We found systematic individual differences in fixation frequencies along six semantic stimulus dimensions. These differences were large (>twofold) and highly stable across images and time. Surprisingly, they also held for first fixations directed toward each image, commonly interpreted as "bottom-up" visual salience. Their perceptual relevance was documented by a correlation between individual face salience and face recognition skills. The set of reliable individual salience dimensions and their covariance pattern replicated across samples from three different countries, suggesting they reflect fundamental biological mechanisms of attention. Our findings show stable individual differences in salience along a set of fundamental semantic dimensions and that these differences have meaningful perceptual implications. Visual salience reflects features of the observer as well as the image.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin de Haas
- Department of Psychology, Justus Liebig Universität, 35394 Giessen, Germany;
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, WC1H 0AP London, United Kingdom
| | - Alexios L Iakovidis
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, WC1H 0AP London, United Kingdom
| | - D Samuel Schwarzkopf
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, WC1H 0AP London, United Kingdom
- School of Optometry & Vision Science, University of Auckland, 1142 Auckland, New Zealand
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Wang S. Brief Report: Atypical Visual Exploration in Autism Spectrum Disorder Cannot be Attributed to the Amygdala. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 49:2605-2611. [DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04009-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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