Imitation and expression of facial affect in autism

Vocal and Facial Behavior During Affect Production in Autism Spectrum Disorder

PURPOSE

We investigate the extent to which automated audiovisual metrics extracted during an affect production task show statistically significant differences between a cohort of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing controls.

METHOD

Forty children with ASD and 21 neurotypical controls interacted with a multimodal conversational platform with a virtual agent, Tina, who guided them through tasks prompting facial and vocal communication of four emotions-happy, angry, sad, and afraid-under conditions of high and low verbal and social cognitive task demands.

RESULTS

Individuals with ASD exhibited greater standard deviation of the fundamental frequency of the voice with the minima and maxima of the pitch contour occurring at an earlier time point as compared to controls. The intensity and voice quality of emotional speech were also different between the two cohorts in certain conditions. Additionally, facial metrics capturing the acceleration of the lower lip, lip width, eye opening, and vertical displacement of the eyebrows were also important markers to distinguish between children with ASD and neurotypical controls. Both facial and speech metrics performed well above chance in group classification accuracy.

CONCLUSION

Speech acoustic and facial metrics associated with affect production were effective in distinguishing between children with ASD and neurotypical controls.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28027796.

Affect Expression During Social and Non-Social Contexts in Autistic Young Adults

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social affective engagement. The present study uses a mild social stressor task to add to inconclusive past literature concerning differences in affective expressivity between autistic young adults and non-autistic individuals from the general population (GP). Young adults (mean age = 21.5) diagnosed with ASD (n = 18) and a non-autistic comparison group (n = 17) participated in the novel social stress task. Valence (positive/negative) and intensity of facial affect were coded across four observational episodes that alternated between engagement and disengagement of social conversational partner. Results indicated an overall attenuation in expressivity in the ASD group in comparison to the non-autistic group. Mean affect differed between groups, especially in the amount of affective expression. Both groups responded with increased positive expressions during social engagement episodes. The affect difference was driven by a smaller proportion of positive and a greater proportion of neutral affect displays in the ASD group compared to the non-autistic group during these episodes, and less so by negative affect differences. The results suggest that friendly, non-threatening social interactions should not be assumed to be aversive to autistic individuals, and that these individuals may respond to such situations with muted positive valence. These findings are consistent with past reports of decreased expressivity in autistic individuals compared to individuals from the general population, specifically in an ecologically valid social context.

Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Expression Imitation in Neurotypical Adults and Their Associations with Autistic Traits

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interaction and communication. While many studies suggest that individuals with ASD struggle with emotion processing, the association between emotion processing and autistic traits in non-clinical populations is still unclear. We examine whether neurotypical adults' facial emotion recognition and expression imitation are associated with autistic traits. We recruited 32 neurotypical adults; each received two computerized tasks, the Dynamic Emotion Recognition and Expression Imitation, and two standardized measures: the Chinese version AQ and the Twenty-Item Prosopagnosia Index (PI-20). Results for the dynamic emotion recognition showed that happiness has the highest mean accuracy, followed by surprise, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust. For expression imitation, it was easiest to imitate surprise and happiness, followed by disgust, while the accuracy of imitating sadness, anger, and fear was much lower. Importantly, individual AQ scores negatively correlated with emotion recognition accuracy and positively correlated with PI-20. The AQ imagination, communication sub-scores, and PI-20 positively correlated with the expression imitation of surprise. In summary, we found a significant link between recognizing emotional expressions and the level of autistic traits in non-clinical populations, supporting the concept of broader autism phenotype.

Influence of autistic traits and communication role on eye contact behavior during face-to-face interaction

Eye contact is a central component in face-to-face interactions. It is important in structuring communicative exchanges and offers critical insights into others' interests and intentions. To better understand eye contact in face-to-face interactions, we applied a novel, non-intrusive deep-learning-based dual-camera system and investigated associations between eye contact and autistic traits as well as self-reported eye contact discomfort during a referential communication task, where participants and the experimenter had to guess, in turn, a word known by the other individual. Corroborating previous research, we found that participants' eye gaze and mutual eye contact were inversely related to autistic traits. In addition, our findings revealed different behaviors depending on the role in the dyad: listening and guessing were associated with increased eye contact compared with describing words. In the listening and guessing condition, only a subgroup who reported eye contact discomfort had a lower amount of eye gaze and eye contact. When describing words, higher autistic traits were associated with reduced eye gaze and eye contact. Our data indicate that eye contact is inversely associated with autistic traits when describing words, and that eye gaze is modulated by the communicative role in a conversation.

The relationship between autistic traits, expressiveness, readability and social perceptions

This study investigated the relationship between autistic traits, expressiveness, readability (both actual and perceived), social favourability, and likability. Sixty participants designated as 'targets' were video recorded in a range of social scenarios and their autistic traits were measured using the Autism Spectrum Quotient. The videos were then shown to 106 new participants designated 'perceivers', who were split into three groups to make judgments related to readability, expressiveness, and social favourability respectively. Mediation analyses revealed that autistic traits negatively impacted both perceived likeability and social favourability, mediated by lowered expressiveness. Autistic traits also directly impacted readability, which was not mediated by expressiveness. The findings show how the level of autistic traits of a target can influence how they are socially perceived by others.

Primary school children rate children with autism negatively on looks, speech and speech content

Adults and adolescents form negative first impressions of ASD adults and children. We examined the first impression ratings of primary school children (6-9 years) of their ASD peers. 146 school children rated either silent videos, speech or transcribe speech from 14 actors (7 ASD, 7 TD). The ASD actors were rated more negatively than the typically developing actors on all three stimulus types. Children with ASD are likely to be judged more negatively than their peers at the very start of their formal education. Contrary to previous research, for primary school children, the content of the speech was judged as negatively as the delivery of the speech.

Positive, negative, neutral-or unknown? The perceived valence of emotions expressed by young autistic children in a novel context suited to autism

LAY ABSTRACT

Autistic people are believed to have emotions that are too negative and not positive enough, starting early in life. Their facial expressions are also persistently judged to be unusual, as reflected in criteria used to identify autism. But it is possible that common autistic facial expressions are poorly understood by observers, as suggested by a range of findings from research. Another issue is that autistic emotions have always been assessed in contexts suited to non-autistics. In our study, the facial expressions of young autistic and typical children were rated as positive, negative, neutral, or "unknown"-a category we created for emotions that observers notice but do not understand. These emotions were assessed using a context suited to autistic children, including objects of potential interest to them. We found that in this context, autistic and typical children did not differ in positive, negative, or neutral facial emotions. They did differ in unknown emotions, which were found only in autistic children. We also found that repetitive behaviors in autistic children co-occurred with positive, neutral, and unknown emotions, but not with negative emotions. In a context which suits their characteristics, autistic children do not show emotions that are too negative or not positive enough. They do show emotions perceived as unknown, which means we need to improve our understanding of their full emotional repertoire.

Examining the efficacy of dance movement and music mixed treatment on social communication impairment in children with autism - Based on family parent-child situation

Despite impairments in social communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), existing studies only examine the effects of either MT or DMT interventions. In the family setting, few studies have investigated interventions for social communication impairments in children with ASD. This study designed and tested a mixed intervention program of both MT and DMT through a 3-month intervention and training for children with ASD in the family setting including parent and child. A pre-test and post-test were conducted in the experimental and control groups, and the childhood autism rating scale (CARS) and autism treatment evaluation checklist (ATEC) scales were used to assess the severity of ASD symptoms and the effects of intervention. A t-test and analysis of variance were performed based on the experimental results. The results indicated that the experimental and control groups did not differ significantly on the CARS pre-test (t = 1.218, p > 0.05) and that there was no significant difference in the ATEC pre-test (t = 0.546, p > 0.05; F = 0.074, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.003). There was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the CARS in the control group (t = 0.635, p > 0.05), and there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores for the ATEC in the control group (t = 0.027, p > 0.05; F = 5.251, p > 0.05, partial η2 = 0.313). There was a significant difference between the pre- and post-test scores on the CARS in the experimental group (t = 4.327, p > 0.05) and the pre- and post-test scores on the ATEC in the experimental group (t = 5.763, p > 0.01; F = 32.615, p > 0.01, partial η2 = 0.759), with the post-test scores being lower than the pre-test scores. This demonstrates that the mixed intervention of MT and DMT in the family parent-child setting can reduce autism and improve social communication impairment in children with ASD.

Experiences of mimicry in eating disorders

BACKGROUND

People unknowingly mimic the behaviors of others, a process that results in feelings of affiliation. However, some individuals with eating disorders describe feeling "triggered" when mimicked. This study explores the effects of implicit non-verbal mimicry on individuals with a history of an eating disorder (ED-His) compared to healthy controls (HCs).

METHOD

Women (N = 118, n_ED-His = 31; M_age = 21 years) participated in a laboratory task with a confederate trained to either discreetly mimic (Mimicry condition) or not mimic (No-Mimicry condition) the mannerisms of the participant. Participants rated the likability of the confederate and the smoothness of the interaction.

RESULTS

Participants in the No-Mimicry condition rated the confederate as significantly more likable than in the Mimicry condition, and ED-His rated the confederate as more likable than HCs. ED-His in the Mimicry condition rated the interaction as less smooth than HCs, whereas this pattern was not found in the No-Mimicry condition. Among ED-His, longer disorder duration (≥ 3.87 years) was associated with less liking of a confederate who mimicked and more liking of a confederate who did not mimic.

CONCLUSIONS

We discuss the implications of these findings for interpersonal therapeutic processes and group treatment settings for eating disorders. Our study on subtle, nonverbal mimicry revealed differences in social behavior for women with a history of an eating disorder compared to healthy women. For participants with an eating disorder history, a longer duration of illness was associated with a worse pattern of affiliation, reflected in lower liking of a mimicker. Further research on how diverging processes of affiliation may function to perpetuate the chronicity of eating disorders and implications for treatment is needed.

Review: Posed vs. Genuine Facial Emotion Recognition and Expression in Autism and Implications for Intervention

Different styles of social interaction are one of the core characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social differences among individuals with ASD often include difficulty in discerning the emotions of neurotypical people based on their facial expressions. This review first covers the rich body of literature studying differences in facial emotion recognition (FER) in those with ASD, including behavioral studies and neurological findings. In particular, we highlight subtle emotion recognition and various factors related to inconsistent findings in behavioral studies of FER in ASD. Then, we discuss the dual problem of FER – namely facial emotion expression (FEE) or the production of facial expressions of emotion. Despite being less studied, social interaction involves both the ability to recognize emotions and to produce appropriate facial expressions. How others perceive facial expressions of emotion in those with ASD has remained an under-researched area. Finally, we propose a method for teaching FER [FER teaching hierarchy (FERTH)] based on recent research investigating FER in ASD, considering the use of posed vs. genuine emotions and static vs. dynamic stimuli. We also propose two possible teaching approaches: (1) a standard method of teaching progressively from simple drawings and cartoon characters to more complex audio-visual video clips of genuine human expressions of emotion with context clues or (2) teaching in a field of images that includes posed and genuine emotions to improve generalizability before progressing to more complex audio-visual stimuli. Lastly, we advocate for autism interventionists to use FER stimuli developed primarily for research purposes to facilitate the incorporation of well-controlled stimuli to teach FER and bridge the gap between intervention and research in this area.

Toward an Emotional Individual Motor Signature

Bodily expression of felt emotion has been documented in the literature. However, it is often associated with high motor variability between individuals. This study aimed to identify individual motor signature (IMS) of emotions. IMS is a new method of motion analysis and visualization able to capture the subtle differences in the way each of us moves, seen as a kinematic fingerprint. We hypothesized that the individual motor signature would be different depending on the induced emotional state and that an emotional motor signature of joy and sadness common to all participants would emerge. For that purpose, we elicited these emotions (joy, sadness, and a neutral control emotion) in 26 individuals using an autobiographical memory paradigm, before they performed a motor improvization task (e.g., the mirror game). We extracted the individual motor signature under each emotional condition. Participants completed a self-report emotion before and after each trial. Comparing the similarity indexes of intra- and inter-emotional condition signatures, we confirmed our hypothesis and showed the existence of a specific motor signature for joy and sadness, allowing us to introduce the notion of emotional individual motor signature (EIMS). Our study indicates that EIMS can reinforce emotion discrimination and constitutes the first step in modeling emotional behavior during individual task performances or social interactions.

Imitation and recognition of facial emotions in autism: a computer vision approach

Background

Imitation of facial expressions plays an important role in social functioning. However, little is known about the quality of facial imitation in individuals with autism and its relationship with defining difficulties in emotion recognition.

Methods

We investigated imitation and recognition of facial expressions in 37 individuals with autism spectrum conditions and 43 neurotypical controls. Using a novel computer-based face analysis, we measured instructed imitation of facial emotional expressions and related it to emotion recognition abilities.

Results

Individuals with autism imitated facial expressions if instructed to do so, but their imitation was both slower and less precise than that of neurotypical individuals. In both groups, a more precise imitation scaled positively with participants’ accuracy of emotion recognition.

Limitations

Given the study’s focus on adults with autism without intellectual impairment, it is unclear whether the results generalize to children with autism or individuals with intellectual disability. Further, the new automated facial analysis, despite being less intrusive than electromyography, might be less sensitive.

Conclusions

Group differences in emotion recognition, imitation and their interrelationships highlight potential for treatment of social interaction problems in individuals with autism.

Facial Expression Production and Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Shifting Landscape

Social "difficulties" associated with ASD may be a product of neurotypical-autistic differences in emotion expression and recognition. Research suggests that neurotypical and autistic individuals exhibit expressive differences, with autistic individuals displaying less frequent expressions that are rated lower in quality by non-autistic raters. Autistic individuals have difficulties recognizing neurotypical facial expressions; neurotypical individuals have difficulties recognizing autistic expressions. However, findings are mixed. Task-related factors (e.g., intensity of stimuli) and participant characteristics (e.g., age, IQ, comorbid diagnoses) may contribute to the mixed findings. The authors conclude by highlighting important areas for future research and the clinical implications of the discussed findings.

New Technologies as Promising Tools for Assessing Facial Emotion Expressions Impairments in ASD: A Systematic Review

The ability to recognize and express emotions from facial expressions are essential for successful social interactions. Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) and Facial Emotion Expressions (FEEs), both of which seem to be impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and contribute to socio-communicative difficulties, participate in the diagnostic criteria for ASD. Only a few studies have focused on FEEs processing and the rare behavioral studies of FEEs in ASD have yielded mixed results. Here, we review studies comparing the production of FEEs between participants with ASD and non-ASD control subjects, with a particular focus on the use of automatic facial expression analysis software. A systematic literature search in accordance with the PRISMA statement identified 20 reports published up to August 2020 concerning the use of new technologies to evaluate both spontaneous and voluntary FEEs in participants with ASD. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering socio-demographic factors and psychiatric co-morbidities which may explain the previous inconsistent findings, particularly regarding quantitative data on spontaneous facial expressions. There is also reported evidence for an inadequacy of FEEs in individuals with ASD in relation to expected emotion, with a lower quality and coordination of facial muscular movements. Spatial and kinematic approaches to characterizing the synchrony, symmetry and complexity of facial muscle movements thus offer clues to identifying and exploring promising new diagnostic targets. These findings have allowed hypothesizing that there may be mismatches between mental representations and the production of FEEs themselves in ASD. Such considerations are in line with the Facial Feedback Hypothesis deficit in ASD as part of the Broken Mirror Theory, with the results suggesting impairments of neural sensory-motor systems involved in processing emotional information and ensuring embodied representations of emotions, which are the basis of human empathy. In conclusion, new technologies are promising tools for evaluating the production of FEEs in individuals with ASD, and controlled studies involving larger samples of patients and where possible confounding factors are considered, should be conducted in order to better understand and counter the difficulties in global emotional processing in ASD.

Expressivity in children with autism and Williams syndrome

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate the social and affective aspects of communication in school-age children with HFA and school-age children with WS using a micro-analytic approach. Social communication is important for success at home, school, work and in the community. Lacking the ability to effectively process and convey information can lead to deficits in social communication. Individuals with high functioning autism (HFA) and individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) often have significant impairments in social communication that impact their relationships with others. Currently, little is known about how school-age children use and integrate verbal and non-verbal behaviors in the context of a social interaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A micro-analytic coding scheme was devised to reveal which channels children use to convey information. Language, eye gaze behaviors and facial expressions of the child were coded during this dyadic social interaction. These behaviors were coded throughout the entire interview, as well as when the child was the speaker and when the child was the listener.

Findings

Language results continue to pose problems for the HFA and WS groups compared to their typically developing (TD) peers. For non-verbal communicative behaviors, a qualitative difference in the use of eye gaze was found between the HFA and WS groups. For facial expression, the WS and TD groups produced more facial expressions than the HFA group.

Research limitations/implications

No differences were observed in the HFA group when playing different roles in a conversation, suggesting they are not as sensitive to the social rules of a conversation as their peers. Insights from this study add knowledge toward understanding social-communicative development in school-age children.

Originality/value

In this study, two non-verbal behaviors will be assessed in multiple contexts: the entire biographical interview, when the child is the speaker and when the child is the listener. These social and expressive measures give an indication of how expressive school-age children are and provide information on their attention, affective state and communication skills when conversing with an adult. Insights from this study will add knowledge toward understanding social-communicative development in school-age children.

Emotion regulation, emotionality, and expression of emotions: A link between social skills, behavior, and emotion problems in children with ASD and their peers

This study aimed to investigate differences between emotion regulation (ER), emotionality, and expression of emotions in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their typically developing (TD) peers; and to examine the potential links between these areas of development with social skills in both groups, as well as with behavioral, emotional, and social problems in ASD. Forty-four children (40 males and 4 females, ages 3 to 7 years) with ASD (n = 22) and their TD peers (n = 22) were included in this study. Mothers reported about their children's ASD symptoms, social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. As predicted, children with ASD were described as showing decreased ER, increased emotionality, and decreased expression of emotions when compared to their TD peers. Moreover, in the ASD group, increased social skills were associated with enhanced ER and increased expression of emotions; and in the TD group, increased social skills were correlated with decreased emotionality. Finally, enhanced ER was linked to decreased peer problems, and increased prosocial behaviors; and decreased emotionality was linked to decreased behavior and emotional problems in the ASD group. Implications for further research are discussed.

Neurotypical individuals fail to understand action vitality form in children with autism spectrum disorder

Action vitality forms are highly pervasive aspects of daily life and have been widely assumed to be critical for basic social interactions. Previous evidence indicates that ASD children express their own vitality forms in a way that is motorically dissimilar to TD children. Here we demonstrate that this motor dissimilarity prevents neurotypical adults from recognizing vitality forms, when observing ASD children acting gently or rudely. Although ASD children differentiate these vitality forms, neurotypical adults were remarkably inaccurate in identifying them. This indicates that difficulty in social interaction for ASD individuals should not be entirely ascribed to their lack of understanding others, as standardly assumed. The failure of neurotypical individuals to understand them plays a critical role too.

Any defects of sociality in individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are standardly explained in terms of those individuals’ putative impairments in a variety of cognitive functions. Recently, however, the need for a bidirectional approach to social interaction has been emphasized. Such an approach highlights differences in basic ways of acting between ASD and neurotypical individuals which would prevent them from understanding each other. Here we pursue this approach by focusing on basic action features reflecting the agent’s mood and affective states. These are action features Stern named “vitality forms,” and which are widely assumed to substantiate core social interactions [D. N. Stern, The Interpersonal World of the Infant (1985); D. N. Stern, Forms of Vitality Exploring Dynamic Experience in Psychology, Arts, Psychotherapy, and Development (2010)]. Previously we demonstrated that, although ASD and typically developing (TD) children alike differentiate vitality forms when performing actions, ASD children express them in a way that is motorically dissimilar to TD children. To assess whether this motor dissimilarity may have consequences for vitality form recognition, we asked neurotypical participants to identify the vitality form of different types of action performed by ASD or TD children. We found that participants exhibited remarkable inaccuracy in identifying ASD children’s vitality forms. Interestingly, their performance did not benefit from information feedback. This indicates that how people act matters for understanding others and for being understood by them. Because vitality forms pervade every aspect of daily life, our findings promise to open the way to a deeper comprehension of the bidirectional difficulties for both ASD and neurotypical individuals in interacting with one another.

Contagious itching is heightened in children with autism spectrum disorders

The authors tested susceptibility to contagious itching, laughter, and yawning in 55 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), ages 8-14, and 106 typically developing (TD) children, ages 5-14. Children with ASD were less likely to yawn or laugh contagiously compared with TD peers, but showed increased susceptibility to contagious itching, under naturalistic conditions. Contagious yawning and laughter were positively correlated with emotional empathy in the TD group. In contrast, contagious itching showed no relationship to empathy, and was positively correlated with autism symptom severity in the ASD group. The authors explore the implications of these findings in terms of psychological theories about ASD.

Facial Expression Production and Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Shifting Landscape

Social "difficulties" associated with ASD may be a product of neurotypical-autistic differences in emotion expression and recognition. Research suggests that neurotypical and autistic individuals exhibit expressive differences, with autistic individuals displaying less frequent expressions that are rated lower in quality by non-autistic raters. Autistic individuals have difficulties recognizing neurotypical facial expressions; neurotypical individuals have difficulties recognizing autistic expressions. However, findings are mixed. Task-related factors (e.g., intensity of stimuli) and participant characteristics (e.g., age, IQ, comorbid diagnoses) may contribute to the mixed findings. The authors conclude by highlighting important areas for future research and the clinical implications of the discussed findings.

Children with autism spectrum disorder produce more ambiguous and less socially meaningful facial expressions: an experimental study using random forest classifiers

Background

Computer vision combined with human annotation could offer a novel method for exploring facial expression (FE) dynamics in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods

We recruited 157 children with typical development (TD) and 36 children with ASD in Paris and Nice to perform two experimental tasks to produce FEs with emotional valence. FEs were explored by judging ratings and by random forest (RF) classifiers. To do so, we located a set of 49 facial landmarks in the task videos, we generated a set of geometric and appearance features and we used RF classifiers to explore how children with ASD differed from TD children when producing FEs.

Results

Using multivariate models including other factors known to predict FEs (age, gender, intellectual quotient, emotion subtype, cultural background), ratings from expert raters showed that children with ASD had more difficulty producing FEs than TD children. In addition, when we explored how RF classifiers performed, we found that classification tasks, except for those for sadness, were highly accurate and that RF classifiers needed more facial landmarks to achieve the best classification for children with ASD. Confusion matrices showed that when RF classifiers were tested in children with ASD, anger was often confounded with happiness.

Limitations

The sample size of the group of children with ASD was lower than that of the group of TD children. By using several control calculations, we tried to compensate for this limitation.

Conclusion

Children with ASD have more difficulty producing socially meaningful FEs. The computer vision methods we used to explore FE dynamics also highlight that the production of FEs in children with ASD carries more ambiguity.

Mood Disorders in High-Functioning Autism: The Importance of Alexithymia and Emotional Regulation

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have co-morbid anxiety and depression. Alexithymia and emotion regulation difficulties are commonly seen in individuals with ASD and in mood disorders. We hypothesized that alexithymia and emotional regulation would mediate the relationship between autistic features and anxiety/depression symptom severity. We collected data about emotional regulation, alexithymia, autistic symptoms and depression/anxiety in a sample of 64 young adults with ASD. We constructed two serial multiple mediator models, using autistic features as the independent variable and anxiety/depression symptoms as outcome variables. The serial relationship between alexithymia and emotional regulation mediated associations between autistic features and depression and anxiety, separately. The findings suggest that targeting alexithymia may benefit therapies designed to alleviate mood disorders in ASD.

Group Differences in Facial Emotion Expression in Autism: Evidence for the Utility of Machine Classification

Effective social communication relies, in part, on accurate nonverbal expression of emotion. To evaluate the nature of facial emotion expression (FEE) deficits in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we compared 20 youths with ASD to a sample of typically developing (TD) youth (n = 20) using a machine-based classifier of FEE. Results indicate group differences in FEE for overall accuracy across emotions. In particular, a significant group difference in accuracy of FEE was observed when participants were prompted by a video of a human expressing an emotion, F(2, 36) = 4.99, p = .032, η2 = .12. Specifically, youth with ASD made significantly more errors in FEE relative to TD youth. Findings support continued refinement of machine-based approaches to assess and potentially remediate FEE impairment in youth with ASD.

Less differentiated facial responses to naturalistic films of another person's emotional expressions in adolescents and adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND

Reduced facial expressivity (flat affect) and deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors are characteristic symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Based on the important interpersonal functions of facial emotional responsiveness the present study aimed at a comprehensive and differentiated analysis of perceptible facial behavior in response to another person's naturalistic, dynamic facial expressions of emotion.

METHODS

In a group of 21 adolescent and adult individuals with High-Funtioning autism spectrum disorder (HF-ASD) and in 21 matched healthy controls we examined perceptible facial responses using the whole range of action units of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) while participants were watching films displaying continuous, dynamic real-life facial expressions of four universal emotions (cheerfulness, anger, sadness, anxiety). The duration of the 80 s films was in the typical range of casual face-to-face interactions.

RESULTS

Overall, the number of congruent facial muscle movements while watching the emotion-laden stimulus films did not differ in the two groups. However, the comprehensive FACS analysis indicated that participants with HF-ASD displayed less differentiated facial responses to the watched emotional expressions.

CONCLUSIONS

The unusual or awkward patterns of facial emotional responses in ASD may hamper the recognition of affect in other people as well as the interaction partner's sense of interpersonal resonance, and thereby lead to social disadvantage in individuals with ASD.

Automatic Recognition of Posed Facial Expression of Emotion in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Facial expression is impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but rarely systematically studied. We focus on the ability of individuals with ASD to produce facial expressions of emotions in response to a verbal prompt. We used the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine (JAKE^®), including automated facial expression analysis software (FACET) to measure facial expressions in individuals with ASD (n = 144) and a typically developing (TD) comparison group (n = 41). Differences in ability to produce facial expressions were observed between ASD and TD groups, demonstrated by activation of facial action units (happy, scared, surprised, disgusted, but not angry or sad). Activation of facial action units correlated with parent-reported social communication skills. This approach has potential for diagnostic and response to intervention measures.Trial Registration NCT02299700.

Mock Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Culpability in an Autistic Defendant

One-hundred-and-sixty jury-eligible participants read a vignette describing a male who was brought to the attention of police for suspicious and aggressive behaviours and displayed atypical behaviours in court. Half of participants were informed that he had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and were given background information about ASD; the other half received no diagnostic label or information. The provision of a label and information led to higher ratings of the defendant's honesty and likeability, reduced blameworthiness, and resulted in fewer guilty verdicts, and more lenient sentencing. Thematic analysis revealed that participants in the label condition were more empathetic and attributed his behaviours to his ASD and mitigating factors, while participants in the No label condition perceived the defendant as deceitful, unremorseful, rude and aggressive.

Task Dependency When Evaluating Association Between Facial Emotion Recognition and Facial Emotion Expression in Children with ASD

The impact of facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits on facial emotion expression (FEE) during interaction with a novel computerized system was investigated in children with ASD (n = 20), in comparison to typically developing (TD) peers (n = 20). Although there was not clear evidence of impaired FEE, children with ASD showed more atypical FEE. In children with ASD, better FER predicted better FEE when the participants were asked to express a labeled emotion (t(18) = - 2.75, p = .01, d = 1.24). The stronger relationship between FER and FEE in children with ASD, relative to controls, suggests that intervention targeting social communication deficits might have maximal effect when both processes are considered.

Nonverbal Communication

The field of nonverbal communication (NVC) has a long history involving many cue modalities, including face, voice, body, touch, and interpersonal space; different levels of analysis, including normative, group, and individual differences; and many substantive themes that cross from psychology into other disciplines. In this review, we focus on NVC as it pertains to individuals and social interaction. We concentrate specifically on ( a) the meanings and correlates of cues that are enacted (sent) by encoders and ( b) the perception of nonverbal cues and the accuracy of such perception. Frameworks are presented for conceptualizing and understanding the process of sending and receiving nonverbal cues. Measurement issues are discussed, and theoretical issues and new developments are covered briefly. Although our review is primarily oriented within social and personality psychology, the interdisciplinary nature of NVC is evident in the growing body of research on NVC across many areas of scientific inquiry.

The games they play: Observations of children with autism spectrum disorder on the school playground

The playground may be an important context to examine the social functioning of children with autism spectrum disorder. Previous literature on playground peer engagement has used quantitative methods, but there is limited research using qualitative observations to understand the nuances of playground behavior. Using a mixed-methods approach, 55 elementary school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder who are primarily included in general education settings were observed on the school playground using the Playground Observation of Peer Engagement. Quantitative and qualitative data were examined using a mixed-methods approach. The results showed that children with autism spectrum disorder: engage in solitary and peripheral activities; demonstrate appropriate initiations and responses to peers; display self-stimulatory, motoric behaviors most frequently during solitary activities; and often have neutral affect on the playground. These findings suggest that intervention and supports for children with autism spectrum disorder may be important to deliver at recess to address peer engagement.

Facial Expression Production in Autism: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis summarized studies that examined group differences on the production of facial expressions in participants with ASD compared to typically developing or nonautistic clinical comparison groups. The overall summary effect from 67 effect sizes representing the average ASD-comparison group differences in facial expressions was -0.481, indicating a moderate effect size. We conducted subgroup analyses to group effect sizes according to separate facial expression abilities identified in the literature. These analyses revealed that participants with ASD display facial expressions less frequently and for less amount of time, and they are less likely to share facial expressions with others or automatically mimic the expressions of real faces or face stimuli. Their facial expressions are also judged to be lower in quality and are expressed less accurately. However, participants with ASD do not express emotions less intensely, nor is their reaction time of expression onset slower in response to odors, startling sensations, or in response to face stimuli in mimicry studies. ASD-comparison group differences were moderated by matching procedures, age, and intellectual functioning of the ASD participants suggesting that persons with higher IQ and larger number of accumulated life experiences are better able to produce facial expressions that are more consistent with "neurotypical" norms. Group differences were also stronger for "covertly elicited" than "explicitly elicited" facial expressions suggesting individuals with ASD may naturally produce facial expressions differently from other populations, but are less impaired in expressing emotions typically when prompted to do so in a laboratory setting. Autism Research 2018, 11: 1586-1601. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: We reviewed studies that compared facial expressions in people with and without autism. Results revealed that facial expressions of people with autism are atypical in appearance and quality and are used atypically to regulate social interactions. The magnitude of these differences was influenced by participant characteristics (e.g. age and intellectual functioning), and by how facial expressions were measured and analyzed in various studies.

Feasibility of Automated Training for Facial Emotion Expression and Recognition in Autism

Impairment in facial emotion recognition (FER) and facial emotion expression (FEE), often documented in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are believed to contribute to the observed core social-communication disability that characterizes this disorder. Moreover, impaired FER and FEE are frequently seen in other disorders and problem behaviors. We describe the development of a novel system to detect and give real-time feedback on these processes, termed facial emotion expression training (FEET), an automated, gamelike system that is based on 3-dimensional sensing (Kinect) technology. A sample of 40 children (n = 20 ASD, n = 20 typically developing) interacted with our prototype system, which presented audiovisual stimuli and assessed responses of participants. Overall, consumer satisfaction ratings were high, and youth with ASD reported enjoying interacting with the system more than did the typical youth. Results suggest that new technology-based interventions are acceptable to consumers and viable for use in remediation of transdiagnostic processes, such as FER and FEE. Implications for future technology-based intervention to target transdiagnostic processes are discussed.

Impaired disengagement of attention and its relationship to emotional distress in infants at high-risk for autism spectrum disorder

INTRODUCTION

We provide data on visual orienting and emotional distress in infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

METHOD

Participants included 83 high-risk (HR) infants with an older sibling with ASD and 53 low-risk (LR) control infants with no family history of ASD. Infants were assessed on the gap-overlap task and a parent-completed temperament questionnaire at 6 and 12 months of age. At 36 months of age, an independent, gold standard diagnostic assessment for ASD was conducted.

RESULTS

HR infants subsequently diagnosed with ASD were distinguished at 12 months by an asymmetric disengage impairment (for left- vs. right-sided stimuli) that was associated with an increase in latencies between 6 and 12 months. Across groups, prolonged left-directed disengage latencies at 12 months were associated with emotional distress (high irritability and difficult to soothe).

CONCLUSIONS

The asymmetry in our findings raises the question of whether the disengage problem in ASD is at base one of orienting or alerting attention. Our findings also raise the question of whether attention training might be a critical ingredient in the early treatment of ASD.

Acquisition and Generalization of Complex Empathetic Responses Among Children with Autism

Empathy can be defined as a social interaction skill that consists of four components: (1) a statement voiced in the (2) appropriate intonation, accompanied by a (3) facial expression and (4) gesture that correspond to the affect of another individual. A multiple-baseline across response categories experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a prompt sequence (video modeling, in vivo modeling, manual and verbal prompting) and reinforcement to increase the frequency of complex empathetic responding by four children with autism. The number of complex empathetic responses increased systematically with the successive introduction of the treatment package. Additionally, generalization was demonstrated to untaught stimuli and a novel adult. Responding maintained over time to varying degrees for all participants. The data illustrate that children with autism can be taught using modeling, prompting, and reinforcement to discriminate between categories of affective stimuli and differentially respond with complex empathetic responses.

Application of technology to social communication impairment in childhood and adolescence

Social communication impairment has been implicated in various mental health disorders. The primary aim of this review paper is to summarize the extant research on the development and application of technologies to address social communication deficits, conceptualized according to the four constructs outlined by the NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), transdiagnostically in children and adolescents. An exhaustive and systematic search yielded 69 peer-reviewed articles meeting all inclusion criteria (i.e., used technology, applied the technology to target impairment in at least one of four constructs of social communication, included a child or adolescent samples). We found limited use of technology for exploration of impairment in reception of non-facial communication, compared to the other social communication constructs. In addition, there has been an overwhelming focus on social communication impairment in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with relatively few studies evaluating technology application in other clinical populations. Implications for future directions for technological interventions to treat social communication impairments transdiagnostically are discussed.

Alexithymia, but not autism spectrum disorder, may be related to the production of emotional facial expressions

Background

A prominent diagnostic criterion of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relates to the abnormal or diminished use of facial expressions. Yet little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to this feature of ASD.

Methods

We showed children with and without ASD emotionally charged video clips in order to parse out individual differences in spontaneous production of facial expressions using automated facial expression analysis software.

Results

Using hierarchical multiple regression, we sought to determine whether alexithymia (characterized by difficulties interpreting one’s own feeling states) contributes to diminished facial expression production. Across groups, alexithymic traits—but not ASD traits, IQ, or sex—were associated with quantity of facial expression production.

Conclusions

These results accord with a growing body of research suggesting that many emotion processing abnormalities observed in ASD may be explained by co-occurring alexithymia. Developmental and clinical considerations are discussed, and it is argued that alexithymia is an important but too often ignored trait associated with ASD that may have implications for subtyping individuals on the autism spectrum.

Eye-Gaze Analysis of Facial Emotion Recognition and Expression in Adolescents with ASD

Impaired emotion recognition and expression in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may contribute to observed social impairment. The aim of this study was to examine the role of visual attention directed toward nonsocial aspects of a scene as a possible mechanism underlying recognition and expressive ability deficiency in ASD. One recognition and two expression tasks were administered. Recognition was assessed in force-choice paradigm, and expression was assessed during scripted and free-choice response (in response to emotional stimuli) tasks in youth with ASD (n = 20) and an age-matched sample of typically developing youth (n = 20). During stimulus presentation prior to response in each task, participants' eye gaze was tracked. Youth with ASD were less accurate at identifying disgust and sadness in the recognition task. They fixated less to the eye region of stimuli showing surprise. A group difference was found during the free-choice response task, such that those with ASD expressed emotion less clearly but not during the scripted task. Results suggest altered eye gaze to the mouth region but not the eye region as a candidate mechanism for decreased ability to recognize or express emotion. Findings inform our understanding of the association between social attention and emotion recognition and expression deficits.

The Roots of Mindblindness

This paper challenges the hypothesis that the type of social impairment observed in children with autism is evidence of an underlying malfunction in their ‘Theory of Mind’, resulting in ‘mindblindness’. To establish this point, the paper takes up two interesting ideas in the Theory of Mind literature, purged of their Cartesianism: first, that the study of autism does indeed provide us with critical insights into the development of social understanding and empathy; and, second, that no meaningful distinction can be drawn between a child’s interpersonal and intrapersonal development. The paper seeks to show how the ability to understand someone else’s thoughts and emotions is a product of endless co-regulated interactions in which the child’s own emotions and sense of self develop. The reason why children with autism so frequently exhibit impaired social relatedness is because basic biological challenges—such as sensory over-and under-reactivity—inhibit their ability to engage in these co-regulated interactive experiences.

How High-Functioning Children with Autism Understand Real and Deceptive Emotion

Autism is associated with problems in understanding and expressing emotion. We compared the ability of eight high- functioning children with autism (i.e. those with IQ scores ≥ 70) and eight age- and gender-matched controls with similar oral language development, to understand the facial expression of real and deceptive emotion. Children with autism had limited understanding of socially derived emotion. Although they could relate emotions to standard facial expressions, they were less able than controls to indicate the real emotions story characters feel, the deceptive emotions they express in the face, or the social reasons prompting a deceptive facial expression. For high- function children with autism, facial expressions may function as lexical codes but not as forms of social communication that modify beliefs.

Training facial expression production in children on the autism spectrum

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show deficits in their ability to produce facial expressions. In this study, a group of children with ASD and IQ-matched, typically developing (TD) children were trained to produce "happy" and "angry" expressions with the FaceMaze computer game. FaceMaze uses an automated computer recognition system that analyzes the child's facial expression in real time. Before and after playing the Angry and Happy versions of FaceMaze, children posed "happy" and "angry" expressions. Naïve raters judged the post-FaceMaze "happy" and "angry" expressions of the ASD group as higher in quality than their pre-FaceMaze productions. Moreover, the post-game expressions of the ASD group were rated as equal in quality as the expressions of the TD group.

Emotion recognition by children with Down syndrome: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND

According to the literature, children with Down syndrome (DS) have difficulties recognising facial expressions. Yet abilities to recognise emotional expressions are often assessed in tasks that imply comprehension of words for emotions. We investigated the development of these abilities in children with DS in a longitudinal study that did not involve lexical knowledge of emotions.

METHOD

Children with DS and nonspecific intellectual disability and typically developing children matched for developmental age (DA) were assessed once a year over 3 years. They were asked to recognise the facial expression of an emotion after hearing a vocalisation.

RESULTS

In each annual session, children with DS were not significantly different from others at recognising emotions. Their abilities to discriminate basic emotions improved significantly and to a similar extent to those of other children.

CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that children with DS develop emotion recognition abilities similarly to other children of the same DA.

Does facial expressivity count? How typically developing children respond initially to children with autism

Research investigating expressivity in children with autism spectrum disorder has reported flat affect or bizarre facial expressivity within this population; however, the impact expressivity may have on first impression formation has received little research input. We examined how videos of children with autism spectrum disorder were rated for expressivity by adults blind to the condition. We further investigated the friendship ratings given by 44 typically developing children to the same videos. These ratings were compared to friendship ratings given to video clips of typically developing children. Results demonstrated that adult raters, blind to the diagnosis of the children in the videos, rated children with autism spectrum disorder as being less expressive than typically developing children. These autism spectrum disorder children were also rated lower than typically developing children on all aspects of our friendship measures by the 44 child raters. Results suggest that impression formation is less positive towards children with autism spectrum disorder than towards typically developing children even when exposure time is brief.

Emotional resonance deficits in autistic children

According to some theories imitation, defined as an action resonance mechanism, is deficient in autism. In contrast, other theories (e.g., the "top down control of imitation" hypothesis) state that the problem is not in imitation per se but in the way social cues modulate imitative responses. In this study, 15 high-functioning children with autism and 15 matched controls were tested for their ability to imitate finger movements preceded by neutral and emotional facial expressions (primes) in a stimulus-response compatibility task. Hand movements performed after neutral expressions did not differ between the two groups (i.e., they both showed a normal imitative tendency). However, hand movements performed after emotional expressions significantly differed between the two populations, with controls, but not autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), showing enhanced imitation in the emotional condition. This study supports the view that, in ASD, imitation abilities are spared but they are not modulated according to the emotional and social context.

Are emotion impairments unique to, universal, or specific in autism spectrum disorder? A comprehensive review

There is widespread belief that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are "emotionally detached" from others. This comprehensive review examines the empirical evidence for this assumption, addressing three critical questions: (1) Are emotion-processing impairments universal in ASD? (2) Are they specific, or can they be explained by deficits in other domains? (3) Is the emotion processing profile seen in ASD unique to these conditions? Upon review of the literature (over 200 studies), we conclude that: (1) emotion-processing impairments might not be universal in ASD, as suggested by variability across participants and across emotion-processing tasks; (2) emotion-processing impairments might not be specific to ASD, as domain-general processes appear to account for some of these impairments; and (3) the specific pattern of emotion-processing strengths and weaknesses observed in ASD, involving difficulties with processing social versus non-social, and complex versus simple emotional information (with impairments more consistently reported on implicit than explicit emotion-processing tasks), appears to be unique to ASD. The emotion-processing profile observed in ASD might be best understood as resulting from heterogeneous vulnerabilities in different components of an "emotional communication system" that, in typical development, emerges from the interplay between domain-general cognitive, social and affective processes.

Emotions in action through the looking glass

The paper aims at highlighting how our primary understanding of others' actions is rooted in the mirror mechanism. To this end, the anatomical architecture of the mirror neuron system for action will be outlined as well as its role in grasping goals and intentions in others' motor behaviour. One further step through the looking glass of social cognition will be referring to the ubiquitous emotional colouring of actions and considering its links with the motor domain. This will allow a clearer perspective on the mechanism underlying our abilities for emotional understanding and on cases in which these abilities are amiss, as in autistic spectrum disorders.

Dyadic and triadic behaviours in infancy as precursors to later social responsiveness in young children with autistic disorder

The relationship between dyadic (eye contact and affect) and triadic (joint attention) behaviours in infancy, and social responsiveness at pre-school age, was investigated in 36 children with Autistic Disorder. Measures of eye contact and affect, and joint attention, including requesting behaviours, were obtained retrospectively via parental interviews and home videos from 0- to- 24-months of age. Concurrent measures (3-5 years) included social responsiveness to another's distress and need for help. Early dyadic behaviours observed in home videos, but not as reported by parents, were associated with later social responsiveness. Many triadic behaviours (from both parent-reports and home video) were also associated with social responsiveness at follow-up. The results are consistent with the view that early dyadic and triadic behaviours, particularly sharing attention, are important for the development of later social responsiveness.