1
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Black B, Hunter S, Cottrell H, Dar R, Takahashi N, Ferguson BJ, Valter Y, Porges E, Datta A, Beversdorf DQ. Remotely supervised at-home delivery of taVNS for autism spectrum disorder: feasibility and initial efficacy. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1238328. [PMID: 37840787 PMCID: PMC10568329 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1238328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has potential clinical application for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At-home sessions are necessary to allow delivery of repeated sessions, and remove burden on patients for daily visits, and reduce costs of clinic delivery. Our objective was to validate a protocol for remote supervised administration for home delivery of taVNS using specially designed equipment and platform. Methods An open-label design was followed involving administration by caretakers to 12 patients with ASD (ages:7-16). Daily 1-h sessions over 2 weeks were administered under remote supervision. The primary outcome was feasibility, which was assessed by completion rate, stimulation tolerability, and confirmation of programmed stimulation delivery. The secondary measures were initial efficacy assessed by Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised (CASI-R), Parent Rated Anxiety Scale for Youth with ASD (PRAS-ASD), and Clinician Global Impression (CGI) scales. Sleep measures were also tracked using Cleveland Adolescent Sleep Questionnaire (CASQ). Results Across 132 sessions, we obtained an 88.5% completion rate. A total of 22 expected adverse events were reported with headache being the most common followed by transient pain, itchiness, and stinging at the electrode site. One subject dropped out of the study unrelated to the stimulation or the study. Average scores of anxiety (CASI-R, PRAS-ASD, and CGI) and sleepiness (CASQ) were all improved at the 2 week time point. While not powered to determine efficacy, benefits were suggested in this open label pilot. Conclusion Remotely supervised, proxy-administered, at-home delivery of taVNS is feasible in patients with ASD. Initial efficacy supports pursuing larger scale trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Black
- Department of Pediatrics, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Samantha Hunter
- Department of Pediatrics, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Hannah Cottrell
- Department of Pediatrics, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Roee Dar
- School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Nicole Takahashi
- Department of Pediatrics, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Bradley J. Ferguson
- Department of Neurology, Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
| | - Yishai Valter
- Research and Development, Soterix Medical, Woodbridge, NJ, United States
| | - Eric Porges
- Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VAMC, Gainesville, FL, United States
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Abhishek Datta
- Research and Development, Soterix Medical, Woodbridge, NJ, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - David Q. Beversdorf
- Department of Radiology, Neurology, and Psychological Sciences, and the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, United States
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2
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Integration of Facial Expression and Gaze Direction in Individuals with a High Level of Autistic Traits. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19052798. [PMID: 35270490 PMCID: PMC8910540 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Background. We investigated whether individuals with high levels of autistic traits integrate relevant communicative signals, such as facial expression, when decoding eye-gaze direction. Methods. Students with high vs. low scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) performed a task in which they responded to the eye directions of faces, presented on the left or the right side of a screen, portraying different emotional expressions. Results. In both groups, the identification of gaze direction was faster when the eyes were directed towards the center of the scene. However, in the low AQ group, this effect was larger for happy faces than for neutral faces or faces showing other emotional expressions, whereas participants from high AQ group were not affected by emotional expressions. Conclusions. These results suggest that individuals with more autistic traits may not integrate multiple communicative signals based on their emotional value.
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3
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Kikuchi Y, Akechi H, Senju A, Tojo Y, Osanai H, Saito A, Hasegawa T. Attention to live eye contact in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2022; 15:702-711. [PMID: 35080154 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A number of studies have reported diminished attention to the eyes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These studies predominantly used static images of faces as stimuli. Recent studies, however, have shown enhanced response to eye contact in typically developing (TD) individuals when they observe a person in a live interaction. We investigated physiological orienting to perceived eye contact in adolescents with ASD and TD adolescents when they observed a person in live interaction or viewed a photograph of the same person's face. We measured heart rate (HR) deceleration as an index of attentional orienting. Adolescents with ASD, as well as TD adolescents, showed significant HR deceleration for the direct gaze compared to an averted gaze in the live condition, but not in the photographic condition. The results suggest an intact response to perceived eye contact in individuals with ASD during a live face-to-face interaction. LAY SUMMARY: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a different eye gaze pattern when observing photographic faces. However, little is known about how individuals with ASD process a real person's face. We measured heart rate (HR) and found that adolescents with ASD showed the typical decline in HR when they made eye contact with a real person, which suggests that both groups of individuals directed their attention to eye contact in a live face-to-face interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukiko Kikuchi
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan.,College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Hironori Akechi
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan.,Division of Information System Design, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Atsushi Senju
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Yoshikuni Tojo
- College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Hiroo Osanai
- Musashino Higashi Center for Education and Research, Musashino Higashi Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsuko Saito
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshikazu Hasegawa
- Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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4
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Lin Y, Gu Y, Xu Y, Hou S, Ding R, Ni S. Autistic spectrum traits detection and early screening: A machine learning based eye movement study. JOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC NURSING 2021; 35:83-92. [PMID: 34432921 DOI: 10.1111/jcap.12346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PROBLEM Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders and generally accompanied by social disorders, verbal or nonverbal communication defects, inability to concentrate and other negative symptoms that affect the autistic person's normal life. However, traditional screening methods are time-consuming and public health resources are limited. METHODS This study proposed a novel technique that combined eye-movement data and machine learning algorithms for predicting autistic traits. We converted raw eye movement data into features, trained and tested a model for early screening. FINDINGS In the preliminary experiment, 107 participants (average age = 24.84 ± 5.24 years) wore HTC Vive to watch a VR scene for 15-20 s. We explored eight classification models, among which the ensemble model performed best, with 0.73 accuracy, 0.68 precision, 0.81 recall, 0.74 F1-score, and an area under the curve of 0.90. And in the test experiment, 22 participants (average age = 12.68 ± 7.61 years) diagnosed as ASD took the experiment and the ensemble model showed a recall of 0.77. Eye movement data is an effectively distinguishable tool and we find that the proportion of time to observe figure and animal region continuously can distinguish participants with obvious and unobvious autistic traits effectively in the model. CONCLUSION This study focuses on the detection of autistic traits, and proposes a more objective and faster method for undertaking early screening, which provides possibilities to save precious time to intervene and alleviate its symptoms before making a definite diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqi Lin
- Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yating Gu
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yekai Xu
- Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Shumeng Hou
- Harbin Institute of Technology at Shenzhen, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Ruyi Ding
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Shiguang Ni
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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5
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Hunter MB, Chin RFM. Impaired social attention detected through eye movements in children with early-onset epilepsy. Epilepsia 2021; 62:1921-1930. [PMID: 34142371 DOI: 10.1111/epi.16962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Children with early-onset epilepsy (CWEOE; epilepsy onset before 5 years) exhibit impaired social functioning, but social attention has not yet been examined. In this study we sought to explore visual attention via eye tracking as a component of social attention and examine its relationship with social functioning and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk scores. METHODS Forty-seven CWEOE (3-63 months) and 41 controls (3-61 months) completed two eye-tracking tasks: (1) preference for social versus nonsocial naturalistic scenes, and (2) face region preference task. ASD risk was measured via the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers or Conners Early Childhood Total Score. Social functioning was assessed via the Greenspan Social-Emotional Growth Chart, or Infant-Toddler Social & Emotional Assessment Competence Scale, or Conners Early Childhood Social Functioning Scale, depending on age. Fixation preferences for social scenes and eyes were compared between groups and evaluated by age and social functioning scores. RESULTS Regression analysis revealed that CWEOE viewed the social scene to a significantly less degree than controls. The greatest difference was found between the youngest CWEOE and controls. Fixation duration was independently and significantly related to social functioning scores. There were no significant differences between CWEOE and controls in the face scanning task, and there was no significant relationship between either task and ASD risk scores. SIGNIFICANCE CWEOE exhibit task-specific atypical social attention early in the course of the disease. This may be an early marker of impaired social development, and it suggests abnormal social brain development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Hunter
- Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, Child Life and Health, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Richard F M Chin
- Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and MRC Centre for Reproductive Health, Child Life and Health, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Department of Paediatric Neurosciences, Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh, UK
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6
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McParland A, Gallagher S, Keenan M. Investigating Gaze Behaviour of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Classroom Setting. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:4663-4678. [PMID: 33590429 PMCID: PMC8531110 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04906-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
A defining feature of ASD is atypical gaze behaviour, however, eye-tracking studies in ‘real-world’ settings are limited, and the possibility of improving gaze behaviour for ASD children is largely unexplored. This study investigated gaze behaviour of ASD and typically developing (TD) children in their classroom setting. Eye-tracking technology was used to develop and pilot an operant training tool to positively reinforce typical gaze behaviour towards faces. Visual and statistical analyses of eye-tracking data revealed different gaze behaviour patterns during live interactions for ASD and TD children depending on the interaction type. All children responded to operant training with longer looking times observed on face stimuli post training. The promising application of operant gaze training in ecologically valid settings is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aideen McParland
- Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK. .,School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, David Keir Building, Belfast, UK.
| | - Stephen Gallagher
- Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.,School of Psychology, Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, UK
| | - Mickey Keenan
- Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.,School of Psychology, Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, UK
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7
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Mouga S, Castelhano J, Café C, Sousa D, Duque F, Oliveira G, Castelo-Branco M. Social Attention Deficits in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Task Dependence of Objects vs. Faces Observation Bias. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:640599. [PMID: 33828495 PMCID: PMC8019800 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.640599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social attention deficits represent a central impairment of patients suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the nature of such deficits remains controversial. We compared visual attention regarding social (faces) vs. non-social stimuli (objects), in an ecological diagnostic context, in 46 children and adolescents divided in two groups: ASD (N = 23) and typical neurodevelopment (TD) (N = 23), matched for chronological age and intellectual performance. Eye-tracking measures of visual scanning, while exploring and describing scenes from three different tasks from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), were analyzed: "Description of a Picture," "Cartoons," and "Telling a Story from a Book." Our analyses revealed a three-way interaction between Group, Task, and Social vs. Object Stimuli. We found a striking main effect of group and a task dependence of attentional allocation: while the TD attended first and longer to faces, ASD participants became similar to TD when they were asked to look at pictures while telling a story. Our results suggest that social attention allocation is task dependent, raising the question whether spontaneous attention deficits can be rescued by guiding goal-directed actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Mouga
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,ICNAS - Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI - Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit From Child Developmental Centre, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - João Castelhano
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,ICNAS - Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Cátia Café
- Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit From Child Developmental Centre, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Daniela Sousa
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,ICNAS - Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit From Child Developmental Centre, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Frederico Duque
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI - Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit From Child Developmental Centre, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Centro de Investigação e Formação Clínica, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,University Clinic of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Guiomar Oliveira
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,CNC.IBILI - Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit From Child Developmental Centre, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Centro de Investigação e Formação Clínica, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,University Clinic of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- CIBIT - Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,ICNAS - Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
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8
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Kotila A, Järvelä M, Korhonen V, Loukusa S, Hurtig T, Ebeling H, Kiviniemi V, Raatikainen V. Atypical Inter-Network Deactivation Associated With the Posterior Default-Mode Network in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res 2020; 14:248-264. [PMID: 33206471 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have suggested that atypical deactivation of functional brain networks contributes to the complex cognitive and behavioral profile associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, these studies have not considered the temporal dynamics of deactivation mechanisms between the networks. In this study, we examined (a) mutual deactivation and (b) mutual activation-deactivation (i.e., anticorrelated) time-lag patterns between resting-state networks (RSNs) in young adults with ASD (n = 20) and controls (n = 20) by applying the recently defined dynamic lag analysis (DLA) method, which measures time-lag variations peak-by-peak between the networks. In order to achieve temporally accurate lag patterns, the brain imaging data was acquired with a fast functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequence (TR = 100 ms). Group-level independent component analysis was used to identify 16 RSNs for the DLA. We found altered mutual deactivation timings in ASD in (a) three of the deactivated and (b) two of the transiently anticorrelated (activated-deactivated) RSN pairs, which survived the strict threshold for significance of surrogate data. Of the significant RSN pairs, 80% included the posterior default-mode network (DMN). We propose that temporally altered deactivation mechanisms, including timings and directionality, between the posterior DMN and RSNs mediating processing of socially relevant information may contribute to the ASD phenotype. LAY SUMMARY: To understand autistic traits on a neural level, we examined temporal fluctuations in information flow between brain regions in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and controls. We used a fast neuroimaging procedure to investigate deactivation mechanisms between brain regions. We found that timings and directionality of communication between certain brain regions were temporally altered in ASD, suggesting atypical deactivation mechanisms associated with the posterior default-mode network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aija Kotila
- Research Unit of Logopedics, the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Matti Järvelä
- Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Research Center (MRC), Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Vesa Korhonen
- Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Research Center (MRC), Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Soile Loukusa
- Research Unit of Logopedics, the Faculty of Humanities, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Tuula Hurtig
- Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Clinic of Child Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital and PEDEGO Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Hanna Ebeling
- Clinic of Child Psychiatry, Oulu University Hospital and PEDEGO Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Vesa Kiviniemi
- Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Research Center (MRC), Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
| | - Ville Raatikainen
- Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.,Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Research Center (MRC), Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland
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9
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Blink and You Will Miss It: a Core Role for Fast and Dynamic Visual Processing in Social Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS REPORTS 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40474-020-00220-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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10
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Hauschild KM, Felsman P, Keifer CM, Lerner MD. Evidence of an Own-Age Bias in Facial Emotion Recognition for Adolescents With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychiatry 2020; 11:428. [PMID: 32581859 PMCID: PMC7286307 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A common interpretation of the face-processing deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is that they arise from a failure to develop normative levels of perceptual expertise. One indicator of perceptual expertise for faces is the own-age bias, operationalized as a processing advantage for faces of one's own age, presumably due to more frequent contact and experience. This effect is especially evident in domains of face recognition memory but less commonly investigated in social-emotional expertise (e.g., facial emotion recognition; FER), where individuals with ASD have shown consistent deficits. In the present study, we investigated whether a FER task would elicit an own-age bias for individuals with and without ASD and explored how the magnitude of an own-age bias may differ as a function of ASD status and symptoms. Ninety-two adolescents (63 male) between the ages of 11 and 14 years completed the child- and adult-face subtests of a standardized FER task. Overall FER accuracy was found to differ by ASD severity, reflecting poorer performance for those with increased symptoms. Results also indicated that an own-age bias was evident, reflecting greater FER performance for child compared to adult faces, for all adolescents regardless of ASD status or symptoms. However, the strength of the observed own-age bias did not differ by ASD status or severity. Findings suggest that face processing abilities of adolescents with ASD may be influenced by experience with specific categories of stimuli, similar to their typically developing peers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn M. Hauschild
- Social Competence and Treatment Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Peter Felsman
- Social Competence and Treatment Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
- Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Cara M. Keifer
- Social Competence and Treatment Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Matthew D. Lerner
- Social Competence and Treatment Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
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11
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Laycock R, Wood K, Wright A, Crewther SG, Goodale MA. Saccade Latency Provides Evidence for Reduced Face Inversion Effects With Higher Autism Traits. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 13:470. [PMID: 32038202 PMCID: PMC6992588 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals on the autism spectrum are reported to show impairments in the processing of social information, including aspects of eye-movements towards faces. Abnormalities in basic-level visual processing are also reported. In the current study, we sought to determine if the latency of saccades made towards social targets (faces) in a natural scene as opposed to inanimate targets (cars) would be related to sub-clinical autism traits (ATs) in individuals drawn from a neurotypical population. The effect of stimulus inversion was also examined given that difficulties with processing inverted faces are thought to be a function of face expertise. No group differences in saccadic latency were established for face or car targets, regardless of image orientation. However, as expected, we found that individuals with higher autism-like traits did not demonstrate a saccadic face inversion effect, but those with lower autism-like traits did. Neither group showed a car inversion effect. Thus, these results suggest that neurotypical individuals with high autism-like traits also show anomalies in detecting and orienting to faces. In particular, the reduced saccadic face inversion effect established in these participants with high ATs suggests that speed of visual processing and orienting towards faces may be associated with the social difficulties found across the broader autism spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Laycock
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Kylie Wood
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Andrea Wright
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sheila G Crewther
- School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Melvyn A Goodale
- The Brain and Mind Institute, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
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12
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Wieckowski AT, White SW. Attention Modification to Attenuate Facial Emotion Recognition Deficits in Children with Autism: A Pilot Study. J Autism Dev Disord 2020; 50:30-41. [PMID: 31520245 PMCID: PMC11034769 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04223-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Diminished attending to faces may contribute to the impairments in emotion recognition and expression in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study evaluated the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of an attention modification intervention designed to attenuate deficits in facial emotion recognition (FER). During the 10-session experimental treatment, children (n = 8) with ASD watched dynamic videos of people expressing different emotions with the facial features highlighted to guide children's attention. Children and their parents generally rated the treatment as acceptable and helpful. Although FER improvement was not apparent on task-based measures, parents reported slight improvements and decreased socioemotional problems following treatment. Results suggest that further research on visual attention retraining for ASD, within an experimental therapeutic program, may be promising.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susan W White
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
- Center for Youth Development and Intervention, The University of Alabama, 200 Hackberry Lane, 101 McMillan Bldg., Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA.
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13
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Vettori S, Dzhelyova M, Van der Donck S, Jacques C, Van Wesemael T, Steyaert J, Rossion B, Boets B. Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye tracking reveal reduced social bias in boys with autism spectrum disorder. Cortex 2019; 125:135-148. [PMID: 31982699 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Developmental accounts of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) state that infants and children with ASD are spontaneously less attracted by and less proficient in processing social stimuli such as faces. This is hypothesized to partly underlie social communication difficulties in ASD. While in some studies a reduced preference for social stimuli has been shown in individuals with ASD, effect sizes are moderate and vary across studies, stimuli, and designs. Eye tracking, often the methodology of choice to study social preference, conveys information about overt orienting processes but conceals covert attention, possibly resulting in an underestimation of the effects. In this study, we recorded eye tracking and electroencephalography (EEG) during fast periodic visual stimulation to address this issue. We tested 21 boys with ASD (8-12 years old) and 21 typically developing (TD) control boys, matched for age and IQ. Streams of variable images of faces were presented at 6 Hz alongside images of houses presented at 7.5 Hz or vice versa, while children were engaged in an orthogonal task. While frequency-tagged neural responses were larger in response to faces than simultaneously presented houses in both groups, this effect was much larger in TD boys than in boys with ASD. This group difference in saliency of social versus non-social processing is significant after 5 sec of stimulus presentation and holds throughout the entire trial. Although there was no interaction between group and stimulus category for simultaneously recorded eye-tracking data, eye tracking and EEG measures were strongly correlated. We conclude that frequency-tagging EEG, allowing monitoring of both overt and covert processes, provides a fast, objective and reliable measure of decreased preference for social information in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofie Vettori
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Milena Dzhelyova
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium
| | - Stephanie Van der Donck
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Corentin Jacques
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium
| | - Tim Van Wesemael
- Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), Stadius Center for Dynamical Systems, Signal Processing and Data Analytics, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jean Steyaert
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Institute of Research in Psychological Science, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Louvain, Belgium; Université de Lorraine, CNRS, CRAN - UMR 7039, F-54000, Nancy, France; Université de Lorraine, CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, F-54000, France
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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14
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Schauder KB, Park WJ, Tsank Y, Eckstein MP, Tadin D, Bennetto L. Initial eye gaze to faces and its functional consequence on face identification abilities in autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2019; 11:42. [PMID: 31883518 PMCID: PMC6935487 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-019-9303-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined and diagnosed by core deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors. Research on face processing suggests deficits in this domain in ASD but includes many mixed findings regarding the nature and extent of these differences. The first eye movement to a face has been shown to be highly informative and sufficient to achieve high performance in face identification in neurotypical adults. The current study focused on this critical moment shown to be essential in the process of face identification. METHODS We applied an established eye-tracking and face identification paradigm to comprehensively characterize the initial eye movement to a face and test its functional consequence on face identification performance in adolescents with and without ASD (n = 21 per group), and in neurotypical adults. Specifically, we presented a series of faces and measured the landing location of the first saccade to each face, while simultaneously measuring their face identification abilities. Then, individuals were guided to look at specific locations on the face, and we measured how face identification performance varied as a function of that location. Adolescent participants also completed a more traditional measure of face identification which allowed us to more fully characterize face identification abilities in ASD. RESULTS Our results indicate that the location of the initial look to faces and face identification performance for briefly presented faces are intact in ASD, ruling out the possibility that deficits in face perception, at least in adolescents with ASD, begin with the initial eye movement to the face. However, individuals with ASD showed impairments on the more traditional measure of face identification. CONCLUSION Together, the observed dissociation between initial, rapid face perception processes, and other measures of face perception offers new insights and hypotheses related to the timing and perceptual complexity of face processing and how these specific aspects of face identification may be disrupted in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly B. Schauder
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, P.O Box 270266, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA
- Children’s National Medical Center, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, 15245 Shady Grove Road Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20850 USA
| | - Woon Ju Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall Box 351525, Seattle, WA 98195 USA
| | - Yuliy Tsank
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660 USA
| | - Miguel P. Eckstein
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9660 USA
| | - Duje Tadin
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, 310 Meliora Hall, P.O Box 270268, Rochester, NY 14627-0268 USA
- Departments of Ophthalmology and Neuroscience, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, USA
| | - Loisa Bennetto
- Department of Psychology, University of Rochester, Meliora Hall, P.O Box 270266, Rochester, NY 14627 USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, 310 Meliora Hall, P.O Box 270268, Rochester, NY 14627-0268 USA
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15
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Harrison AJ, Slane MM. Examining How Types of Object Distractors Distinctly Compete for Facial Attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Eye Tracking. J Autism Dev Disord 2019; 50:924-934. [PMID: 31811617 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-019-04315-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Social motivation theory states that individuals with ASD find social stimuli less rewarding (Chevallier et al. in Trends Cognit Sci 16(4):231-239, 2012). An alternative theory suggests that competition from circumscribed interests (CIs) may better account for diminished social attention (Sasson et al. in Autism Res 1(1):31-42, 2008). This study evaluated both theories in children diagnosed with ASD (n = 16) and a group of TD children (n = 20) using eye tracking and demonstrated that distractor type only impacted the proportion of dwell time on faces in the TD group, but not the ASD group. These results provide support for the social motivation theory because gaze duration for faces among children with ASD was diminished regardless of whether the non-social stimuli presented was a CI or control object.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley J Harrison
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
| | - Mylissa M Slane
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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16
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O’Neill T, Wilkinson KM, Light J. Preliminary investigation of visual attention to complex AAC visual scene displays in individuals with and without developmental disabilities. Augment Altern Commun 2019; 35:240-250. [DOI: 10.1080/07434618.2019.1635643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Tara O’Neill
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, Dallas, PA, USA
| | - Krista M. Wilkinson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, Dallas, PA, USA
| | - Janice Light
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, Dallas, PA, USA
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17
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Howard PL, Zhang L, Benson V. What Can Eye Movements Tell Us about Subtle Cognitive Processing Differences in Autism? Vision (Basel) 2019; 3:E22. [PMID: 31735823 PMCID: PMC6802779 DOI: 10.3390/vision3020022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2019] [Revised: 05/15/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is neurodevelopmental condition principally characterised by impairments in social interaction and communication, and repetitive behaviours and interests. This article reviews the eye movement studies designed to investigate the underlying sampling or processing differences that might account for the principal characteristics of autism. Following a brief summary of a previous review chapter by one of the authors of the current paper, a detailed review of eye movement studies investigating various aspects of processing in autism over the last decade will be presented. The literature will be organised into sections covering different cognitive components, including language and social communication and interaction studies. The aim of the review will be to show how eye movement studies provide a very useful on-line processing measure, allowing us to account for observed differences in behavioural data (accuracy and reaction times). The subtle processing differences that eye movement data reveal in both language and social processing have the potential to impact in the everyday communication domain in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippa L Howard
- Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth BH12 5BB, UK
| | - Li Zhang
- Academy of Psychology and Behaviour, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300074, China
| | - Valerie Benson
- School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
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18
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Lewis AK, Porter MA, Williams TA, Bzishvili S, North KN, Payne JM. Attention to faces in social context in children with neurofibromatosis type 1. Dev Med Child Neurol 2019; 61:174-180. [PMID: 29873078 DOI: 10.1111/dmcn.13928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
AIM To examine visual attention to faces within social scenes in children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and typically developing peers. METHOD Using eye-tracking technology we investigated the time taken to fixate on a face and the percentage of time spent attending to faces relative to the rest of the screen within social scenes in 24 children with NF1 (17 females, seven males; mean age 10y 4mo [SD 1y 9mo]). Results were compared with those of 24 age-matched typically developing controls (11 females, 13 males; mean age 10y 3mo [SD 2y]). RESULTS There was no significant between-group differences in time taken to initially fixate on a face (p=0.617); however, children with NF1 spent less time attending to faces within scenes than controls (p=0.048). Decreased attention to faces was associated with elevated autism traits in children with NF1. INTERPRETATION Children with NF1 spend less time attending to faces than typically developing children when presented in social scenes. Our findings contribute to a growing body of literature suggesting that abnormal face processing is a key aspect of the social-cognitive phenotype of NF1 and appears to be related to autism spectrum disorder traits. Clinicians should consider the impact of reduced attention to faces when designing and implementing treatment programmes for social dysfunction in this population. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS Children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) demonstrated atypical gaze behaviour when attending to faces. NF1 gaze behaviour was characterized by normal initial fixation on faces but shorter face dwell time. Decreased attention to faces was associated with elevated autism traits in the sample with NF1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia K Lewis
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Melanie A Porter
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Tracey A Williams
- Kids Rehab, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Kathryn N North
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Vic., Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Jonathan M Payne
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Vic., Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
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19
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Oruc I, Shafai F, Iarocci G. Link Between Facial Identity and Expression Abilities Suggestive of Origins of Face Impairments in Autism: Support for the Social-Motivation Hypothesis. Psychol Sci 2018; 29:1859-1867. [PMID: 30285548 DOI: 10.1177/0956797618795471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties with processing identity and expression in faces. This is at odds with influential models of face processing that propose separate neural pathways for the identity and expression domains. The social-motivation hypothesis of ASD posits a lack of visual experience with faces as the root cause of face impairments in autism. A direct prediction is that identity and expression abilities should be related in ASD, reflecting the common origin of face impairment in this population. We tested adults with and without ASD ( ns = 34) in identity and expression tasks. Our results showed that performance in the two domains was significantly correlated in the ASD group but not in the comparison group. These results suggest that the most likely origin for face impairments in ASD stems from the input stage impacting development of identity and expression domains alike, consistent with the social-motivation hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek Oruc
- 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia.,2 Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia
| | - Fakhri Shafai
- 1 Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia.,2 Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia
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20
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Baptista J, Sampaio A, Fachada I, Osório A, Mesquita AR, Garayzabal E, Duque F, Oliveira G, Soares I. Maternal Interactive Behaviours in Parenting Children with Williams Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Relations with Emotional/Behavioural Problems. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 49:216-226. [PMID: 30143949 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-018-3715-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
This study compared maternal responsiveness to children with two neurodevelopmental disorders sharing different but, in some cases, overlapping social phenotypes-Williams syndrome (WS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-and explored the relations between maternal responsiveness and child emotional/behavioural problems (EBP). The sample included 16 pre-schoolers with WS and 43 with ASD, and their mothers. Responsiveness was assessed during a mother-child interaction task. Mothers completed the CBCL 1½-5, providing a measure of EBP. No significant differences emerged between groups, and most dyads were characterized by less responsive behaviours. Maternal responsiveness proved related to child developmental age, but not with EBP. These results provide further insight into the rearing environment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, highlighting the need for early relationship-based interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Baptista
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology of the University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Adriana Sampaio
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology of the University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Inês Fachada
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology of the University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Ana Osório
- Mackenzie Presbyterian University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana R Mesquita
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology of the University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Elena Garayzabal
- Department of Linguistics, University Autónoma of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Frederico Duque
- Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit from Child Developmental Center and Centro de Investigação e Formação Clinica, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,University Clinic of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Guiomar Oliveira
- Neurodevelopmental and Autism Unit from Child Developmental Center and Centro de Investigação e Formação Clinica, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,University Clinic of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.,Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Isabel Soares
- Psychology Research Center (CIPsi), School of Psychology of the University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
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21
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Liang J, Wilkinson K. Gaze Toward Naturalistic Social Scenes by Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Implications for Augmentative and Alternative Communication Designs. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2018; 61:1157-1170. [PMID: 29710313 DOI: 10.1044/2018_jslhr-l-17-0331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE A striking characteristic of the social communication deficits in individuals with autism is atypical patterns of eye contact during social interactions. We used eye-tracking technology to evaluate how the number of human figures depicted and the presence of sharing activity between the human figures in still photographs influenced visual attention by individuals with autism, typical development, or Down syndrome. We sought to examine visual attention to the contents of visual scene displays, a growing form of augmentative and alternative communication support. METHOD Eye-tracking technology recorded point-of-gaze while participants viewed 32 photographs in which either 2 or 3 human figures were depicted. Sharing activities between these human figures are either present or absent. The sampling rate was 60 Hz; that is, the technology gathered 60 samples of gaze behavior per second, per participant. Gaze behaviors, including latency to fixate and time spent fixating, were quantified. RESULTS The overall gaze behaviors were quite similar across groups, regardless of the social content depicted. However, individuals with autism were significantly slower than the other groups in latency to first view the human figures, especially when there were 3 people depicted in the photographs (as compared with 2 people). When participants' own viewing pace was considered, individuals with autism resembled those with Down syndrome. CONCLUSION The current study supports the inclusion of social content with various numbers of human figures and sharing activities between human figures into visual scene displays, regardless of the population served. Study design and reporting practices in eye-tracking literature as it relates to autism and Down syndrome are discussed. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.6066545.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiali Liang
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
| | - Krista Wilkinson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
- E. K. Shriver Center of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester
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22
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Rigby SN, Stoesz BM, Jakobson LS. Empathy and face processing in adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2018; 11:942-955. [PMID: 29637718 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Many factors contribute to social difficulties in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The goal of the present work was to determine whether atypicalities in how individuals with ASD process static, socially engaging faces persist when nonrigid facial motion cues are present. We also sought to explore the relationships between various face processing abilities and individual differences in autism symptom severity and traits such as empathy. Participants included 16 adults with ASD without intellectual impairment and 16 sex- and age-matched controls. Mean Verbal IQ was comparable across groups [t(30) = 0.70, P = 0.49]. The two groups responded similarly to many of the experimental manipulations; however, relative to controls, participants with ASD responded more slowly to dynamic expressive faces, even when no judgment was required; were less accurate at identity matching with static and dynamic faces; and needed more time to make identity and expression judgments [F(1, 30) ≥ 6.37, P ≤ 0.017, ηp2 ≥ 0.175 in all cases], particularly when the faces were moving [F(1, 30) = 3.40, P = 0.072, ηp2 = 0.104]. In the full sample, as social autistic traits increased and empathic skills declined, participants needed more time to judge static identity, and static or dynamic expressions [0.43 < |rs | < 0.56]. The results suggest that adults with ASD show general impairments in face and motion processing and support the view that an examination of individual variation in particular personality traits and abilities is important for advancing our understanding of face perception. Autism Res 2018, 11: 942-955. © 2018 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY Our findings suggest that people with ASD have problems processing expressive faces, especially when seen in motion. It is important to learn who is most at risk for face processing problems, given that in the general population such problems appear to be linked to impaired social skills and empathy. By studying relationships between different abilities and traits, we may be able to find better ways to diagnose and support all people on the autism spectrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah N Rigby
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Brenda M Stoesz
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.,The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Lorna S Jakobson
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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23
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Social Attention, Joint Attention and Sustained Attention in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams Syndrome: Convergences and Divergences. J Autism Dev Disord 2018; 47:1866-1877. [PMID: 28349363 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3106-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
There is limited knowledge on shared and syndrome-specific attentional profiles in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS). Using eye-tracking, we examined attentional profiles of 35 preschoolers with ASD, 22 preschoolers with WS and 20 typically developing children across social and non-social dimensions of attention. Children with ASD and those with WS presented with overlapping deficits in spontaneous visual engagement with the target of others' attention and in sustained attention. Children with ASD showed syndrome-specific abnormalities in monitoring and following a person's referential gaze, as well as a lack of preferential attention to social stimuli. Children with ASD and WS present with shared as well as syndrome-specific abnormalities across social and non-social dimensions of attention.
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24
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Thye MD, Bednarz HM, Herringshaw AJ, Sartin EB, Kana RK. The impact of atypical sensory processing on social impairments in autism spectrum disorder. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2018; 29:151-167. [PMID: 28545994 PMCID: PMC6987885 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 212] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2016] [Revised: 02/25/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Altered sensory processing has been an important feature of the clinical descriptions of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is evidence that sensory dysregulation arises early in the progression of ASD and impacts social functioning. This paper reviews behavioral and neurobiological evidence that describes how sensory deficits across multiple modalities (vision, hearing, touch, olfaction, gustation, and multisensory integration) could impact social functions in ASD. Theoretical models of ASD and their implications for the relationship between sensory and social functioning are discussed. Furthermore, neural differences in anatomy, function, and connectivity of different regions underlying sensory and social processing are also discussed. We conclude that there are multiple mechanisms through which early sensory dysregulation in ASD could cascade into social deficits across development. Future research is needed to clarify these mechanisms, and specific focus should be given to distinguish between deficits in primary sensory processing and altered top-down attentional and cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa D Thye
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States
| | - Haley M Bednarz
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States
| | - Abbey J Herringshaw
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States
| | - Emma B Sartin
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States
| | - Rajesh K Kana
- Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, United States.
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25
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Nonverbal components of Theory of Mind in typical and atypical development. Infant Behav Dev 2017; 48:54-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2015] [Revised: 11/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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26
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Walsh JA, Creighton SE, Rutherford MD. Emotion Perception or Social Cognitive Complexity: What Drives Face Processing Deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder? J Autism Dev Disord 2016; 46:615-23. [PMID: 26439480 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2606-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Some, but not all, relevant studies have revealed face processing deficits among those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, deficits are revealed in face processing tasks that involve emotion perception. The current study examined whether either deficits in processing emotional expression or deficits in processing social cognitive complexity drive face processing deficits in ASD. We tested adults with and without ASD on a battery of face processing tasks that varied with respect to emotional expression processing and social cognitive complexity. Results revealed significant group differences on tasks involving emotional expression processing, but typical performance on a non-emotional but socially complex task. These results support an emotion processing rather than a social complexity explanation for face processing deficits in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A Walsh
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada.
| | - Sarah E Creighton
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada
| | - M D Rutherford
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada.
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27
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Chien VSC, Tsai AC, Yang HH, Tseng YL, Savostyanov AN, Liou M. Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome. J Vis Exp 2016. [PMID: 27500602 DOI: 10.3791/53962] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Several neuroimaging studies have suggested that the low spatial frequency content in an emotional face mainly activates the amygdala, pulvinar, and superior colliculus especially with fearful faces(1-3). These regions constitute the limbic structure in non-conscious perception of emotions and modulate cortical activity either directly or indirectly(2). In contrast, the conscious representation of emotions is more pronounced in the anterior cingulate, prefrontal cortex, and somatosensory cortex for directing voluntary attention to details in faces(3,4). Asperger's syndrome (AS)(5,6) represents an atypical mental disturbance that affects sensory, affective and communicative abilities, without interfering with normal linguistic skills and intellectual ability. Several studies have found that functional deficits in the neural circuitry important for facial emotion recognition can partly explain social communication failure in patients with AS(7-9). In order to clarify the interplay between conscious and non-conscious representations of emotional faces in AS, an EEG experimental protocol is designed with two tasks involving emotionality evaluation of either photograph or line-drawing faces. A pilot study is introduced for selecting face stimuli that minimize the differences in reaction times and scores assigned to facial emotions between the pretested patients with AS and IQ/gender-matched healthy controls. Information from the pretested patients was used to develop the scoring system used for the emotionality evaluation. Research into facial emotions and visual stimuli with different spatial frequency contents has reached discrepant findings depending on the demographic characteristics of participants and task demands(2). The experimental protocol is intended to clarify deficits in patients with AS in processing emotional faces when compared with healthy controls by controlling for factors unrelated to recognition of facial emotions, such as task difficulty, IQ and gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent S C Chien
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
| | | | | | - Yi-Li Tseng
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Fu Jen Catholic University
| | | | - Michelle Liou
- Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica; Imaging Research Center, Taipei Medical University;
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Chita-Tegmark M. Attention Allocation in ASD: a Review and Meta-analysis of Eye-Tracking Studies. REVIEW JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40489-016-0077-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Chita-Tegmark M. Social attention in ASD: A review and meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2016; 48:79-93. [PMID: 26547134 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2015.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Revised: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Determining whether social attention is reduced in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and what factors influence social attention is important to our theoretical understanding of developmental trajectories of ASD and to designing targeted interventions for ASD. This meta-analysis examines data from 38 articles that used eye-tracking methods to compare individuals with ASD and TD controls. In this paper, the impact of eight factors on the size of the effect for the difference in social attention between these two groups are evaluated: age, non-verbal IQ matching, verbal IQ matching, motion, social content, ecological validity, audio input and attention bids. Results show that individuals with ASD spend less time attending to social stimuli than typically developing (TD) controls, with a mean effect size of 0.55. Social attention in ASD was most impacted when stimuli had a high social content (showed more than one person). This meta-analysis provides an opportunity to survey the eye-tracking research on social attention in ASD and to outline potential future research directions, more specifically research of social attention in the context of stimuli with high social content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meia Chita-Tegmark
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, United States.
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Edmiston EK, Merkle K, Corbett BA. Neural and cortisol responses during play with human and computer partners in children with autism. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:1074-83. [PMID: 25552572 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2013] [Accepted: 12/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairment in reciprocal social interactions, including play, which can manifest as failure to show social preference or discrimination between social and nonsocial stimuli. To explore mechanisms underlying these deficits, we collected salivary cortisol from 42 children 8-12 years with ASD or typical development during a playground interaction with a confederate child. Participants underwent functional MRI during a prisoner's dilemma game requiring cooperation or defection with a human (confederate) or computer partner. Search region of interest analyses were based on previous research (e.g. insula, amygdala, temporal parietal junction-TPJ). There were significant group differences in neural activation based on partner and response pattern. When playing with a human partner, children with ASD showed limited engagement of a social salience brain circuit during defection. Reduced insula activation during defection in the ASD children relative to TD children, regardless of partner type, was also a prominent finding. Insula and TPJ BOLD during defection was also associated with stress responsivity and behavior in the ASD group under playground conditions. Children with ASD engage social salience networks less than TD children during conditions of social salience, supporting a fundamental disturbance of social engagement.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Blythe A Corbett
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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Anzures G, Goyet L, Ganea N, Johnson MH. Enhanced ERPs to visual stimuli in unaffected male siblings of ASD children. Child Neuropsychol 2014; 22:220-37. [PMID: 25506753 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2014.988609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders are characterized by deficits in social and communication abilities. While unaffected relatives lack severe deficits, milder impairments have been reported in some first-degree relatives. The present study sought to verify whether mild deficits in face perception are evident among the unaffected younger siblings of children with ASD. Children between 6-9 years of age completed a face-recognition task and a passive viewing ERP task with face and house stimuli. Sixteen children were typically developing with no family history of ASD, and 17 were unaffected children with an older sibling with ASD. Findings indicate that, while unaffected siblings are comparable to controls in their face-recognition abilities, unaffected male siblings in particular show relatively enhanced P100 and P100-N170 peak-to-peak amplitude responses to faces and houses. Enhanced ERPs among unaffected male siblings is discussed in relation to potential differences in neural network recruitment during visual and face processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gizelle Anzures
- a Center for Human Development , University of California , San Diego , USA
| | - Louise Goyet
- b Institute of Psychology , Université Paris Descartes , Paris , France
| | - Natasa Ganea
- c Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck , University of London , UK
| | - Mark H Johnson
- c Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck , University of London , UK
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Abstract
The current study tested fine discrimination of upright and inverted faces and objects in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as compared to age- and IQ-matched controls. Discrimination sensitivity was tested using morphed faces and morphed objects, and all stimuli were equated in low-level visual characteristics (luminance, contrast, spatial frequency make-up). Participants with ASD exhibited slight, non-significant impairments in discrimination sensitivity for faces, yet significantly enhanced discrimination sensitivity for objects. The ASD group also showed a protracted development of face and object inversion effects. Finally, for ASD participants, face sensitivity improved with increasing IQ while object sensitivity improved with age. By contrast, for controls, face sensitivity improved with age, but neither face nor object sensitivity was influenced by IQ. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD follow a qualitatively different path in the development of face and object processing abilities.
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Papagiannopoulou EA, Chitty KM, Hermens DF, Hickie IB, Lagopoulos J. A systematic review and meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies in children with autism spectrum disorders. Soc Neurosci 2014; 9:610-32. [PMID: 24988218 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2014.934966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Aberrant eye gaze mechanisms have been implicated in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Studies of eye movements in children with ASD reveal diminished eye gaze duration and lack of specific eye gaze fixation to the eyes and/or mouth compared with controls. However, findings to date have been contradictory. We examined eye-tracking studies on face processing in children with ASD and conducted meta-analyses to examine whether these children demonstrate atypical fixation on primary facial regions. Twenty eye-tracking studies in children with ASD were reviewed, of which the results from 14 studies were incorporated in the meta-analyses that evaluated fixation duration on (i) eyes (eight studies) and (ii) mouth (six studies). The results reveal that children with ASD have significantly reduced gaze fixation to the eye region of faces. The results of the meta-analyses indicate that ASD patients have significant impairments in gaze fixation to the eyes. On the other hand, no significant difference was uncovered in terms of fixation to the mouth region; however, this finding needs to be interpreted with caution because of the significant heterogeneity in the mouth fixation studies. The findings of this meta-analysis add further clarity to an expanding literature and suggest that specific eye gaze fixation to the eye region may represent a robust biomarker for the condition. The heterogeneity associated with the mouth fixation data precludes any definitive statement as to the robustness of these findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni A Papagiannopoulou
- a Clinical Research Unit , Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney , Camperdown , Australia
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Visual social attention in autism spectrum disorder: Insights from eye tracking studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 42:279-97. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 288] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2013] [Revised: 03/15/2014] [Accepted: 03/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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Ewing L, Leach K, Pellicano E, Jeffery L, Rhodes G. Reduced face aftereffects in autism are not due to poor attention. PLoS One 2013; 8:e81353. [PMID: 24312293 PMCID: PMC3843681 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0081353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2013] [Accepted: 10/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to determine why face identity aftereffects are diminished in children with autism, relative to typical children. To address the possibility that reduced face aftereffects might reflect reduced attention to adapting stimuli, we investigated the consequence of controlling attention to adapting faces during a face identity aftereffect task in children with autism and typical children. We also included a size-change between adaptation and test stimuli to determine whether the reduced aftereffects reflect atypical adaptation to low- or higher-level stimulus properties. Results indicated that when attention was controlled and directed towards adapting stimuli, face identity aftereffects in children with autism were significantly reduced relative to typical children. This finding challenges the notion that atypicalities in the quality and/or quantity of children's attention during adaptation might account for group differences previously observed in this paradigm. Additionally, evidence of diminished face identity aftereffects despite a stimulus size change supports an adaptive processing atypicality in autism that extends beyond low-level, retinotopically coded stimulus properties. These findings support the notion that diminished face aftereffects in autism reflect atypicalities in adaptive norm-based coding, which could also contribute to face processing difficulties in this group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Ewing
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Katie Leach
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Pellicano
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE), Institute of Education, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Linda Jeffery
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Gillian Rhodes
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
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Ewing L, Pellicano E, Rhodes G. Reevaluating the selectivity of face-processing difficulties in children and adolescents with autism. J Exp Child Psychol 2013; 115:342-55. [PMID: 23563163 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2013.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2012] [Revised: 01/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
There are few direct examinations of whether face-processing difficulties in autism are disproportionate to difficulties with other complex non-face stimuli. Here we examined discrimination ability and memory for faces, cars, and inverted faces in children and adolescents with and without autism. Results showed that, relative to typical children, the difficulties of children and adolescents with autism were not limited to, or disproportionately severe for, faces. Rather, these participants demonstrated significant difficulties in remembering and discriminating between faces and cars. This lack of face selectivity is inconsistent with prominent theories that attribute face-processing difficulties in autism to fundamental problems with social motivation or social attention. Instead, our results are consistent with a more pervasive perceptual atypicality that may affect autistic processing of non-face stimuli as well as face stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise Ewing
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
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Visual Scanning Patterns during the Dimensional Change Card Sorting Task in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. AUTISM RESEARCH AND TREATMENT 2012; 2012:123053. [PMID: 23050145 PMCID: PMC3459256 DOI: 10.1155/2012/123053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2012] [Revised: 05/13/2012] [Accepted: 08/24/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Impaired cognitive flexibility in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been reported in previous literature. The present study explored ASD children's visual scanning patterns during the Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) task using eye-tracking technique. ASD and typical developing (TD) children completed the standardized DCCS procedure on the computer while their eye movements were tracked. Behavioral results confirmed previous findings on ASD children's deficits in executive function. ASD children's visual scanning patterns also showed some specific underlying processes in the DCCS task compared to TD children. For example, ASD children looked shorter at the correct card in the postswitch phase and spent longer time at blank areas than TD children did. ASD children did not show a bias to the color dimension as TD children did. The correlations between the behavioral performance and eye moments were also discussed.
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38
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Visual scan paths and recognition of facial identity in autism spectrum disorder and typical development. PLoS One 2012; 7:e37681. [PMID: 22666378 PMCID: PMC3362624 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2011] [Accepted: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Previous research suggests that many individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have impaired facial identity recognition, and also exhibit abnormal visual scanning of faces. Here, two hypotheses accounting for an association between these observations were tested: i) better facial identity recognition is associated with increased gaze time on the Eye region; ii) better facial identity recognition is associated with increased eye-movements around the face. Methodology and Principal Findings Eye-movements of 11 children with ASD and 11 age-matched typically developing (TD) controls were recorded whilst they viewed a series of faces, and then completed a two alternative forced-choice recognition memory test for the faces. Scores on the memory task were standardized according to age. In both groups, there was no evidence of an association between the proportion of time spent looking at the Eye region of faces and age-standardized recognition performance, thus the first hypothesis was rejected. However, the ‘Dynamic Scanning Index’ – which was incremented each time the participant saccaded into and out of one of the core-feature interest areas – was strongly associated with age-standardized face recognition scores in both groups, even after controlling for various other potential predictors of performance. Conclusions and Significance In support of the second hypothesis, results suggested that increased saccading between core-features was associated with more accurate face recognition ability, both in typical development and ASD. Causal directions of this relationship remain undetermined.
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Weigelt S, Koldewyn K, Kanwisher N. Face identity recognition in autism spectrum disorders: a review of behavioral studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2011; 36:1060-84. [PMID: 22212588 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 296] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2011] [Revised: 11/23/2011] [Accepted: 12/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Face recognition--the ability to recognize a person from their facial appearance--is essential for normal social interaction. Face recognition deficits have been implicated in the most common disorder of social interaction: autism. Here we ask: is face identity recognition in fact impaired in people with autism? Reviewing behavioral studies we find no strong evidence for a qualitative difference in how facial identity is processed between those with and without autism: markers of typical face identity recognition, such as the face inversion effect, seem to be present in people with autism. However, quantitatively--i.e., how well facial identity is remembered or discriminated--people with autism perform worse than typical individuals. This impairment is particularly clear in face memory and in face perception tasks in which a delay intervenes between sample and test, and less so in tasks with no memory demand. Although some evidence suggests that this deficit may be specific to faces, further evidence on this question is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Weigelt
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Davis JM, McKone E, Dennett H, O'Connor KB, O'Kearney R, Palermo R. Individual differences in the ability to recognise facial identity are associated with social anxiety. PLoS One 2011; 6:e28800. [PMID: 22194916 PMCID: PMC3237502 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0028800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2011] [Accepted: 11/15/2011] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research has been concerned with the relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face expression but the question of whether there is a relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face identity has been neglected. Here, we report the first evidence that social anxiety is associated with recognition of face identity, across the population range of individual differences in recognition abilities. Results showed poorer face identity recognition (on the Cambridge Face Memory Test) was correlated with a small but significant increase in social anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale) but not general anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). The correlation was also independent of general visual memory (Cambridge Car Memory Test) and IQ. Theoretically, the correlation could arise because correct identification of people, typically achieved via faces, is important for successful social interactions, extending evidence that individuals with clinical-level deficits in face identity recognition (prosopagnosia) often report social stress due to their inability to recognise others. Equally, the relationship could arise if social anxiety causes reduced exposure or attention to people's faces, and thus to poor development of face recognition mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Davis
- The Department of Psychology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
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Wilson CE, Palermo R, Burton AM, Brock J. Recognition of own- and other-race faces in autism spectrum disorders. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2011; 64:1939-54. [PMID: 21895562 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2011.603052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Empirical data regarding the extent of face recognition abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is inconsistent. Here, 27 ASD and 47 typically developing (TD) children completed an immediate two-alternative forced-choice identity matching task. We contrasted recognition of own- and other-race faces, and, counter to prediction, we found a typical advantage for recognizing own- over other-race faces in both the ASD and TD groups. In addition, ASD and TD groups responded similarly to stimulus manipulations (use of identical or different photographs for identity matching and cropping stimuli to remove hair information). However, age-standardized scores varied widely within the ASD sample, and a subgroup of ASD participants with impaired face recognition did not exhibit a significant own-race recognition advantage. An explanation regarding early experience with faces is considered, and implications for research of individual variation within ASD are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Ellie Wilson
- Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
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