scholarly journals Context Modulates Attention to Faces in Dynamic Social Scenes in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dzmitry A. Kaliukhovich ◽  
Nikolay V. Manyakov ◽  
Abigail Bangerter ◽  
Gahan Pandina
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Orientation ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Social Scenes

AbstractIndividuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to view social scenes differently compared to typically developing (TD) peers, but results can vary depending on context and age. We used eye-tracking in children and adults (age 6–63) to assess allocation of visual attention in a dynamic social orientation paradigm previously used only in younger children. The ASD group (n = 94) looked less at the actor’s face compared to TD (n = 38) when they were engaged in activity (mean percentage of looking time, ASD = 30.7% vs TD = 34.9%; Cohen’s d = 0.56; p value < 0.03) or looking at a moving toy (24.5% vs 33.2%; d = 0.65; p value < 0.001). Findings indicate that there are qualitative differences in allocation of visual attention to social stimuli across ages in ASD.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02668991.

scholarly journals Investigating eye movement patterns, language, and social ability in children with autism spectrum disorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 529-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Stagg ◽  
Karina J. Linnell ◽  
Pamela Heaton
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Language Onset

AbstractAlthough all intellectually high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) display core social and communication deficits, some develop language within a normative timescale and others experience significant delays and subsequent language impairment. Early attention to social stimuli plays an important role in the emergence of language, and reduced attention to faces has been documented in infants later diagnosed with ASD. We investigated the extent to which patterns of attention to social stimuli would differentiate early and late language onset groups. Children with ASD (mean age = 10 years) differing on language onset timing (late/normal) and a typically developing comparison group completed a task in which visual attention to interacting and noninteracting human figures was mapped using eye tracking. Correlations on visual attention data and results from tests measuring current social and language ability were conducted. Patterns of visual attention did not distinguish typically developing children and ASD children with normal language onset. Children with ASD and late language onset showed significantly reduced attention to salient social stimuli. Associations between current language ability and social attention were observed. Delay in language onset is associated with current language skills as well as with specific eye-tracking patterns.

scholarly journals Adaptation to Vocal Expressions and Phonemes Is Intact in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-381
Author(s):  
Patricia E. G. Bestelmeyer ◽  
Bethan Williams ◽  
Jennifer J. Lawton ◽  
Maria-Elena Stefanou ◽  
Kami Koldewyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Adaptation Mechanism ◽  
Identity Recognition ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Social ◽  
Vocal Expressions

Several recent studies have demonstrated reduced visual aftereffects, particularly to social stimuli, in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This putative impairment of the adaptive mechanism in ASD has been put forward as a possible explanation for some of the core social problems experienced by children with ASD (e.g., facial emotion or identity recognition). We addressed this claim in children with ASD and typically developing children by using an established methodology and morphed auditory stimulus set for eliciting robust aftereffects to vocal expressions and phonemes. Although children with ASD were significantly worse at categorizing the vocal expressions compared with the control stimuli (phoneme categorization), aftereffect sizes in both tasks were identical in the two participant groups. Our finding suggests that the adaptation mechanism is not universally impaired in ASD and is therefore not an explanation for the social perception difficulties in ASD.

scholarly journals Visual Preference for Biological Motion in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Eye-Tracking Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dzmitry A. Kaliukhovich ◽  
Nikolay V. Manyakov ◽  
Abigail Bangerter ◽  
Seth Ness ◽  
Andrew Skalkin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Movements ◽  
Biological Motion ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
The Other ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Visual Preference ◽  
Monitor Screen

Abstract Participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (n = 121, mean [SD] age: 14.6 [8.0] years) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 40, 16.4 [13.3] years) were presented with a series of videos representing biological motion on one side of a computer monitor screen and non-biological motion on the other, while their eye movements were recorded. As predicted, participants with ASD spent less overall time looking at presented stimuli than TD participants (P < 10–3) and showed less preference for biological motion (P < 10–5). Participants with ASD also had greater average latencies than TD participants of the first fixation on both biological (P < 0.01) and non-biological motion (P < 0.02). Findings suggest that individuals with ASD differ from TD individuals on multiple properties of eye movements and biological motion preference.

scholarly journals Children with autism spectrum disorder show reduced adaptation to number

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (25) ◽  
pp. 7868-7872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Turi ◽  
David C. Burr ◽  
Roberta Igliozzi ◽  
David Aagten-Murphy ◽  
Filippo Muratori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Numerosity Discrimination ◽  
Facial Identity ◽  
Large Numbers

Autism is known to be associated with major perceptual atypicalities. We have recently proposed a general model to account for these atypicalities in Bayesian terms, suggesting that autistic individuals underuse predictive information or priors. We tested this idea by measuring adaptation to numerosity stimuli in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After exposure to large numbers of items, stimuli with fewer items appear to be less numerous (and vice versa). We found that children with ASD adapted much less to numerosity than typically developing children, although their precision for numerosity discrimination was similar to that of the typical group. This result reinforces recent findings showing reduced adaptation to facial identity in ASD and goes on to show that reduced adaptation is not unique to faces (social stimuli with special significance in autism), but occurs more generally, for both parietal and temporal functions, probably reflecting inefficiencies in the adaptive interpretation of sensory signals. These results provide strong support for the Bayesian theories of autism.

Dysfunctional perceptual antecedent can justify the social orienting deficit in autism spectrum disorder: an eye-tracking study

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-302
Author(s):  
Cristina Carrozza ◽  
Rosa Angela Fabio
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Geometric Complexity ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Geometric Figures ◽  
Early Stages

Purpose Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show reduced attention to social stimuli. The reasons for these impairments are still being debated by researchers. The aim of this study is to analyse if reduced attention towards social stimuli is determined by initial underlying difficulties in the control of visual attention. Among the variables that could produce these difficulties, the authors considered geometric complexity and typology of geometric figures. Design/methodology/approach To test this hypothesis, in this paper, an eye-tracker paradigm was used for assessing visual exploration and recognition memory towards geometric figures (curved vs rectilinear) with two levels of geometric complexity (low and high) in 17 children with ASD matched with 17 children with typical development (TD). Findings The results showed that the ASD group seemed indifferent to both the geometric complexity and the typology of figures (curved and rectilinear), whereas the TD group showed higher performances with highly complex and curved geometric figures than with low complex and rectilinear geometric figures. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses further. Practical implications This paper includes implications upon the presence of an unspecified visual attention deficit that is present from the early stages of the processing of stimuli. Social implications The understanding of this deficit from the early stages of the processing of stimuli can help educators to intervene at an early stage when disturbances in social relationships are starting. Originality/value This study contributes to understanding the presence of dysfunctional perceptual antecedents that could determine general difficulties in paying attention to social stimuli in ASD subjects.

scholarly journals Social Visual Attentional Engagement and Memory in Phelan-McDermid Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Eye-Tracking Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Guillory ◽  
Victoria Z. Baskett ◽  
Hannah E. Grosman ◽  
Christopher S. McLaughlin ◽  
Emily L. Isenstein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Similar Amount ◽  
Novelty Preference ◽  
Social Stimuli

The current study used eye tracking to investigate attention and recognition memory in Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, motor delays, and a high likelihood of comorbid autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Social deficits represent a core feature of ASD, including decreased propensity to orient to or show preference for social stimuli. Here, we used a visual paired comparison task with both social and non-social images, assessing looking behavior to a novel image versus a previously-viewed familiar image to characterize social attention and recognition memory in PMS (n=27), idiopathic ASD (iASD, n=46), and typically-developing controls (n=29). On measures of attention, all groups spent a similar amount of time viewing the images; however, the rate of looking back-and-forth between images was lowest in iASD. Furthermore, while all groups demonstrated recognition memory when novel stimuli were initially presented, participants with PMS showed the weakest novelty preference compared to controls. Finally, the iASD, but not PMS, group showed enhanced novelty preference for non-social stimuli. Across indices, individuals with PMS and ASD performed more similarly to PMS without ASD and less similarly to the iASD group. These findings provide further evidence of differences in attention and memory for social stimuli in ASD and contrasts idiopathic autism with PMS.

scholarly journals Experiences of Dental Care and Dental Anxiety in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
My Blomqvist ◽  
Göran Dahllöf ◽  
Susanne Bejerot
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Dental Anxiety ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Experienced Pain ◽  
Adults With Asd

Dental anxiety is associated with previous distressing dental experiences, such as lack of understanding of the dentist intentions, perceptions of uncontrollability and experiences of pain during dental treatment. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are impaired in building flexible predictions and expectations, which is very much needed during a dental visit. The aims of the study were to investigate if people with ASD have more negative dental experiences and a higher level of dental anxiety compared to a matched control group. Forty-seven adults with ASD and of normal intellectual performance, and 69 age- and sex-matched typically developing controls completed questionnaires on previous dental experiences and dental anxiety, the Dental Anxiety Scale, and the Dental Beliefs Survey. The ASD group experienced pain during dental treatments more often than the controls and 22% had repeatedly experienced being forced to dental treatment they were not prepared for, compared to 3% of the controls. A higher level of dental anxiety was reported by the ASD group. Dental treatment and methods for supporting the communication with patients with ASD need to be developed, in order to reduce the negative dental experiences and dental anxiety in people with ASD.

Executive Functions in Young Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle I. Brady ◽  
Donald H. Saklofske ◽  
Vicki L. Schwean ◽  
Janine M. Montgomery ◽  
Keoma J. Thorne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Normative Expectations ◽  
The Impact

Researchers have proposed that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized, at least in part, by executive function (EF) difficulties associated with the integrity of the frontal lobe. Given the paucity of research regarding EFs in young adults with high functioning ASD (HF-ASD), this research involves an examination of various indices of EF related to inhibition, planning, and generativity. Results indicate that although young adults with HF-ASD as a group met normative expectations on all measures of EF, they also exhibited considerable individual variability relative to their age- and sex-matched typically developing peers. These findings have important research and clinical implications, including the need to carefully consider the impact of the research comparison group, and to recognize individual variability in executive functioning among young adults with HF-ASD.

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