scholarly journals Shared neural codes for eye-gaze and valence

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raviv Pryluk ◽  
Yosef Shohat ◽  
Anna Morozov ◽  
Dafna Friedman ◽  
Aryeh H. Taub ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Appetitive Conditioning ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Neural Codes ◽  
Direct Gaze ◽  
Shared Activity ◽  
Correlated Activity ◽  
The Social

AbstractThe eye-gaze of others is a prominent social cue in primates and crucial for communication1-7, and atypical processing occurs in several conditions as autism-spectrum-disorder (ASD)1,9-14. The neural mechanisms that underlie eye-gaze remain vague, and it is still debated if these computations developed in dedicated neural circuits or shared with non-social elements. In many species, eye-gaze signals a threat and elicits anxiety, yet can also serve as a predictor for the outcome of the encounter: negative or positive2,4,8. Here, we hypothesized and find that neural codes overlap between eye-gaze and valence. Monkeys participated in a modified version of the human-intruder-test8,15 that includes direct and averted eye-gaze and interleaved with blocks of aversive and appetitive conditioning16,17. We find that single-neurons in the amygdala encode gaze18, whereas neurons in the anterior-cingulate-cortex encode the social context19,20 but not gaze. We identify a shared amygdala circuitry where neural responses to averted and direct gaze parallel the responses to appetitive and aversive value, correspondingly. Importantly, we distinguish two shared coding mechanisms: a shared-intensity scheme that is used for gaze and the unconditioned-stimulus, and a shared-activity scheme that is used for gaze and the conditioned-stimulus. The shared-intensity points to overlap in circuitry, whereas the shared-activity requires also correlated activity. Our results demonstrate that eye-gaze is coded as a signal of valence, yet also as the expected value of the interaction. The findings may suggest new insights into the mechanisms that underlie the malfunction of eye-gaze in ASD and the comorbidity with impaired social skills and anxiety.

scholarly journals Do shapes have feelings? Social attribution in children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlee M. Vandewouw ◽  
Kristina Safar ◽  
Sarah I. Mossad ◽  
Julie Lu ◽  
Jason P. Lerch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Social Threat ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Social Attribution ◽  
The Social

AbstractTheory of mind (ToM) deficits are common in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which contribute to their social and cognitive difficulties. The social attribution task (SAT) involves geometrical shapes moving in patterns that depict social interactions and is known to recruit brain regions from the classic ToM network. To better understand ToM in ASD and ADHD children, we examined the neural correlates using the SAT and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a cohort of 200 children: ASD (N = 76), ADHD (N = 74) and typically developing (TD; N = 50) (4–19 years). In the scanner, participants were presented with SAT videos corresponding to social help, social threat, and random conditions. Contrasting social vs. random, the ASD compared with TD children showed atypical activation in ToM brain areas—the middle temporal and anterior cingulate gyri. In the social help vs. social threat condition, atypical activation of the bilateral middle cingulate and right supramarginal and superior temporal gyri was shared across the NDD children, with between-diagnosis differences only being observed in the right fusiform. Data-driven subgrouping identified two distinct subgroups spanning all groups that differed in both their clinical characteristics and brain–behaviour relations with ToM ability.

Heritability of reflexive social attention triggered by eye gaze and walking direction: common and unique genetic underpinnings

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-483
Author(s):  
Li Wang ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Qian Xu ◽  
Dong Liu ◽  
Haoyue Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorder ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Genetic Effects ◽  
The Core ◽  
Attentional Effect ◽  
The Social

AbstractBackgroundSocial attention ability is crucial for human adaptive social behaviors and interpersonal communications, and the malfunction of which has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a highly genetic neurodevelopmental disorder marked by striking social deficits.MethodsUsing a classical twin design, the current study investigated the genetic contribution to individual variation in social and non-social attention abilities, and further probed their potential genetic linkage. Moreover, individual autistic traits were further measured in an independent group of non-twin participants to examine the hypothetical link between the core social attention ability and ASD.ResultsWe found reliable genetic influences on the social attentional effects induced by two distinct cues (eye gaze and walking direction), with 91% of their covariance accounted for by common genetic effects. However, no evidence of heritability or shared genetic effects was observed for the attentional effect directed by a non-social cue (i.e. arrow direction) and its correlation with the social attention ability. Remarkably, one's autistic traits could well predict his/her heritable core social attention ability extracted from the conventional social attentional effect.ConclusionsThese findings together suggest that human social attention ability is supported by unique genetic mechanisms that can be shared across different social, but not non-social, processing. Moreover, they also encourage the identification of ‘social attention genes’ and highlight the critical role of the core human social attention ability in seeking the endophenotypes of social cognitive disorders including ASD.

scholarly journals Abnormal visual attention to simple social stimuli in 4-month-old infants at high risk for Autism

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Di Giorgio ◽  
Orsola Rosa-Salva ◽  
Elisa Frasnelli ◽  
Antonio Calcagnì ◽  
Marco Lunghi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Visual Preference ◽  
The Social ◽  
Visual Preferences

AbstractDespite an increasing interest in detecting early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), the pathogenesis of the social impairments characterizing ASD is still largely unknown. Atypical visual attention to social stimuli is a potential early marker of the social and communicative deficits of ASD. Some authors hypothesized that such impairments are present from birth, leading to a decline in the subsequent typical functioning of the learning-mechanisms. Others suggested that these early deficits emerge during the transition from subcortically to cortically mediated mechanisms, happening around 2–3 months of age. The present study aimed to provide additional evidence on the origin of the early visual attention disturbance that seems to characterize infants at high risk (HR) for ASD. Four visual preference tasks were used to investigate social attention in 4-month-old HR, compared to low-risk (LR) infants of the same age. Visual attention differences between HR and LR infants emerged only for stimuli depicting a direct eye-gaze, compared to an adverted eye-gaze. Specifically, HR infants showed a significant visual preference for the direct eye-gaze stimulus compared to LR infants, which may indicate a delayed development of the visual preferences normally observed at birth in typically developing infants. No other differences were found between groups. Results are discussed in the light of the hypotheses on the origins of early social visual attention impairments in infants at risk for ASD.

scholarly journals Comparing virtual vs real faces expressing emotions in children with autism: An eye-tracking study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chiara Pino ◽  
Roberto Vagnetti ◽  
Marco Valenti ◽  
Monica Mazza
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Emotional Facial Expressions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Spectrum Condition ◽  
Central Characteristic ◽  
Potential Use

AbstractDifficulties in processing emotional facial expressions is considered a central characteristic of children with autism spectrum condition (ASC). In addition, there is a growing interest in the use of virtual avatars capable of expressing emotions as an intervention aimed at improving the social skills of these individuals. One potential use of avatars is that they could enhance facial recognition and guide attention. However, this aspect needs further investigation. The aim of our study is to assess differences in eye gaze processes in children with ASC when they see avatar faces expressing emotions compared to real faces. Eye-tracking methodology was used to compare the performance of children with ASC between avatar and real faces. A repeated-measures general linear model was adopted to understand which characteristics of the stimuli could influence the stimuli’s fixation times. Survival analysis was performed to understand differences in exploration behaviour between avatar and real faces. Differences between emotion recognition accuracy and the number of fixations were evaluated through a paired t-test. Our results confirm that children with autism have higher capacities to process and recognize emotions when these are presented by avatar faces. Children with autism are more attracted to the mouth or the eyes depending on the stimulus type (avatar or real) and the emotion expressed by the stimulus. Also, they are more attracted to avatar faces expressing negative emotions (anger and sadness), and to real faces expressing surprise. Differences were not found regarding happiness. Finally, they show a higher degree of exploration of avatar faces. All these elements, such as interest in the avatar and reduced attention to the eyes, can offer important elements in planning an efficient intervention.

scholarly journals Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the “excess mouth/diminished eye attention” hypothesis in autism

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie Vettori ◽  
Stephanie Van der Donck ◽  
Jannes Nys ◽  
Pieter Moors ◽  
Tim Van Wesemael ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Covert Attention ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Lower Face ◽  
Facial Region ◽  
Gaze Patterns ◽  
The Face

Abstract Background Scanning faces is important for social interactions. Difficulty with the social use of eye contact constitutes one of the clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been suggested that individuals with ASD look less at the eyes and more at the mouth than typically developing (TD) individuals, possibly due to gaze aversion or gaze indifference. However, eye-tracking evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. While gaze patterns convey information about overt orienting processes, it is unclear how this is manifested at the neural level and how relative covert attention to the eyes and mouth of faces might be affected in ASD. Methods We used frequency-tagging EEG in combination with eye tracking, while participants watched fast flickering faces for 1-min stimulation sequences. The upper and lower halves of the faces were presented at 6 Hz and 7.5 Hz or vice versa in different stimulation sequences, allowing to objectively disentangle the neural saliency of the eyes versus mouth region of a perceived face. We tested 21 boys with ASD (8–12 years old) and 21 TD control boys, matched for age and IQ. Results Both groups looked longer at the eyes than the mouth, without any group difference in relative fixation duration to these features. TD boys looked significantly more to the nose, while the ASD boys looked more outside the face. EEG neural saliency data partly followed this pattern: neural responses to the upper or lower face half were not different between groups, but in the TD group, neural responses to the lower face halves were larger than responses to the upper part. Face exploration dynamics showed that TD individuals mostly maintained fixations within the same facial region, whereas individuals with ASD switched more often between the face parts. Limitations Replication in large and independent samples may be needed to validate exploratory results. Conclusions Combined eye-tracking and frequency-tagged neural responses show no support for the excess mouth/diminished eye gaze hypothesis in ASD. The more exploratory face scanning style observed in ASD might be related to their increased feature-based face processing style.

Visual attention to social stimuli in 4-month-old infants at high risk for Autism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Di Giorgio ◽  
Orsola Rosa-Salva ◽  
Elisa Frasnelli ◽  
antonio calcagnì ◽  
Marco Lunghi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Visual Attention ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Social Impairments ◽  
The Social ◽  
High Risk Infants

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are well-known early onset, neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by qualitative impairments in social communication and interaction, and by restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities. An increasing interest in timely detection of ASD red flags has emerged, mostly driven by the insight that early identification is a fundamental prerequisite for early intervention (Rogers et al., 2014; Venkataraman et al., 2016). Nevertheless, the pathogenesis of the social impairments that characterizes ASD is still largely unknown.Reduced early orienting and attention to social stimuli, such as faces or eye-gaze, but also biological motion, have been hypothesized to play a crucial role in the development of social impairments found in ASD (Hedger et al., 2020). These early signs are thought to have cascading effects on the typical development of the social brain network (Johnson, 2015), restricting the infants’ exposure to typical social interaction and, consequently, interfering with the emergence of critical developmental milestones relevant for adequate social cognition and communication capabilities. Within this theoretical framework, the present study sought to provide additional evidence on the origin of the early visual attention disturbance that seems to characterize at-high risk infants for ASD (e.g., siblings of children with ASD) within the first 4-5 months of life.

scholarly journals Visual scanning preferences in low birth weight preterm infants

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-339
Author(s):  
Vivian R. G. Lederman ◽  
Ana L. Goulart ◽  
Juliana G. Negrão ◽  
Deyse H. F. da Cunha ◽  
Amélia M. N. dos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Fixation Time ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social ◽  
Preterm Babies ◽  
Social Images

Abstract Introduction Few studies have used eye tracking as a screening tool for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preterm infants. Objectives To evaluate fixation time on social and non-social figures and percentage of preterm babies who gazed at the images. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 31 preterm infants born weighing ≤ 2,000 g in which eye gaze was evaluated at 6 months of corrected age. Six boards with social and non-social figures were projected on a computer screen, successively, evaluating time and percentage of preterm babies who gazed at each board. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was answered at 18 months of corrected age. Results Preterm infants showed longer visual fixation time on social figures compared with non-social images, regardless of the position of the social figure on the board. Similar percentages of preterm infants gazed either at social or non-social figures, at social figures with a direct or an indirect look, and at the eyes or mouth of the social figures. No preterm infant screened positive on the M-CHAT. Conclusion At 6 months of corrected age, preterm infants show the ability to gaze in an eye-tracking test, with preference for social figures, suggesting that this tool could be useful as another screening instrument for ASD.

Correlation of reduced social communicational and interactional skills with regional grey matter volumes in schizophrenia patients

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 374-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miho Ota ◽  
Junko Matsuo ◽  
Noriko Sato ◽  
Toshiya Teraishi ◽  
Hiroaki Hori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Grey Matter Volume ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Matter Volume ◽  
Left Posterior ◽  
The Social

ObjectiveRecent studies have detected similarities between autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. We investigated structural abnormalities associated with autistic-like traits in patients with schizophrenia by voxel-based morphometry.MethodsPatients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects were evaluated by the adult version of the social responsiveness scale (SRS-A), which is sensitive to autistic traits and symptoms even under subthreshold conditions, and magnetic resonance imaging.ResultsThere were significant decreases in the anterior cingulate cortex, bilateral hippocampi, cerebellums, and right insula of patients with schizophrenia, compared with healthy subjects. We found significant negative correlations of the social communication and interaction (SCI) score, a subscale of SRS-A, with grey matter volume in the left posterior superior temporal region of schizophrenia patients. When subscales of SCI were examined separately in schizophrenic patients, negative correlations were observed between the social cognition score and the volumes of the left posterior superior temporal region, and between social motivation and the posterior cingulate cortex.ConclusionWe found significant negative correlation between the SCI score and the grey matter volume in the left posterior superior temporal region of schizophrenia patients. This area was the region affected in previous studies of autistic spectrum disorders. Further, this area was associated with the theory of mind. Schizophrenia patients not necessarily show the impairment of SCI, nor this correlated region was not always the point with schizophrenia-specific change. However, we reveal the relationship between the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and the severity of the SCI in schizophrenia by using with SRS-A.

The interactional use of eye-gaze in children with autism spectrum disorders

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terhi Korkiakangas ◽  
John Rae
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Interactional Competence ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
The Social ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Use

The well-known impairments in the social use of eye-gaze by children with autism have been chiefly explored through experimental methods. The present study aims to contribute to the naturalistic analysis of social eye-gaze by applying Conversation Analysis to video recordings of three Finnish children with a diagnosis of autism, each interacting with familiar others in ordinary settings (total 6 hours). The analysis identifies two interactional environments where some children with autism show eye-gaze related competence with respect to gazing at their co-participants: these are when the child carries out an initiating action or a responsive action. We discuss how this qualitative analysis of interactional structure could be extended using quantitative methods and eye-tracking technology in order to develop a better understanding of the disorder. Keywords: Autism; eye-gaze; conversation analysis; social interaction; interactional competence

scholarly journals The Gestures in 2–4-Year-Old Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
QianYing Ye ◽  
LinRu Liu ◽  
ShaoLi Lv ◽  
SanMei Cheng ◽  
HuiLin Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adaptive Behavior ◽  
Relative Frequency ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Ability ◽  
The Social

Deficits in gestures act as early signs of impairment in social interaction (SI) and communication in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the pieces of literature on atypical gesture patterns in ASD children are contradictory. This investigation aimed to explore the atypical gesture pattern of ASD children from the dimensions of quantity, communicative function, and integration ability; and its relationship with social ability and adaptive behavior. We used a semi-structured interactive play to evaluate gestures of 33 ASD children (24–48 months old) and 24 typically developing (TD) children (12–36 months old). And we evaluated the social ability, adaptive behavior, and productive language of ASD and TD children by using the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System version II (ABAS-II) and Chinese Communication Development Inventory (CCDI). No matter the total score of CCDI was corrected or not, the relative frequency of total gestures, behavior regulation (BR) gestures, SI gestures, and joint attention (JA) gestures of ASD children were lower than that of TD children, as well as the proportion of JA gestures. However, there was no significant group difference in the proportion of BR and SI gestures. Before adjusting for the total score of CCDI, the relative frequency of gestures without vocalization/verbalization integration and vocalization/verbalization-integrated gestures in ASD children was lower than that in TD children. However, after matching the total score of CCDI, only the relative frequency of gestures without vocalization/verbalization integration was lower. Regardless of the fact that the total score of CCDI was corrected or not, the relative frequency and the proportion of eye-gaze-integrated gestures in ASD children were lower than that in TD children. And the proportion of gestures without eye-gaze integration in ASD children was higher than that in TD children. For ASD children, the social skills score in ABAS-II was positively correlated with the relative frequency of SI gesture and eye-gaze-integrated gestures; the total score of ABAS-II was positively correlated with the relative frequency of total gestures and eye-gaze-integrated gestures. In conclusion, ASD children produce fewer gestures and have deficits in JA gestures. The deficiency of integrating eye gaze and gesture is the core deficit of ASD children’s gesture communication. Relatively, ASD children might be capable of integrating vocalization/verbalization into gestures. SI gestures and the ability to integrate gesture and eye gaze are related to social ability. The quantity of gestures and the ability to integrate gesture with eye gaze are related to adaptive behavior.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier ChiCTR1800019679.

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