Journal article
Atypical Reflexive Gaze Patterns on Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders
The Journal of neuroscience, Vol.30(37), pp.12281-12287
09/15/2010
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0688-10.2010
PMCID: PMC6633461
PMID: 20844124
Abstract
Atypical scan paths on emotional faces and reduced eye contact represent a prominent feature of autism symptomatology, yet the reason for these abnormalities remains a puzzle. Do individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) fail to orient toward the eyes or do they actively avoid direct eye contact? Here, we used a new task to investigate reflexive eye movements on fearful, happy, and neutral faces. Participants (ASDs: 12; controls: 11) initially fixated either on the eyes or on the mouth. By analyzing the frequency of participants' eye movements away from the eyes and toward the eyes, respectively, we explored both avoidance and orientation reactions. The ASD group showed a reduced preference for the eyes relative to the control group, primarily characterized by more frequent eye movements away from the eyes. Eye-tracking data revealed a pronounced influence of active avoidance of direct eye contact on atypical gaze in ASDs. The combination of avoidance and reduced orientation into an individual index predicted emotional recognition performance. Crucially, this result provides evidence for a direct link between individual gaze patterns and associated social symptomatology. These findings thereby give important insights into the social pathology of ASD, with implications for future research and interventions.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Atypical Reflexive Gaze Patterns on Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Creators
- Dorit Kliemann - Department of Educational Science and Psychology, andIsabel Dziobek - Cluster of Excellence, “Languages of Emotion,” Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany, andAlexander Hatri - Department of Educational Science and Psychology, andRosa Steimke - Cluster of Excellence, “Languages of Emotion,” Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany, andHauke R Heekeren - Department of Educational Science and Psychology, and
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Journal of neuroscience, Vol.30(37), pp.12281-12287
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- DOI
- 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0688-10.2010
- PMID
- 20844124
- PMCID
- PMC6633461
- ISSN
- 0270-6474
- eISSN
- 1529-2401
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 09/15/2010
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984065826502771
Metrics
33 Record Views