scholarly journals Autistic differences in the temporal dynamics of social attention

Autism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 136236132199857
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hedger ◽  
Bhismadev Chakrabarti
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Initial Increase ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Gaze Behaviour ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Over Time

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders typically exhibit reduced visual attention towards social stimuli relative to neurotypical individuals. Importantly, however, attention is not a static process, and it remains unclear how such effects may manifest over time. Exploring these momentary changes in gaze behaviour can more clearly illustrate how individuals respond to social stimuli and provide insight into the mechanisms underlying reduced social attention in autism spectrum disorder. Using a simple passive eye-tracking task with competing presentations of social and nonsocial stimuli, we examine the different ways in which attention to social stimuli evolves over time in neurotypical adults and adults with and autism spectrum disorders. Our temporal modelling of gaze behaviour revealed divergent temporal profiles of social attention in neurotypical and observers with autism. Neurotypical data showed an initial increase in social attention, a ‘decay’ and subsequent ‘recovery’ after prolonged viewing. By contrast, in individuals with autism spectrum disorder, social attention decayed over time in a linear fashion without recovery after prolonged viewing. We speculate that the ‘gaze cascade’ effect that maintains selection of social stimuli in neurotypical observers is disrupted in individuals with high autistic traits. Considering these temporal components of gaze behaviour may enhance behavioural phenotypes and theories of social attention in autism spectrum disorder. Lay abstract One behaviour often observed in individuals with autism is that they tend to look less towards social stimuli relative to neurotypical individuals. For instance, many eye-tracking studies have shown that individuals with autism will look less towards people and more towards objects in scenes. However, we currently know very little about how these behaviours change over time. Tracking these moment-to-moment changes in looking behaviour in individuals with autism can more clearly illustrate how they respond to social stimuli. In this study, adults with and without autism were presented with displays of social and non-social stimuli, while looking behaviours were measured by eye-tracking. We found large differences in how the two groups looked towards social stimuli over time. Neurotypical individuals initially showed a high probability of looking towards social stimuli, then a decline in probability, and a subsequent increase in probability after prolonged viewing. By contrast, individuals with autism showed an initial increase in probability, followed by a continuous decline in probability that did not recover. This pattern of results may indicate that individuals with autism exhibit reduced responsivity to the reward value of social stimuli. Moreover, our data suggest that exploring the temporal nature of gaze behaviours can lead to more precise explanatory theories of attention in autism.

scholarly journals Social Attention Deficits in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Task Dependence of Objects vs. Faces Observation Bias

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Mouga ◽  
João Castelhano ◽  
Cátia Café ◽  
Daniela Sousa ◽  
Frederico Duque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficits ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Task Dependence ◽  
Observation Bias ◽  
Autism Diagnostic Observation

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.

scholarly journals Measuring social attention and motivation in autism spectrum disorder using eye-tracking: Stimulus type matters

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 620-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coralie Chevallier ◽  
Julia Parish-Morris ◽  
Alana McVey ◽  
Keiran M. Rump ◽  
Noah J. Sasson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Stimulus Type ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

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 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 Social visual attentional engagement and memory in Phelan-McDermid syndrome and autism spectrum disorder: a pilot eye tracking study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia B. 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 ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Developmental Quotient ◽  
Social Images

Abstract Background 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. Methods 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 = 22), idiopathic ASD (iASD, n = 38), and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 26). The idiopathic ASD cohort was divided into subgroups with intellectual disabilities (ID; developmental quotient < 70) and without (developmental quotient > 70) and the PMS group into those with and without a co-morbid ASD diagnosis. Results On measures of attention, the PMS group with a comorbid ASD diagnosis spent less time viewing the social images compared to non-social images; the rate of looking back and forth between images was lowest in the iASD with ID group. Furthermore, while all groups demonstrated intact recognition memory when novel non-social stimuli were initially presented (pre-switch), participants with PMS showed no preference during the post-switch memory presentation. In iASD, the group without ID, but not the group with ID, showed a novelty preference for social stimuli. Across indices, individuals with PMS and ASD performed more similarly to PMS without ASD and less similarly to the iASD group. Conclusion These findings demonstrate further evidence of differences in attention and memory for social stimuli in ASD and provide contrasts between iASD and PMS.

Visual social attention in autism spectrum disorder: Insights from eye tracking studies

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 279-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quentin Guillon ◽  
Nouchine Hadjikhani ◽  
Sophie Baduel ◽  
Bernadette Rogé
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

Eye-tracking study on facial emotion recognition tasks in individuals with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders

Autism ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
High Functioning Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder Group ◽  
Complex Emotions ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

The eye-tracking experiment was carried out to assess fixation duration and scan paths that individuals with and without high-functioning autism spectrum disorders employed when identifying simple and complex emotions. Participants viewed human photos of facial expressions and decided on the identification of emotion, the negative–positive emotion orientation, and the degree of emotion intensity. Results showed that there was an atypical emotional processing in the high-functioning autism spectrum disorder group to identify facial emotions when eye-tracking data were compared between groups. We suggest that the high-functioning autism spectrum disorder group prefers to use a rule-bound categorical approach as well as featured processing strategy in the facial emotion recognition tasks. Therefore, the high-functioning autism spectrum disorder group more readily distinguishes overt emotions such as happiness and sadness. However, they perform more inconsistently in covert emotions such as disgust and angry, which demand more cognitive strategy employment during emotional perception. Their fixation time in eye-tracking data demonstrated a significant difference from that of their controls when judging complex emotions, showing reduced “in” gazes and increased “out” gazes. The data were in compliance with the findings in their emotion intensity ratings which showed individuals with autism spectrum disorder misjudge the intensity of complex emotions especially the emotion of fear.

scholarly journals Atypical Processing Pattern of Gaze Cues in Dynamic Situations in Autism Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Liu ◽  
Jinsheng Hu ◽  
Songze Li ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
Xiaoning Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Gaze Cues ◽  
Psychological Studies

Abstract Psychological studies have generally shown that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have specificity in the processing of social information by using static or abstract images. Yet, a recent study showed that there was no differ in their use of the added social or non-social cues in dynamic interactive situations. To establish the cause of the inconsistent results, we explored the processing pattern of gaze cues in individuals with ASD by using chase detection paradigm and eye-tracking methodologies. In this study, unlike typical controls, participants with ASD showed no detection advantage under the oriented condition. The results suggested that individuals with ASD may utilize an atypical processing pattern in dynamic interactive situations.

scholarly journals What mechanisms underlie reduced social attention in people with ASD?

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Oculomotor Function

A key predictor of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is attenuated attention to social stimuli.1 Thus far, the reasons underlying this abnormality are unknown: some have hypothesized reduced social motivation2 while others have suggested aberrant oculomotor function in affected individuals.3

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