Multiple object tracking in autism spectrum disorders

Processing of visual social-communication cues during a social-perception of action task in autistic and non-autistic observers

Social perception and communication differ between those with and without autism, even when verbal fluency and intellectual ability are equated. Previous work found that observers responded more quickly to an actor's points if the actor had chosen by themselves where to point instead of being directed where to point. Notably, this 'choice-advantage' effect decreased across non-autistic participants as the number of autistic-like traits and tendencies increased (Pesquita et al., 2016). Here, we build on that work using the same task to study individuals over a broader range of the spectrum, from autistic to non-autistic, measuring both response initiation and mouse movement times, and considering the response to each actor separately. Autistic and non-autistic observers viewed videos of three different actors pointing to one of two locations, without knowing that the actors were sometimes freely choosing to point to one target and other times being directed where to point. All observers exhibited a choice-advantage overall, meaning they responded more rapidly when actors were freely choosing versus when they were directed, indicating a sensitivity to the actors' postural cues and movements. Our fine-grained analyses found a more robust choice-advantage to some actors than others, with autistic observers showing a choice-advantage only in response to one of the actors, suggesting that both actor and observer characteristics influence the overall effect. We briefly explore existing actor characteristics that may have contributed to this effect, finding that both duration of exposure to pre-movement cues and kinematic cues of the actors likely influence the choice advantage to different degrees across the groups. Altogether, the evidence suggested that both autistic and non-autistic individuals could detect the choice-advantage signal, but that for autistic observers the choice-advantage was actor specific. Notably, we found that the influence of the signal, when present, was detected early for all actors by the non-autistic observers, but detected later and only for one actor by the autistic observers. Altogether, we have more accurately characterized the ability of social-perception in autistic individuals as intact, but highlighted that detection of signal is likely delayed/distributed compared to non-autistic observers and that it is important to investigate actor characteristics that may influence detection and use of their social-perception signals.

Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation enhances response inhibition and attention allocation in fencers

Background

The aim of this study is to investigate the acute effects of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on reaction time, response inhibition and attention in fencers.

Methods

Sixteen professional female fencers were recruited, and subjected to anodal tDCS and sham stimulation in the primary motor area (M1) one week apart in a randomized, crossover, single-blind design. A two-factor analysis of variance with repeated measures was used to analyze the effects of stimulation conditions (anodal stimulation, sham stimulation) and time (pre-stimulation, post-stimulation) on reaction time, response inhibition, and attention in fencers.

Results

The study found a significant improvement in response inhibition and attention allocation from pre-stimulation to post-stimulation following anodal tDCS but not after sham stimulation. There was no statistically significant improvement in reaction time and selective attention.

Conclusions

A single session of anodal tDCS could improve response inhibition, attention allocation in female fencers. This shows that tDCS has potential to improve aspects of an athlete's cognitive performance, although we do not know if such improvements would transfer to improved performance in competition. However, more studies involving all genders, large samples, and different sports groups are needed in the future to further validate the effect of tDCS in improving the cognitive performance of athletes.

Improved emotion differentiation under reduced acoustic variability of speech in autism

BACKGROUND

Socio-emotional impairments are among the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the actual knowledge has substantiated both altered and intact emotional prosodies recognition. Here, a Bayesian framework of perception is considered suggesting that the oversampling of sensory evidence would impair perception within highly variable environments. However, reliable hierarchical structures for spectral and temporal cues would foster emotion discrimination by autistics.

METHODS

Event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP) extracted from electroencephalographic (EEG) data indexed the perception of anger, disgust, fear, happiness, neutral, and sadness prosodies while listening to speech uttered by (a) human or (b) synthesized voices characterized by reduced volatility and variability of acoustic environments. The assessment of mechanisms for perception was extended to the visual domain by analyzing the behavioral accuracy within a non-social task in which dynamics of precision weighting between bottom-up evidence and top-down inferences were emphasized. Eighty children (mean 9.7 years old; standard deviation 1.8) volunteered including 40 autistics. The symptomatology was assessed at the time of the study via the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition, and parents' responses on the Autism Spectrum Rating Scales. A mixed within-between analysis of variance was conducted to assess the effects of group (autism versus typical development), voice, emotions, and interaction between factors. A Bayesian analysis was implemented to quantify the evidence in favor of the null hypothesis in case of non-significance. Post hoc comparisons were corrected for multiple testing.

RESULTS

Autistic children presented impaired emotion differentiation while listening to speech uttered by human voices, which was improved when the acoustic volatility and variability of voices were reduced. Divergent neural patterns were observed from neurotypicals to autistics, emphasizing different mechanisms for perception. Accordingly, behavioral measurements on the visual task were consistent with the over-precision ascribed to the environmental variability (sensory processing) that weakened performance. Unlike autistic children, neurotypicals could differentiate emotions induced by all voices.

CONCLUSIONS

This study outlines behavioral and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin responses to sensory variability. Neurobiological insights into the processing of emotional prosodies emphasized the potential of acoustically modified emotional prosodies to improve emotion differentiation by autistics.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

BioMed Central ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN18117434. Registered on September 20, 2020.

Association between sports expertise and visual attention in male and female soccer players

Background

Visual attention plays a crucial role in daily living and in sports, affecting an athlete's performance and thus, potentially, the outcome of a match. However, studies assessing the association between the level of sports expertise and visual attention have yielded mixed results. This study was conducted to examine whether visual attention could be developed with increased sports expertise, and whether visual attention differed between male athletes and female athletes.

Methods

A total of 128 participants were included in this study: 64 first-level national soccer athletes recruited from college soccer teams (considered elite athletes; 32 men and 32 women with similar soccer performance requirements and training experience), and 64 physical education college students with limited soccer experience (considered novice athletes; 32 men and 32 women with matched soccer experience). To assess visual attention, we used a multiple object tracking (MOT) task with four targets among a total of 10 objects moving at a fixed speed of 10°/s in random directions across a computer monitor screen. Tracking accuracy on the MOT task was calculated for each participant as the proportion of correctly selected targets. A univariate analysis of variance was performed, with group (expert, novice) and sex (male, female) as independent variables, and tracking accuracy on the MOT task as the dependent variable to assess whether sports expertise or sex influenced visual attention. Simple effects tests followed by comparisons with Bonferroni corrections were used, and effect size calculations were performed using Cohen's f statistic.

Results

Tracking accuracy on the MOT task was significantly affected by sports expertise (F(1,124) = 91.732, p < 0.001, ηP2 = 0.425), with accuracy among expert soccer athletes superior to that among novice soccer athletes. Moreover, a statistically significant interaction between sports expertise and sex was detected (F(1,124) = 7.046, p = 0.009, η P2= 0.054). Better tracking performance was observed for male soccer players (mean [SD], 0.39 [0.12]) than for female soccer players (mean [SD], 0.27 [0.08]); p < 0.01; d=1.17; r = 0.51) but only in the novice group. No significant sex difference was detected in tracking performance between elite male soccer athletes (mean [SD], 0.51 [0.09]) and elite female soccer athletes (mean [SD], 0.49 [0.11]).

Conclusion

These findings confirm previous results indicating that long-term extensive sports training develops visual attention as assessed by MOT performance and extend previous findings to include soccer athletes. The findings of a sex difference in visual attention among novice soccer players but not among elite soccer athletes who had similar performance requirements and training experience suggest that long-term extensive training may minimize the sex difference in visual attention.

Characterizing Attention Resource Capacity in Autism: A Multiple Object Tracking Study

The extant literature aimed at characterizing attentional capability in autistics has presented inconsistent findings. This inconsistency and uncertainty may be the product of different theoretical and methodological approaches used to define attention in autism. In the current study, we investigate whether the allocation of attentional resources to task demands, and attention resource capacity, differs between autistics with no comorbid attention-deficit diagnosis (n = 55) and age-matched neurotypicals (n = 55). We compared differences in capacity and the allocation of resources by manipulating attentional load in a Multiple Object-Tracking (MOT) task, a robust, versatile, and ecological measure of selective, sustained, and distributed attention. While autistics demonstrated lower MOT performance, this difference disappeared when we accounted for fluid reasoning intelligence. Additionally, the similarity in the trend of MOT performance at increasing levels of attentional load between autistics and neurotypicals suggests no differences in the allocation of attentional resources to task demands. Taken together, our study suggests that higher-order cognitive abilities, such as intelligence, should be considered when characterizing attention across the autistic population in research. Similarly, our findings highlight the importance of considering cognitive competence when assessing attentional capabilities in autistic individuals, which could have significant implications for clinical diagnosis, treatment, and support.

Autistic traits shape neuronal oscillations during emotion perception under attentional load modulation

Emotional content is particularly salient, but situational factors such as cognitive load may disturb the attentional prioritization towards affective stimuli and interfere with their processing. In this study, 31 autistic and 31 typically developed children volunteered to assess their perception of affective prosodies via event-related spectral perturbations of neuronal oscillations recorded by electroencephalography under attentional load modulations induced by Multiple Object Tracking or neutral images. Although intermediate load optimized emotion processing by typically developed children, load and emotion did not interplay in children with autism. Results also outlined impaired emotional integration emphasized in theta, alpha and beta oscillations at early and late stages, and lower attentional ability indexed by the tracking capacity. Furthermore, both tracking capacity and neuronal patterns of emotion perception during task were predicted by daily-life autistic behaviors. These findings highlight that intermediate load may encourage emotion processing in typically developed children. However, autism aligns with impaired affective processing and selective attention, both insensitive to load modulations. Results were discussed within a Bayesian perspective that suggests atypical updating in precision between sensations and hidden states, towards poor contextual evaluations. For the first time, implicit emotion perception assessed by neuronal markers was integrated with environmental demands to characterize autism.

Team ball sport experience minimizes sex difference in visual attention

Simultaneous tracking of the position of the ball and player locations and activities places high demands on visual attention in team ball sport athletes. Owing to their extensive sports training, these athletes may be expected to exhibit visual attention skills superior to non-athletes; however, the results of studies examining this are inconsistent. Thus, the first aim of this study was to assess the impact of participating in a team ball sport on visual attention. There is limited empirical evidence indicating a sex difference in visual attention, and few studies have reported on visual attention in male and female athletes. Thus, the second aim of this study was to determine whether team ball sport experience affected any sex differences in visual attention. In total, 44 highly skilled basketball players—22 men (mean age: 21.86 ± 2.15 years) with a mean (SD) of 8.46 (2.92) years training experience and 22 women (mean age: 21.32 ± 1.58 years) with a mean (SD) of 8.22 (2.44) years of training experience—and 44 non-athletic undergraduate college students—22 men (mean age: 21.62 ± 1.88 years) and 22 women (mean age: 21.55 ± 1.72 years)—were recruited and completed this study. Visual attention was measured by using the multiple object tracking (MOT) task. Skilled basketball players showed superior tracking accuracy to non-athletic college students on the MOT task. A significant sex difference was found only among the non-athletic college students, with better tracking accuracy for men than for women on the MOT task. By contrast, no significant sex difference was observed among the skilled basketball players for tracking accuracy on the MOT task. These findings indicated that team ball sport training may enhance visual attention as assessed by tracking accuracy. Given that the male and female basketball players in this study had similar training experience and game performance demands, long-term team ball sport experience appeared to minimize the sex difference in visual attention found among non-athletic students.

Deficits in multiple object-tracking and visual attention following mild traumatic brain injury

Difficulty in the ability to allocate and maintain visual attention is frequently reported by patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the present study, we used a multiple object tracking (MOT) task to investigate the degree to which TBI affects the allocation and maintenance of visual attention to multiple moving targets. Fifteen adults with mild TBI and 20 control participants took part in this study. All participants were matched for age, gender, and IQ. The sensitivity and time taken to perform the MOT task were measured for different conditions in which the duration of the tracking, number of target, and distractor dots were systematically varied. When the number of target dots required to be tracked increased, sensitivity in correctly detecting them decreased for both groups but was significantly greater for patients with mild TBI. Similarly, increasing the number of distractor dots had a greater effect on reducing task sensitivity for patients with mild TBI than control participants. Finally, across all conditions, poorer detection performance was observed for patients with mild TBI when the tracking duration was longer compared to control participants. The present study showed that patients with mild TBI have greater deficits (compared to control participants) in their ability to maintain visual attention on tracking multiple moving objects, which was particularly hindered by increased tracking load and distraction.

Attentional load classification in multiple object tracking task using optimized support vector machine classifier: a step towards cognitive brain-computer interface

Cognitive brain-computer interface (cBCI) is an emerging area with applications in neurorehabilitation and performance monitoring. cBCI works on the cognitive brain signal that does not require a person to pay much effort unlike the motor brain-computer interface (BCI) however existing cBCI systems currently offer lower accuracy than the motor BCI. Since attention is one of the cognitive signals that can be used to realise the cBCI, this work uses the multiple object tracking (MOT) task to acquire the desired electroencephalograph (EEG) signal from healthy subjects. The main objective of the paper is to explore the preliminary applications of support vector machine (SVM) classifier to classify the attentional load in multiple object tracking task. Results show that the attentional load can be classified using SVM with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94.03%, 92.50%, and 93.28%, respectively using the spectral entropy EEG feature. The classification performance promises the potential application of the current approach in the cognitive brain-computer interface for neurorehabilitation.

Continuous theta burst TMS of area MT+ impairs attentive motion tracking

Attentive motion tracking deficits measured using multiple object tracking (MOT) tasks have been identified in a number of neurodevelopmental disorders such as amblyopia and autism. These deficits are often attributed to the abnormal development of high-level attentional networks. However, neuroimaging evidence from amblyopia suggests that reduced MOT performance can be explained by impaired function in motion-sensitive area MT+ alone. To test the hypothesis that a subtle disruption of MT+ function could cause MOT impairment, we assessed whether continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) of MT+ influenced MOT task accuracy in individuals with normal vision. The MOT stimulus consisted of four target and four distractor dots and was presented at ±10° eccentricity (right/left hemifield). fMRI-guided cTBS was applied to left MT+. Participants (n = 13, age: 27 ± 3) attended separate active and sham cTBS sessions where the MOT task was completed before, 5-min post- and 30-min post-cTBS. Active cTBS significantly impaired MOT task accuracy relative to baseline for the right (stimulated) hemifield 5-min (10 ± 2% reduction) and 30-min (14 ± 3% reduction) post-stimulation. No impairment occurred within the left (control) hemifield after active cTBS or for either hemifield after sham cTBS. These results highlight the importance of lower level motion processing for MOT, suggesting that a minor disruption of MT+ function alone is sufficient to cause a deficit in MOT performance.

Social orienting and social seeking behaviors in ASD. A meta analytic investigation

Social motivation accounts of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) posit that individuals with ASD find social stimuli less rewarding than neurotypical (NT) individuals. Behaviorally, this is proposed to manifest in reduced social orienting (individuals with ASD direct less attention towards social stimuli) and reduced social seeking (individuals with ASD invest less effort to receive social stimuli). In two meta-analyses, involving data from over 6000 participants, we review the available behavioral studies that assess social orienting and social seeking behaviors in ASD. We found robust evidence for reduced social orienting in ASD, across a range of paradigms, demographic variables and stimulus contexts. The most robust predictor of this effect was interactive content - effects were larger when the stimulus involved an interaction between people. By contrast, the evidence for reduced social seeking indicated weaker evidence for group differences, observed only under specific experimental conditions. The insights gained from this meta-analysis can inform design of relevant task measures for social reward responsivity and promote directions for further study on the ASD phenotype.

The effects of cognitive abilities and task demands on tonic and phasic pupil sizes

Previous studies on individual differences in pupil size of healthy individuals and their relation to performance have been inconclusive. Using a novel approach, we tested the effect of general cognitive abilities and level of task performance on pretrial baseline and task-evoked pupil (TEP) sizes (N = 116) while we manipulated the level of task demands using a multiple object tracking task. Results did not reveal an effect of general cognitive abilities, estimated by working memory capacity and gF scores, on either baseline or TEP sizes. In contrast, we found an interaction in TEP sizes between level of overall MOT performance and task demands. We propose that individual differences in TEP sizes are related to state-specific level of task performance and task demands, probably in combination with other factors like age, personality traits, and state-specific level of motivation and arousal. We also suggest methodological confounds that may cause the previous inconclusive findings.

Individual differences in multiple object tracking, attentional cueing, and age account for variability in the capacity of audiovisual integration

There has been a recent increase in individual differences research within the field of audiovisual perception (Spence & Squire, 2003, Current Biology, 13(13), R519-R521), and furthering the understanding of audiovisual integration capacity with an individual differences approach is an important facet within this line of research. Across four experiments, participants were asked to complete an audiovisual integration capacity task (cf. Van der Burg, Awh, & Olivers, 2013, Psychological Science, 24(3), 345-351; Wilbiks & Dyson, 2016, PLOS ONE 11(12), e0168304; 2018, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 44(6), 871-884), along with differing combinations of additional perceptual tasks. Experiment 1 employed a multiple object tracking task and a visual working memory task. Experiment 2 compared performance on the capacity task with that of the Attention Network Test. Experiment 3 examined participants' focus in space through a Navon task and vigilance through time. Having completed this exploratory work, in Experiment 4 we collected data again from the tasks that were found to correlate significantly across the first three experiments and entered them into a regression model to predict capacity. The current research provides a preliminary explanation of the vast individual differences seen in audiovisual integration capacity in previous research, showing that by considering an individual's multiple object tracking span, focus in space, and attentional factors, we can account for up to 34.3% of the observed variation in capacity. Future research should seek to examine higher-level differences between individuals that may contribute to audiovisual integration capacity, including neurodevelopmental and mental health differences.

Multiple object-tracking isolates feedback-specific load in attention and learning

Feedback is beneficial for learning. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether (i) feedback draws attentional resources when integrated and (ii) the benefits of feedback for learning can be demonstrated using an attention-based task. We therefore (i) isolated feedback-specific load from task-specific load via individual differences in attention resource capacity and (ii) examined the effect of trial-by-trial feedback (i.e., present vs. absent) on learning a multiple object-tracking (MOT) paradigm. We chose MOT because it is a robust measure of attention resource capacity. In Study 1 participants tracked one (i.e., lowest attentional load condition) through four target items (i.e., highest load condition) among eight total items. One group (n = 32) received trial-by-trial feedback whereas the other group (n = 32) did not. The absence of feedback resulted in better MOT performance compared with the presence of feedback. Moreover, the difference in MOT capability between groups increased as the task-specific attentional load increased. These findings suggest that feedback integration requires attentional resources. Study 2 examined whether the absence (n = 19) or presence (n = 19) of feedback affects learning on the same MOT task across four testing days. When holding task-specific load constant, improvement in MOT was greater with feedback than without. Although this study is the first to isolate feedback-specific load in attention with MOT, more evidence is needed to demonstrate how the benefits of feedback translate to improvement on an attention-based task. These findings encourage future research to further explore the interaction between feedback, attention and learning.

Global Motion Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis

Visual perception in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often debated in terms of enhanced local and impaired global perception. Deficits in global motion perception seem to support this characterization, although the evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a large meta-analysis on global motion, combining 48 articles on biological and coherent motion. Results provide evidence for a small global motion processing deficit in individuals with ASD compared to controls in both biological and coherent motion. This deficit appears to be present independent of the paradigm, task, dependent variable, age or IQ of the groups. Results indicate that individuals with ASD are less sensitive to these types of global motion, although the difference in neural mechanisms underlying this behavioral difference remains unclear.

Judging social interaction in the Heider and Simmel movie

Simple displays of moving shapes can give rise to percepts of animacy. These films elicit impoverished narratives in some individuals, such as those with an autism spectrum disorder. However, the verbal demand of producing a narrative limits the utility of this task. Non-verbal tasks have so far focused on detecting animate objects. Lacking from previous research is a task that relies less on verbal description but more than animacy perception. Here, we presented data using a new social interaction judgement task. Healthy young adults viewed the Heider and Simmel movie and pressed one button whenever they perceived social interaction and another button when no social interaction was perceived. We measured the time points at which social judgement began, the fluctuation of the judgement in relation to stimulus kinematic properties, and the overall mean of social judgement. Participants with higher autism traits reported lower levels of social interaction. Reversing the film in time produced lower social interaction judgements, though the temporal profile was preserved. Our study suggests that both low-level motion characteristics and high-level understanding contribute to social interaction judgement. The finding may facilitate future research on other populations and stimulate computational vision work on factors that drive social judgements.

Connection-based and object-based grouping in multiple-object tracking: A developmental study

Developmental research on Gestalt laws has previously revealed that, even as young as infancy, we are bound to group visual elements into unitary structures in accordance with a variety of organizational principles. Here, we focus on the developmental trajectory of both connection-based and object-based grouping, and investigate their impact on object formation in participants, aged 9-21 years old (N = 113), using a multiple-object tracking paradigm. Results reveal a main effect of both age and grouping type, indicating that 9- to 21-year-olds are sensitive to both connection-based and object-based grouping interference, and tracking ability increases with age. In addition to its importance for typical development, these results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in this regard. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? The origin of the Gestalt principles is still an ongoing debate: Are they innate, learned over time, or both? Developmental research has revealed how each Gestalt principle has its own trajectory and unique relationship to visual experience. Both connectedness and object-based grouping play an important role in object formation during childhood. What does this study add? The study identifies how sensitivity to connectedness and object-based grouping evolves in individuals, aged 9-21 years old. Using multiple-object tracking, results reveal that the ability to track multiple objects increases with age. These results provide an informative baseline to understand clinical aberrations in different types of grouping.

Influence of sports expertise level on attention in multiple object tracking

Background

This study aimed to investigate whether performance in a multiple object tracking (MOT) task could be improved incrementally with sports expertise, and whether differences between experienced and less experienced athletes, or non-athletes, were modulated by load.

Methods

We asked 22 elite and 20 intermediate basketball players, and 23 non-athletes, to perform an MOT task under three attentional load conditions (two, three, and four targets). Accuracies were analyzed to examine whether different levels of sports expertise influence MOT task performance.

Results

The elite athletes displayed better tracking performance compared with the intermediate or non-athletes when tracking three or four targets. However, no significant difference was found between the intermediate athletes and the non-athletes. Further, no differences were observed among the three groups when tracking two targets.

Discussion

The results suggest that the effects of expertise in team ball sports could transfer to a non-sports-specific attention task. These transfer effects to general cognitive functions occur only in elite athletes with extensive training under higher attentional load.

Effect of age and stereopsis on a multiple-object tracking task

3D vision develops during childhood and tends to diminish after 65 years of age. It is still relatively unknown how stereopsis is used in more complex/ecological contexts such as when walking about in crowds where objects are in motion and occlusions occur. One task that shares characteristics with the requirements for processing dynamic crowds is the multiple object-tracking task (MOT). In the present study we evaluated the impact of stereopsis on a MOT task as a function of age. A total of 60 observers consisting of three groups of 20 subjects (7–12 years old, 18–40 years old and 65 years and older) completed the task in both conditions (with and without stereoscopic effects). The adult group obtained the better scores, followed by the children and the older adult group. The performance difference between the stereoscopic and non-stereoscopic conditions was significant and similar for the adults and the children but was non significant for the older observers. These results show that stereopsis helps children and adults accomplish a MOT task, but has no impact on older adults’ performances. The present results have implications as to how populations differ in their efficiency of using stereoscopic cues for disambiguating complex dynamic scenes.

Sensory perception in autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition, and little is known about its neurobiology. Much of autism research has focused on the social, communication and cognitive difficulties associated with the condition. However, the recent revision of the diagnostic criteria for autism has brought another key domain of autistic experience into focus: sensory processing. Here, we review the properties of sensory processing in autism and discuss recent computational and neurobiological insights arising from attention to these behaviours. We argue that sensory traits have important implications for the development of animal and computational models of the condition. Finally, we consider how difficulties in sensory processing may relate to the other domains of behaviour that characterize autism.

Applied Cliplets-based half-dynamic videos as intervention learning materials to attract the attention of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder to improve their perceptions and judgments of the facial expressions and emotions of others

BACKGROUND

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by a reduced ability to understand the emotional expressions on other people's faces. Increasing evidence indicates that children with ASD might not recognize or understand crucial nonverbal behaviors, which likely causes them to ignore nonverbal gestures and social cues, like facial expressions, that usually aid social interaction.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we used software technology to create half-static and dynamic video materials to teach adolescents with ASD how to become aware of six basic facial expressions observed in real situations.

METHODS

This intervention system provides a half-way point via a dynamic video of a specific element within a static-surrounding frame to strengthen the ability of the six adolescents with ASD to attract their attention on the relevant dynamic facial expressions and ignore irrelevant ones.

RESULTS

Using a multiple baseline design across participants, we found that the intervention learning system provided a simple yet effective way for adolescents with ASD to attract their attention on the nonverbal facial cues; the intervention helped them better understand and judge others' facial emotions.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that the limited amount of information with structured and specific close-up visual social cues helped the participants improve judgments of the emotional meaning of the facial expressions of others.

Disentangling the initiation from the response in joint attention: an eye-tracking study in toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

Joint attention (JA), whose deficit is an early risk marker for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), has two dimensions: (1) responding to JA and (2) initiating JA. Eye-tracking technology has largely been used to investigate responding JA, but rarely to study initiating JA especially in young children with ASD. The aim of this study was to describe the differences in the visual patterns of toddlers with ASD and those with typical development (TD) during both responding JA and initiating JA tasks. Eye-tracking technology was used to monitor the gaze of 17 children with ASD and 15 age-matched children with TD during the presentation of short video sequences involving one responding JA and two initiating JA tasks (initiating JA-1 and initiating JA-2). Gaze accuracy, transitions and fixations were analyzed. No differences were found in the responding JA task between children with ASD and those with TD, whereas, in the initiating JA tasks, different patterns of fixation and transitions were shown between the groups. These results suggest that children with ASD and those with TD show different visual patterns when they are expected to initiate joint attention but not when they respond to joint attention. We hypothesized that differences in transitions and fixations are linked to ASD impairments in visual disengagement from face, in global scanning of the scene and in the ability to anticipate object's action.

Visuospatial Attention to Single and Multiple Objects Is Independently Impaired in Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with deficits in visuospatial attention. It is as yet unknown whether these attentional deficits begin at a perceptual level or instead reflect disruptions in oculomotor or higher-order processes. In the present study, non-demented individuals with PD and matched normal control adults (NC) participated in two tasks requiring sustained visuospatial attention, both based on a multiple object tracking paradigm. Eye tracking was used to ensure central fixation. In Experiment 1 (26 PD, 21 NC), a pair of identical red dots (one target, one distractor) rotated randomly for three seconds at varied speeds. The task was to maintain the identity of the sole target, which was labeled prior to each trial. PD were less accurate than NC overall (p = .049). When considering only trials where fixation was maintained, however, there was no significant group difference, suggesting that the deficit’s origin is closely related to oculomotor processing. To determine whether PD had additional impairment in multifocal attention, in Experiment 2 (25 PD, 15 NC), two targets were presented along with distractors at a moderate speed, along with a control condition in which dots remained stationary. PD were less accurate than NC for moving (p = 0.02) but not stationary targets. This group difference remained significant when considering only trials where fixation was maintained, suggesting the source of the PD deficit was independent from oculomotor processing. Taken together, the results implicate separate mechanisms for single vs. multiple object tracking deficits in PD.

Brief Report: Coherent Motion Processing in Autism: Is Dot Lifetime an Important Parameter?

Contrasting reports of reduced and intact sensitivity to coherent motion in autistic individuals may be attributable to stimulus parameters. Here, we investigated whether dot lifetime contributes to elevated thresholds in children with autism. We presented a standard motion coherence task to 31 children with autism and 31 typical children, with both limited and unlimited lifetime conditions. Overall, children had higher thresholds in the limited lifetime condition than in the unlimited lifetime condition. However, children with autism were affected by this manipulation to the same extent as typical children and were equally sensitive to coherent motion. Our results suggest that dot lifetime is not a critical stimulus parameter and speak against pervasive difficulties in coherent motion perception in children with autism.

Behavioral, perceptual, and neural alterations in sensory and multisensory function in autism spectrum disorder

Although sensory processing challenges have been noted since the first clinical descriptions of autism, it has taken until the release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013 for sensory problems to be included as part of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the diagnostic profile. Because sensory information forms the building blocks for higher-order social and cognitive functions, we argue that sensory processing is not only an additional piece of the puzzle, but rather a critical cornerstone for characterizing and understanding ASD. In this review we discuss what is currently known about sensory processing in ASD, how sensory function fits within contemporary models of ASD, and what is understood about the differences in the underlying neural processing of sensory and social communication observed between individuals with and without ASD. In addition to highlighting the sensory features associated with ASD, we also emphasize the importance of multisensory processing in building perceptual and cognitive representations, and how deficits in multisensory integration may also be a core characteristic of ASD.

Motion perception: a review of developmental changes and the role of early visual experience

Significant controversies have arisen over the developmental trajectory for the perception of global motion. Studies diverge on the age at which it becomes adult-like, with estimates ranging from as young as 3 years to as old as 16. In this article, we review these apparently conflicting results and suggest a potentially unifying hypothesis that may also account for the contradictory literature in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We also discuss the extent to which patterned visual input during this period is necessary for the later development of motion perception. We conclude by addressing recent studies directly comparing different types of motion integration, both in typical and atypical development, and suggest areas ripe for future research.

Unimpaired Attentional Disengagement and Social Orienting in Children with Autism

Visual attention is often hypothesized to play a causal role in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Because attention shapes perception, learning, and social interaction, early deficits in attention could substantially affect the development of other perceptual and cognitive abilities. Here we test two key attentional phenomena thought to be disrupted in autism: attentional disengagement and social orienting. We find in a free-viewing paradigm that both phenomena are present in high-functioning children with ASD (n = 44, ages 5–12 years) and are identical in magnitude to those in age- and IQ-matched typical children (n = 40). Although these attentional processes may malfunction in other circumstances, our data indicate that high-functioning children with ASD do not suffer from across-the-board disruptions of either attentional disengagement or social orienting. Combined with mounting evidence that other attentional abilities are largely intact, it seems increasingly unlikely that disruptions of core attentional abilities lie at the root of ASD.

Processing slow and fast motion in children with autism spectrum conditions

Consistent with the dorsal stream hypothesis, difficulties processing dynamic information have previously been reported in individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, no research has systematically compared motion processing abilities for slow and fast speeds. Here, we measured speed discrimination thresholds and motion coherence thresholds in slow (1.5 deg/sec) and fast (6 deg/sec) speed conditions in children with an ASC aged 7 to 14 years, and age- and ability-matched typically developing children. Unexpectedly, children with ASC were as sensitive as typically developing children to differences in speed at both slow and fast reference speeds. Yet, elevated motion coherence thresholds were found in children with ASC, but in the slow stimulus speed condition only. Rather than having pervasive difficulties in motion processing, as predicted by the dorsal stream hypothesis, these results suggest that children with ASC have a selective difficulty in extracting coherent motion information specifically at slow speeds. Understanding the effects of stimulus parameters such as stimulus speed will be important for resolving discrepancies between previous studies examining motion coherence thresholds in ASC and also for refining theoretical models of altered autistic perception.