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Christensen JF, Fernández A, Smith RA, Michalareas G, Yazdi SHN, Farahi F, Schmidt EM, Bahmanian N, Roig G. EMOKINE: A software package and computational framework for scaling up the creation of highly controlled emotional full-body movement datasets. Behav Res Methods 2024:10.3758/s13428-024-02433-0. [PMID: 38918315 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-024-02433-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
EMOKINE is a software package and dataset creation suite for emotional full-body movement research in experimental psychology, affective neuroscience, and computer vision. A computational framework, comprehensive instructions, a pilot dataset, observer ratings, and kinematic feature extraction code are provided to facilitate future dataset creations at scale. In addition, the EMOKINE framework outlines how complex sequences of movements may advance emotion research. Traditionally, often emotional-'action'-based stimuli are used in such research, like hand-waving or walking motions. Here instead, a pilot dataset is provided with short dance choreographies, repeated several times by a dancer who expressed different emotional intentions at each repetition: anger, contentment, fear, joy, neutrality, and sadness. The dataset was simultaneously filmed professionally, and recorded using XSENS® motion capture technology (17 sensors, 240 frames/second). Thirty-two statistics from 12 kinematic features were extracted offline, for the first time in one single dataset: speed, acceleration, angular speed, angular acceleration, limb contraction, distance to center of mass, quantity of motion, dimensionless jerk (integral), head angle (with regards to vertical axis and to back), and space (convex hull 2D and 3D). Average, median absolute deviation (MAD), and maximum value were computed as applicable. The EMOKINE software is appliable to other motion-capture systems and is openly available on the Zenodo Repository. Releases on GitHub include: (i) the code to extract the 32 statistics, (ii) a rigging plugin for Python for MVNX file-conversion to Blender format (MVNX=output file XSENS® system), and (iii) a Python-script-powered custom software to assist with blurring faces; latter two under GPLv3 licenses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia F Christensen
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany.
| | - Andrés Fernández
- Methods of Machine Learning, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rebecca A Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Georgios Michalareas
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
| | | | | | - Eva-Madeleine Schmidt
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
- Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nasimeh Bahmanian
- Department of Language and Literature, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Department of Modern Languages, Goethe University, Frankfurt/M, Germany
| | - Gemma Roig
- Computer Science Department, Goethe University, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- The Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence (hessian.AI), Darmstadt, Germany
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2
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Christensen JF, Bruhn L, Schmidt EM, Bahmanian N, Yazdi SHN, Farahi F, Sancho-Escanero L, Menninghaus W. A 5-emotions stimuli set for emotion perception research with full-body dance movements. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8757. [PMID: 37253770 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33656-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Ekman famously contended that there are different channels of emotional expression (face, voice, body), and that emotion recognition ability confers an adaptive advantage to the individual. Yet, still today, much emotion perception research is focussed on emotion recognition from the face, and few validated emotionally expressive full-body stimuli sets are available. Based on research on emotional speech perception, we created a new, highly controlled full-body stimuli set. We used the same-sequence approach, and not emotional actions (e.g., jumping of joy, recoiling in fear): One professional dancer danced 30 sequences of (dance) movements five times each, expressing joy, anger, fear, sadness or a neutral state, one at each repetition. We outline the creation of a total of 150, 6-s-long such video stimuli, that show the dancer as a white silhouette on a black background. Ratings from 90 participants (emotion recognition, aesthetic judgment) showed that intended emotion was recognized above chance (chance: 20%; joy: 45%, anger: 48%, fear: 37%, sadness: 50%, neutral state: 51%), and that aesthetic judgment was sensitive to the intended emotion (beauty ratings: joy > anger > fear > neutral state, and sad > fear > neutral state). The stimuli set, normative values and code are available for download.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia F Christensen
- Department of Language and Literature, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany.
- Department of Cognitive Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany.
| | - Laura Bruhn
- Department of Language and Literature, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
| | - Eva-Madeleine Schmidt
- Department of Language and Literature, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nasimeh Bahmanian
- Department of Language and Literature, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Department of Modern Languages, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Winfried Menninghaus
- Department of Language and Literature, Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
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3
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Smith RA, Cross ES. The McNorm library: creating and validating a new library of emotionally expressive whole body dance movements. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2023; 87:484-508. [PMID: 35385989 PMCID: PMC8985749 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01669-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The ability to exchange affective cues with others plays a key role in our ability to create and maintain meaningful social relationships. We express our emotions through a variety of socially salient cues, including facial expressions, the voice, and body movement. While significant advances have been made in our understanding of verbal and facial communication, to date, understanding of the role played by human body movement in our social interactions remains incomplete. To this end, here we describe the creation and validation of a new set of emotionally expressive whole-body dance movement stimuli, named the Motion Capture Norming (McNorm) Library, which was designed to reconcile a number of limitations associated with previous movement stimuli. This library comprises a series of point-light representations of a dancer's movements, which were performed to communicate to observers neutrality, happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Based on results from two validation experiments, participants could reliably discriminate the intended emotion expressed in the clips in this stimulus set, with accuracy rates up to 60% (chance = 20%). We further explored the impact of dance experience and trait empathy on emotion recognition and found that neither significantly impacted emotion discrimination. As all materials for presenting and analysing this movement library are openly available, we hope this resource will aid other researchers in further exploration of affective communication expressed by human bodily movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca A. Smith
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
| | - Emily S. Cross
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland ,Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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No faces, just body movements—Effects of perceived emotional valence of body kinetics and psychological factors on interpersonal distance behavior within an immersive virtual environment. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03082-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In an immersive virtual environment, it was investigated how the perception of body kinetics contributes to social distance behavior when the facial expression and other physical properties of a social interaction partner cannot be perceived. Based on point light displays, both the subject and the social interaction partner were depicted as stick figures, both moving simultaneously in the same space. In addition, the effects of relevant psychological factors of the perceiver on social distance behavior were examined. The results were consistent with those from studies with facial expressions or realistic full-body interactants. A greater distance was maintained from characters with emotionally negative expressions of body kinetics. Stationary objects stimuli, which were also included in the study, were mostly passed closer than neutral agents. However, the results are not entirely clear and require further investigation. Depressive symptom burden and factors mainly related to anxiety and avoidance showed effects on social distance in an IVE. The CID, a test often used to assess the interpersonal distance at which a person is comfortable, correlated with that overt behavior. In summary, the results of the study provide experimental evidence that the perception of body kinetics has a similarly significant influence on the regulation of social distance as, for example, facial affect. Implementing this study in real life would be incredibly complex, if not impossible. It is interesting to see that the comparatively simple method used in this study to create and operate an immersive virtual environment turned out to be suitable for studying at least simple types of social behavior based on body movements.
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Takarae Y, McBeath MK, Krynen RC. Perception of Dynamic Point Light Facial Expression. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.5406/amerjpsyc.134.4.0373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
This study uses point light displays both to investigate the roles of global and local motion analyses in the perception of dynamic facial expressions and to measure the information threshold for reliable recognition of emotions. We videotaped the faces of actors wearing black makeup with white dots while they dynamically produced each of 6 basic Darwin/Ekman emotional expressions. The number of point lights was varied to systematically manipulate amount of information available. For all but one of the expressions, discriminability (d′) increased approximately linearly with number of point lights, with most remaining largely discriminable with as few as only 6 point lights. This finding supports reliance on global motion patterns produced by facial muscles. However, discriminability for the happy expression was notably higher and largely unaffected by number of point lights and thus appears to rely on characteristic local motion, probably the unique upward curvature of the mouth. The findings indicate that recognition of facial expression is not a unitary process and that different expressions may be conveyed by different perceptual information, but in general, basic facial emotional expressions typically remain largely discriminable with as few as 6 dynamic point lights.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael K. McBeath
- Arizona State University and Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics
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Foglia V, Siddiqui H, Khan Z, Liang S, Rutherford MD. Distinct Biological Motion Perception in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:4843-4860. [PMID: 34783992 PMCID: PMC9556430 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05352-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
If neurotypical people rely on specialized perceptual mechanisms when perceiving biological motion, then one would not expect an association between task performance and IQ. However, if those with ASD recruit higher order cognitive skills when solving biological motion tasks, performance may be predicted by IQ. In a meta-analysis that included 19 articles, we found an association between biological motion perception and IQ among observers with ASD but no significant relationship among typical observers. If the task required emotion perception, then there was an even stronger association with IQ in the ASD group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Foglia
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Hasan Siddiqui
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Zainab Khan
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Stephanie Liang
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - M D Rutherford
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
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Wong TYQ, Yap MJ, Obana T, Asplund CL, Teh EJ. Brief Report: Emotional Picture and Language Processing in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 52:435-446. [PMID: 33660139 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04920-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
There is currently limited research and a lack of consensus on emotional processing impairments among adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present pilot study sought to characterize the extent to which adults with ASD are impaired in processing emotions in both words and pictures. Ten adults with ASD rated word and picture stimuli on emotional valence and arousal. Their ratings were compared to normative data for both stimuli sets using item-level correlations. Adults with ASD rank-ordered stimuli similarly to typically developing individuals, demonstrating relatively typical understanding of emotional words and pictures. However, they used a narrower range of the scales which suggests more subtle impairments affecting emotion-processing. Future directions arising from the findings of this pilot study are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tammy Y Q Wong
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Melvin J Yap
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Takashi Obana
- Division of Social Sciences, Yale-NUS College, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Christopher L Asplund
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,Division of Social Sciences, Yale-NUS College, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.,N.1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Elizabeth J Teh
- Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Graduate Medical Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD3, Level 2, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117600, Singapore.
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Bachmann J, Zabicki A, Gradl S, Kurz J, Munzert J, Troje NF, Krueger B. Does co-presence affect the way we perceive and respond to emotional interactions? Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:923-936. [PMID: 33427949 PMCID: PMC7943523 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-06020-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
This study compared how two virtual display conditions of human body expressions influenced explicit and implicit dimensions of emotion perception and response behavior in women and men. Two avatars displayed emotional interactions (angry, sad, affectionate, happy) in a "pictorial" condition depicting the emotional interactive partners on a screen within a virtual environment and a "visual" condition allowing participants to share space with the avatars, thereby enhancing co-presence and agency. Subsequently to stimulus presentation, explicit valence perception and response tendency (i.e. the explicit tendency to avoid or approach the situation) were assessed on rating scales. Implicit responses, i.e. postural and autonomic responses towards the observed interactions were measured by means of postural displacement and changes in skin conductance. Results showed that self-reported presence differed between pictorial and visual conditions, however, it was not correlated with skin conductance responses. Valence perception was only marginally influenced by the virtual condition and not at all by explicit response behavior. There were gender-mediated effects on postural response tendencies as well as gender differences in explicit response behavior but not in valence perception. Exploratory analyses revealed a link between valence perception and preferred behavioral response in women but not in men. We conclude that the display condition seems to influence automatic motivational tendencies but not higher level cognitive evaluations. Moreover, intragroup differences in explicit and implicit response behavior highlight the importance of individual factors beyond gender.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Bachmann
- NeuroMotor Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Adam Zabicki
- NeuroMotor Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Stefan Gradl
- Machine Learning and Data Analysis Lab, Faculty of Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Johannes Kurz
- NeuroMotor Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Jörn Munzert
- NeuroMotor Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), Philipps University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Nikolaus F Troje
- BioMotionLab, Department of Biology and Centre for Vision Research, York University Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Britta Krueger
- NeuroMotor Behavior Lab, Department of Psychology and Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany
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9
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Choi KR, Knight EA, Stein BD, Coleman KJ. Autism Insurance Mandates in the US: Comparison of Mandated Commercial Insurance Benefits Across States. Matern Child Health J 2021; 24:894-900. [PMID: 32356129 DOI: 10.1007/s10995-020-02950-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Autism mandates are laws that require commercial insurers to cover certain evidence-based treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to review state variability in autism insurance mandates and the benefits they cover and to discuss recommendations for research and policy to improve ASD services across states. METHODS Data were extracted from 2001 to 2020 from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia (N = 51) from policy text. News articles and websites of ASD advocacy organizations were also reviewed to ensure inclusion of the most recent policy changes. Descriptive statistics and heatmaps were used to characterize the autism mandate landscape and visualize variability in benefit parameters across states. RESULTS Autism mandates vary greatly in benefit parameters across US states, but there is a common set of benefits that most states have adopted. These include coverage of provider-recommended ASD services except for medical equipment, coverage up to an age limit of 18 to 21, an annual dollar limit of $36,000 with no restriction on the number of hours or visits, no lifetime cap on benefits, and requirement of BCBA® certification or its equivalent for providers of ABA. DISCUSSION There is a need for continued research evaluating the impact of autism mandates and benefit parameters on access to care, service utilization, and clinical outcomes for the ASD population. Stakeholder engagement and understanding the impact of autism mandates on clinical and patient-centered outcomes may provide direction for policy advocacy and public health initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen R Choi
- UCLA School of Nursing, 700 Tiverton Ave, Factor Bldg Room 3-238, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, 100 S. Los Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA, 91101-2453, USA.
| | - Elizabeth A Knight
- Utility for Care Data Analysis, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Program Office, One Kaiser Plaza - 21 Bayside, Oakland, CA, 94612, USA
| | - Bradley D Stein
- RAND Corporation, 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Karen J Coleman
- Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, 100 S. Los Robles Ave, Pasadena, CA, 91101-2453, USA
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Tsai CH, Chen KL, Li HJ, Chen KH, Hsu CW, Lu CH, Hsieh KY, Huang CY. The symptoms of autism including social communication deficits and repetitive and restricted behaviors are associated with different emotional and behavioral problems. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20509. [PMID: 33239663 PMCID: PMC7689452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76292-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the study was to investigate the associations between symptoms of autism and emotional and behavioral problems in children with autism spectrum disorder from both caregivers’ and clinicians’ perspectives. Three main findings were found in our study. First, the association patterns were similar in the preschool and school-aged children. Second, different association patterns were found from caregivers’ and professionals’ perspectives. From the professionals’ perspective, only repetitive behaviors were associated with behavioral problems, while from the caregivers’ perspective, all symptoms of autism were associated with emotional and behavioral problems. Third, different types of symptoms of autism were associated with different types of emotional and behavioral problems. For example, from the professionals’ perspective, restricted and repetitive behaviors were only associated with hyperactivity and inattention. From the caregivers’ perspective, social emotion was associated with emotional symptoms, and other symptoms of autism were associated with hyperactivity and inattention, as well as with peer problems. The results of our study provided deeper understanding of the relationships between symptoms of autism and emotional and behavioral problems, and the findings could serve as a reference for intervention planning when clinicians approach children with autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ching-Hong Tsai
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Kuan-Lin Chen
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan (R.O.C.).,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan City, 701, Taiwan (R.O.C.).,Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, No. 1, University Rd., Tainan City, 701, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Hsing-Jung Li
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Kuan-Hsu Chen
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Chao-Wei Hsu
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Chun-Hsiung Lu
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Kuan-Ying Hsieh
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, No. 130, Kaisyuan 2nd. Rd., Lingya Dist., Kaohsiung City, 802, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
| | - Chien-Yu Huang
- School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, I-Shou University, No. 8, Yida Rd., Kaohsiung City, 82445, Taiwan (R.O.C.).
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11
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Federici A, Parma V, Vicovaro M, Radassao L, Casartelli L, Ronconi L. Anomalous Perception of Biological Motion in Autism: A Conceptual Review and Meta-Analysis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4576. [PMID: 32165647 PMCID: PMC7067769 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61252-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its popularity, the construct of biological motion (BM) and its putative anomalies in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not completely clarified. In this article, we present a meta-analysis investigating the putative anomalies of BM perception in ASD. Through a systematic literature search, we found 30 studies that investigated BM perception in both ASD and typical developing peers by using point-light display stimuli. A general meta-analysis including all these studies showed a moderate deficit of individuals with ASD in BM processing, but also a high heterogeneity. This heterogeneity was explored in different additional meta-analyses where studies were grouped according to levels of complexity of the BM task employed (first-order, direct and instrumental), and according to the manipulation of low-level perceptual features (spatial vs. temporal) of the control stimuli. Results suggest that the most severe deficit in ASD is evident when perception of BM is serving a secondary purpose (e.g., inferring intentionality/action/emotion) and, interestingly, that temporal dynamics of stimuli are an important factor in determining BM processing anomalies in ASD. Our results question the traditional understanding of BM anomalies in ASD as a monolithic deficit and suggest a paradigm shift that deconstructs BM into distinct levels of processing and specific spatio-temporal subcomponents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Federici
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy
- MoMiLab Research Unit, IMT School of Advanced Studies Lucca, Lucca, Italy
| | - Valentina Parma
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Michele Vicovaro
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Radassao
- International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Luca Casartelli
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
| | - Luca Ronconi
- Child Psychopathology Unit, Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Group, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy.
- School of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
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12
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Fourie E, Palser ER, Pokorny JJ, Neff M, Rivera SM. Neural Processing and Production of Gesture in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Front Psychol 2020; 10:3045. [PMID: 32038408 PMCID: PMC6987472 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/23/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate impairments in non-verbal communication, including gesturing and imitation deficits. Reduced sensitivity to biological motion (BM) in ASD may impair processing of dynamic social cues like gestures, which in turn may impede encoding and subsequent performance of these actions. Using both an fMRI task involving observation of action gestures and a charade style paradigm assessing gesture performance, this study examined the brain-behavior relationships between neural activity during gesture processing, gesturing abilities and social symptomology in a group of children and adolescents with and without ASD. Compared to typically developing (TD) controls, participants with ASD showed atypical sensitivity to movement in right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), a region implicated in action processing, and had poorer overall gesture performance with specific deficits in hand posture. The TD group showed associations between neural activity, gesture performance and social skills, that were weak or non-significant in the ASD group. These findings suggest that those with ASD demonstrate abnormalities in both processing and production of gestures and may reflect dysfunction in the mechanism underlying perception-action coupling resulting in atypical development of social and communicative skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Fourie
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Eleanor R Palser
- Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Jennifer J Pokorny
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Michael Neff
- Department of Computer Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Department of Cinema and Digital Media, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Susan M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.,MIND Institute, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, United States
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13
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Todorova GK, Hatton REM, Pollick FE. Biological motion perception in autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis. Mol Autism 2019; 10:49. [PMID: 31890147 PMCID: PMC6921539 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-019-0299-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Biological motion, namely the movement of others, conveys information that allows the identification of affective states and intentions. This makes it an important avenue of research in autism spectrum disorder where social functioning is one of the main areas of difficulty. We aimed to create a quantitative summary of previous findings and investigate potential factors, which could explain the variable results found in the literature investigating biological motion perception in autism. Methods A search from five electronic databases yielded 52 papers eligible for a quantitative summarisation, including behavioural, eye-tracking, electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Results Using a three-level random effects meta-analytic approach, we found that individuals with autism generally showed decreased performance in perception and interpretation of biological motion. Results additionally suggest decreased performance when higher order information, such as emotion, is required. Moreover, with the increase of age, the difference between autistic and neurotypical individuals decreases, with children showing the largest effect size overall. Conclusion We highlight the need for methodological standards and clear distinctions between the age groups and paradigms utilised when trying to interpret differences between the two populations.
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