1
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Chen B, Jiang L, Lu G, Li Y, Zhang S, Huang X, Xu P, Li F, Yao D. Altered dynamic network interactions in children with ASD during face recognition revealed by time-varying EEG networks. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:11170-11180. [PMID: 37750334 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Although the electrophysiological event-related potential in face processing (e.g. N170) is widely accepted as a face-sensitivity biomarker that is deficient in children with autism spectrum disorders, the time-varying brain networks during face recognition are still awaiting further investigation. To explore the social deficits in autism spectrum disorder, especially the time-varying brain networks during face recognition, the current study analyzed the N170, cortical activity, and time-varying networks under 3 tasks (face-upright, face-inverted, and house-upright) in autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children. The results revealed a smaller N170 amplitude in autism spectrum disorder compared with typically developing, along with decreased cortical activity mainly in occipitotemporal areas. Concerning the time-varying networks, the atypically stronger information flow and brain network connections across frontal, parietal, and temporal regions in autism spectrum disorder were reported, which reveals greater effort was exerted by autism spectrum disorder to obtain comparable performance to the typically developing children, although the amplitude of N170 was still smaller than that of the typically developing children. Different brain activation states and interaction patterns of brain regions during face processing were discovered between autism spectrum disorder and typically developing. These findings shed light on the face-processing mechanisms in children with autism spectrum disorder and provide new insight for understanding the social dysfunction of autism spectrum disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baodan Chen
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Lin Jiang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Guoqing Lu
- School of Computer Science and Technology, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing 600054, China
| | - Yuqin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Shu Zhang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Xunan Huang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Peng Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- Research Unit of Neuro Information, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu 2019RU035, China
- Radiation Oncology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Fali Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- Research Unit of Neuro Information, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu 2019RU035, China
| | - Dezhong Yao
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- School of Life Science and Technology, Center for Information in BioMedicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
- Research Unit of Neuro Information, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Chengdu 2019RU035, China
- School of Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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2
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Doskas TK, Christidi F, Spiliopoulos KC, Tsiptsios D, Vavougios GD, Tsiakiri A, Vorvolakos T, Kokkotis C, Iliopoulos I, Aggelousis N, Vadikolias K. Social Cognition Impairments in Association to Clinical, Cognitive, Mood, and Fatigue Features in Multiple Sclerosis: A Study Protocol. Neurol Int 2023; 15:1106-1116. [PMID: 37755359 PMCID: PMC10536405 DOI: 10.3390/neurolint15030068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic immune-mediated disease of the central nervous system (CNS), characterized by the diffuse grey and white matter damage. Cognitive impairment (CI) is a frequent clinical feature in patients with MS (PwMS) that can be prevalent even in early disease stages, affecting the physical activity and active social participation of PwMS. Limited information is available regarding the influence of MS in social cognition (SC), which may occur independently from the overall neurocognitive dysfunction. In addition, the available information regarding the factors that influence SC in PwMS is limited, e.g., factors such as a patient's physical disability, different cognitive phenotypes, mood status, fatigue. Considering that SC is an important domain of CI in MS and may contribute to subjects' social participation and quality of life, we herein conceptualize and present the methodological design of a cross-sectional study in 100 PwMS of different disease subtypes. The study aims (a) to characterize SC impairment in PwMS in the Greek population and (b) to unveil the relationship between clinical symptoms, phenotypes of CI, mood status and fatigue in PwMS and the potential underlying impairment on tasks of SC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Triantafyllos K. Doskas
- Neurology Department, Athens Naval Hospital, 11521 Athens, Greece; (T.K.D.); (K.C.S.)
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
| | - Foteini Christidi
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
| | - Kanellos C. Spiliopoulos
- Neurology Department, Athens Naval Hospital, 11521 Athens, Greece; (T.K.D.); (K.C.S.)
- Neurology Department, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
| | - Dimitrios Tsiptsios
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
| | | | - Anna Tsiakiri
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
| | - Theofanis Vorvolakos
- Psychiatry Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece;
| | - Christos Kokkotis
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece; (C.K.); (N.A.)
| | - Ioannis Iliopoulos
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
| | - Nikolaos Aggelousis
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, 69100 Komotini, Greece; (C.K.); (N.A.)
| | - Konstantinos Vadikolias
- Neurology Department, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece; (F.C.); (A.T.); (I.I.); (K.V.)
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3
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Hirsch J, Zhang X, Noah JA, Dravida S, Naples A, Tiede M, Wolf JM, McPartland JC. Neural correlates of eye contact and social function in autism spectrum disorder. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0265798. [PMID: 36350848 PMCID: PMC9645655 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Reluctance to make eye contact during natural interactions is a central diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the underlying neural correlates for eye contacts in ASD are unknown, and diagnostic biomarkers are active areas of investigation. Here, neuroimaging, eye-tracking, and pupillometry data were acquired simultaneously using two-person functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during live "in-person" eye-to-eye contact and eye-gaze at a video face for typically-developed (TD) and participants with ASD to identify the neural correlates of live eye-to-eye contact in both groups. Comparisons between ASD and TD showed decreased right dorsal-parietal activity and increased right ventral temporal-parietal activity for ASD during live eye-to-eye contact (p≤0.05, FDR-corrected) and reduced cross-brain coherence consistent with atypical neural systems for live eye contact. Hypoactivity of right dorsal-parietal regions during eye contact in ASD was further associated with gold standard measures of social performance by the correlation of neural responses and individual measures of: ADOS-2, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (r = -0.76, -0.92 and -0.77); and SRS-2, Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition (r = -0.58). The findings indicate that as categorized social ability decreases, neural responses to real eye-contact in the right dorsal parietal region also decrease consistent with a neural correlate for social characteristics in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Hirsch
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Xian Zhang
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - J. Adam Noah
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Swethasri Dravida
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Adam Naples
- Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Mark Tiede
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States of America
- Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, United States of America
| | - Julie M. Wolf
- Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, United States of America
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4
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Lubomirska A, Eldevik S, Eikeseth S, Riis S, Budzińska A. The development and validation of The Social Referencing Observation Scale as a screening instrument for autism spectrum disorder. BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/bin.1894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Lubomirska
- Institute for Child Development Gdansk Poland
- Oslo Metropolitan University Oslo Norway
| | | | | | - Stephan Riis
- Aalesund Hospital Møre and Romsdal Hospital Trust Møre and Romsdal Norway
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5
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Wilson AC. Do animated triangles reveal a marked difficulty among autistic people with reading minds? AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2021; 25:1175-1186. [PMID: 33618541 PMCID: PMC8264645 DOI: 10.1177/1362361321989152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Autistic people are thought to have difficulty with mentalising (our drive to track and understand the minds of other people). Mentalising is often measured by the Frith-Happé Animations task, where individuals need to interpret the interactions of abstract shapes. This review article collated results from over 3000 people to assess how autistic people performed on the task. Analysis showed that autistic people tended to underperform compared to non-autistic people on the task, although the scale of the difference was moderate rather than large. Also, autistic people showed some difficulty with the non-mentalising as well as mentalising aspects of the task. These results raise questions about the scale and specificity of mentalising difficulties in autism. It also remains unclear how well mentalising difficulties account for the social challenges diagnostic of autism.
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6
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McLaughlin CS, Grosman HE, Guillory SB, Isenstein EL, Wilkinson E, Trelles MDP, Halpern DB, Siper PM, Kolevzon A, Buxbaum JD, Wang AT, Foss-Feig JH. Reduced engagement of visual attention in children with autism spectrum disorder. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2021; 25:2064-2073. [PMID: 33966481 DOI: 10.1177/13623613211010072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Limited eye contact and difficulty tracking where others are looking are common in people with autism spectrum disorder. It is unclear, however, whether these are specifically social differences; it is possible that they are a result of broader alterations in engaging and disengaging visual attention. We used eye-tracking technology with children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 35) and typical development (n = 32), showing them both social and nonsocial imaging to test their visual attention. Children with autism spectrum disorder had a significant difference in how long it took them to look from an image in the middle to one on the side, depending on whether the middle image stayed on the screen or flashed off before the one on the side appeared. This difference was present for both social and nonsocial images, and was related to cognitive ability for only the children with autism spectrum disorder. Our findings suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder have differences in general processes of engaging visual attention that are not specifically social in nature, and that these processes may relate to cognitive ability in autism spectrum disorder. Affected processes of visual engagement in autism spectrum disorder may contribute to symptoms like reduced eye contact, but social-specific symptoms of autism spectrum disorder likely do not stem from reduced visual engagement alone.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - A Ting Wang
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
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7
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Uono S, Yoshimura S, Toichi M. Eye contact perception in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorder. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2020; 25:137-147. [PMID: 32847375 DOI: 10.1177/1362361320949721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT The detection of a self-directed gaze is often the starting point for social interactions and a person who feels as if they are being watched can prepare to respond to others' actions irrespective of the real gaze direction because the other person may likely be motivated to approach. Although many studies demonstrated that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty discriminating gaze direction, it remains unclear how the perception of self-directed gaze by individuals with autism spectrum disorder differs from that of age-, sex-, and IQ-matched typically developing individuals. Participants observed faces with various gaze directions and answered whether the person in the photograph was looking at them or not. Individuals with and without autism spectrum disorder were just as likely to perceive subtle averted gazes as self-directed gazes. The frequency of perceiving a self-directed gaze decreased as gaze aversion increased in both groups and, in general, individuals with autism spectrum disorder showed a comparable ability to perceive a self-directed gaze as that of typically developing individuals. Interestingly, considering face membership of photographs (ingroup or outgroup faces), typically developing individuals, but not individuals with autism spectrum disorder, were more likely to perceive self-directed gazes from ingroup faces than from outgroup faces. However, individuals with autism spectrum disorder had different affective experiences in response to ingroup and outgroup faces. These results suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder did not show an ingroup bias for the perception of a self-directed gaze, and raise a possibility that an atypical emotional experience contributes to the diminished ingroup bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shota Uono
- Kyoto University, Japan.,The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research (OPNDR), Japan
| | - Sayaka Yoshimura
- Kyoto University, Japan.,The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research (OPNDR), Japan
| | - Motomi Toichi
- Kyoto University, Japan.,The Organization for Promoting Neurodevelopmental Disorder Research (OPNDR), Japan
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8
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Fitzpatrick P, Frazier JA, Cochran D, Mitchell T, Coleman C, Schmidt RC. Relationship Between Theory of Mind, Emotion Recognition, and Social Synchrony in Adolescents With and Without Autism. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1337. [PMID: 30108541 PMCID: PMC6079204 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Difficulty in social communication and interaction is a primary diagnostic feature of ASD. Research has found that adolescents with ASD display various impairments in social behavior such as theory of mind (ToM), emotion recognition, and social synchrony. However, not much is known about the relationships among these dimensions of social behavior. Adolescents with and without ASD participated in the study. ToM ability was measured by viewing social animations of geometric shapes, recognition of facial emotions was measured by viewing pictures of faces, and synchrony ability was measured with a spontaneously arising interpersonal movement task completed with a caregiver and an intentional interpersonal task. Attention and social responsiveness were measured using parent reports. We then examined the relationship between ToM, emotion recognition, clinical measures of attention and social responsiveness, and social synchronization that arises either spontaneously or intentionally. Results indicate that spontaneous synchrony was related to ToM and intentional synchrony was related to clinical measures of attention and social responsiveness. Facial emotion recognition was not related to either ToM or social synchrony. Our findings highlight the importance of biological motion perception and production and attention for more fully understanding the social behavior characteristic of ASD. The findings suggest that the processes underlying difficulties in spontaneous synchrony in ASD are different than the processes underlying difficulties in intentional synchronization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Fitzpatrick
- Department of Psychology, Assumption College, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Jean A. Frazier
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - David Cochran
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Teresa Mitchell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Caitlin Coleman
- Department of Psychology, Assumption College, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - R. C. Schmidt
- Department of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, United States
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9
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Lecce S, Bianco F. Working memory predicts changes in children’s theory of mind during middle childhood: A training study. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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10
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Sun D, Shao R, Wang Z, Lee TMC. Perceived Gaze Direction Modulates Neural Processing of Prosocial Decision Making. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:52. [PMID: 29487516 PMCID: PMC5816754 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Gaze direction is a common social cue implying potential interpersonal interaction. However, little is known about the neural processing of social decision making influenced by perceived gaze direction. Here, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) method to investigate 27 females when they were engaging in an economic exchange game task during which photos of direct or averted eye gaze were shown. We found that, when averted but not direct gaze was presented, prosocial vs. selfish choices were associated with stronger activations in the right superior temporal gyrus (STG) as well as larger functional couplings between right STG and the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). Moreover, stronger activations in right STG was associated with quicker actions for making prosocial choice accompanied with averted gaze. The findings suggest that, when the cue implying social contact is absent, the processing of understanding others’ intention and the relationship between self and others is more involved for making prosocial than selfish decisions. These findings could advance our understanding of the roles of subtle cues in influencing prosocial decision making, as well as shedding lights on deficient social cue processing and functioning among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Delin Sun
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.,VA Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, NC, United States
| | - Robin Shao
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
| | - Zhaoxin Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Ministry of Education, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tatia M C Lee
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,Laboratory of Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.,Institute of Clinical Neuropsychology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
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11
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Abstract
Sex chromosome aneuploidies comprise a relatively common group of chromosome disorders characterized by the loss or gain of one or more sex chromosomes. We discuss five of the better-known sex aneuploidies: Turner syndrome (XO), Klinefelter syndrome (XXY), trisomy X (XXX), XYY, and XXYY. Despite their prevalence in the general population, these disorders are underdiagnosed and the specific genetic mechanisms underlying their phenotypes are poorly understood. Although there is considerable variation between them in terms of associated functional impairment, each disorder has a characteristic physical, cognitive, and neurologic profile. The most common cause of sex chromosome aneuploidies is nondisjunction, which can occur during meiosis or during the early stages of postzygotic development. The loss or gain of genetic material can affect all daughter cells or it may be partial, leading to tissue mosaicism. In both typical and atypical sex chromosome karyotypes, there is random inactivation of all but one X chromosome. The mechanisms by which a phenotype results from sex chromosome aneuploidies are twofold: dosage imbalance arising from a small number of genes that escape inactivation, and their endocrinologic consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Skuse
- Brain and Behaviour Science Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Frida Printzlau
- Brain and Behaviour Science Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jeanne Wolstencroft
- Brain and Behaviour Science Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
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12
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Bathelt J, Dale N, de Haan M. Event-related potential response to auditory social stimuli, parent-reported social communicative deficits and autism risk in school-aged children with congenital visual impairment. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2017; 27:10-18. [PMID: 28756186 PMCID: PMC6597362 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2017.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 05/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Communication with visual signals, like facial expression, is important in early social development, but the question if these signals are necessary for typical social development remains to be addressed. The potential impact on social development of being born with no or very low levels of vision is therefore of high theoretical and clinical interest. The current study investigated event-related potential responses to basic social stimuli in a rare group of school-aged children with congenital visual disorders of the anterior visual system (globe of the eye, retina, anterior optic nerve). Early-latency event-related potential responses showed no difference between the VI and control group, suggesting similar initial auditory processing. However, the mean amplitude over central and right frontal channels between 280 and 320 ms was reduced in response to own-name stimuli, but not control stimuli, in children with VI suggesting differences in social processing. Children with VI also showed an increased rate of autistic-related behaviours, pragmatic language deficits, as well as peer relationship and emotional problems on standard parent questionnaires. These findings suggest that vision may be necessary for the typical development of social processing across modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe Bathelt
- MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| | - Naomi Dale
- Developmental Vision Clinic, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom; Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, United Kingdom
| | - Michelle de Haan
- Developmental Neurosciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, United Kingdom
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13
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Sharma A, Khosla A, Khosla M, M. YR. Skin conductance response patterns of face processing in children with autism spectrum disorder. ADVANCES IN AUTISM 2017. [DOI: 10.1108/aia-09-2016-0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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14
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Bianco F, Lecce S, Banerjee R. Conversations about mental states and theory of mind development during middle childhood: A training study. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 149:41-61. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2015] [Revised: 10/19/2015] [Accepted: 11/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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15
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Baum SH, Stevenson RA. Commentary: Visual Fixation in Human Newborns Correlates with Extensive White Matter Networks and Predicts Long-Term Neurocognitive Development. Front Neurosci 2016; 10:215. [PMID: 27242419 PMCID: PMC4870261 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah H Baum
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ryan A Stevenson
- Department of Psychology, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada; Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, Canada
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16
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Guillon Q, Rogé B, Afzali MH, Baduel S, Kruck J, Hadjikhani N. Intact perception but abnormal orientation towards face-like objects in young children with ASD. Sci Rep 2016; 6:22119. [PMID: 26912096 PMCID: PMC4766445 DOI: 10.1038/srep22119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 02/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
There is ample behavioral evidence of diminished orientation towards faces as well as the presence of face perception impairments in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the underlying mechanisms of these deficits are still unclear. We used face-like object stimuli that have been shown to evoke pareidolia in typically developing (TD) individuals to test the effect of a global face-like configuration on orientation and perceptual processes in young children with ASD and age-matched TD controls. We show that TD children were more likely to look first towards upright face-like objects than children with ASD, showing that a global face-like configuration elicit a stronger orientation bias in TD children as compared to children with ASD. However, once they were looking at the stimuli, both groups spent more time exploring the upright face-like object, suggesting that they both perceived it as a face. Our results are in agreement with abnormal social orienting in ASD, possibly due to an abnormal tuning of the subcortical pathway, leading to poor orienting and attention towards faces. Our results also indicate that young children with ASD can perceive a generic face holistically, such as face-like objects, further demonstrating holistic processing of faces in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Guillon
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Bernadette Rogé
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) 1, Rue Descartes, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
| | - Mohammad H Afzali
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Sophie Baduel
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Jeanne Kruck
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Nouchine Hadjikhani
- URI Octogone, University of Toulouse, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31058 Toulouse Cedex 9, France.,Harvard Medical School/MGH/MIT, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Building 75, 3rd Avenue, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.,Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
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Manssuer LR, Pawling R, Hayes AE, Tipper SP. The role of emotion in learning trustworthiness from eye-gaze: Evidence from facial electromyography. Cogn Neurosci 2015; 7:82-102. [PMID: 27153239 PMCID: PMC4867790 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2015.1085374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Gaze direction can be used to rapidly and reflexively lead or mislead others’ attention as to the location of important stimuli. When perception of gaze direction is congruent with the location of a target, responses are faster compared to when incongruent. Faces that consistently gaze congruently are also judged more trustworthy than faces that consistently gaze incongruently. However, it’s unclear how gaze-cues elicit changes in trust. We measured facial electromyography (EMG) during an identity-contingent gaze-cueing task to examine whether embodied emotional reactions to gaze-cues mediate trust learning. Gaze-cueing effects were found to be equivalent regardless of whether participants showed learning of trust in the expected direction or did not. In contrast, we found distinctly different patterns of EMG activity in these two populations. In a further experiment we showed the learning effects were specific to viewing faces, as no changes in liking were detected when viewing arrows that evoked similar attentional orienting responses. These findings implicate embodied emotion in learning trust from identity-contingent gaze-cueing, possibly due to the social value of shared attention or deception rather than domain-general attentional orienting.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ralph Pawling
- a School of Psychology , Bangor University , Gwynedd , UK
| | - Amy E Hayes
- b School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences , Bangor University , Gwynedd , UK
| | - Steven P Tipper
- a School of Psychology , Bangor University , Gwynedd , UK.,c Department of Psychology , University of York , York , UK
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Cavallini E, Bianco F, Bottiroli S, Rosi A, Vecchi T, Lecce S. Training for generalization in Theory of Mind: a study with older adults. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1123. [PMID: 26300818 PMCID: PMC4523701 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2015] [Accepted: 07/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute independent mental states to self and others in order to explain and predict social behavior. Recent research in this area has shown a decline in ToM abilities associated with normal aging that is of a moderate magnitude or greater. Very few studies have investigated whether it is possible to improve older adults’ ToM abilities. The present study was designed to address this gap in the literature by evaluating the impact of a ToM training on practiced and transfer tasks. We provided older adults with a variety of activities designed to facilitate the generalization of benefits to other ToM-demanding tasks. Participants were 63 healthy older adults, native Italian speakers (Mage = 71.44, SD = 5.24, age range: 63–81 years). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the ToM training (age range: 63–81 years) and the physical-conversation training (age range: 64–81 years). Training effects were measured using the strange stories (practiced task) and the animation task (transfer task). Results revealed the efficacy of the training in producing improvements on practiced but also on transfer tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Cavallini
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia, Italy
| | - Federica Bianco
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia, Italy
| | - Sara Bottiroli
- Headache Science Centre, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino , Pavia, Italy
| | - Alessia Rosi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia, Italy ; Headache Science Centre, National Neurological Institute C. Mondino , Pavia, Italy
| | - Serena Lecce
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia , Pavia, Italy
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20
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The influences of face inversion and facial expression on sensitivity to eye contact in high-functioning adults with autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 2014; 43:2536-48. [PMID: 23471478 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-013-1802-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
We examined the influences of face inversion and facial expression on sensitivity to eye contact in high-functioning adults with and without an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants judged the direction of gaze of angry, fearful, and neutral faces. In the typical group only, the range of directions of gaze leading to the perception of eye contact (the cone of gaze) was narrower for upright than inverted faces. In both groups, the cone of gaze was wider for angry faces than for fearful or neutral faces. These results suggest that in high-functioning adults with ASD, the perception of eye contact is not tuned to be finer for upright than inverted faces, but that information is nevertheless integrated across expression and gaze direction.
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Abstract
Children born prematurely at very low birth weight (<1500 g) are at increased risk for impairments affecting social functioning, including autism spectrum disorders (e.g., Johnson et al., 2010). In the current study, we used the Happé-Frith animated triangles task (Abell, Happé, & Frith, 2000) to study social attribution skills in this population. In this task, typical viewers attribute intentionality and mental states to shapes, based on characteristics of their movements. Participants included 34 preterm children and 36 full-term controls, aged 8-11 years. Groups were comparable in terms of age at test, gender, handedness, and socioeconomic status; they also performed similarly on tests of selective attention/processing speed and verbal intelligence. Relative to full-term peers, preterm children's descriptions of the animations were less appropriate overall; they also overattributed intentionality/mental states to randomly moving shapes and underattributed intentionality/mental states to shapes that seemed to be interacting socially. Impairments in the ability to infer the putative mental states of triangles from movement cues alone were most evident in children displaying more "autistic-like" traits, and this may reflect atypical development of and/or functioning in, or atypical connections between, parts of the social brain.
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Neural networks related to dysfunctional face processing in autism spectrum disorder. Brain Struct Funct 2014; 220:2355-71. [PMID: 24869925 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-014-0791-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2013] [Accepted: 04/28/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
One of the most consistent neuropsychological findings in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a reduced interest in and impaired processing of human faces. We conducted an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis on 14 functional imaging studies on neural correlates of face processing enrolling a total of 164 ASD patients. Subsequently, normative whole-brain functional connectivity maps for the identified regions of significant convergence were computed for the task-independent (resting-state) and task-dependent (co-activations) state in healthy subjects. Quantitative functional decoding was performed by reference to the BrainMap database. Finally, we examined the overlap of the delineated network with the results of a previous meta-analysis on structural abnormalities in ASD as well as with brain regions involved in human action observation/imitation. We found a single cluster in the left fusiform gyrus showing significantly reduced activation during face processing in ASD across all studies. Both task-dependent and task-independent analyses indicated significant functional connectivity of this region with the temporo-occipital and lateral occipital cortex, the inferior frontal and parietal cortices, the thalamus and the amygdala. Quantitative reverse inference then indicated an association of these regions mainly with face processing, affective processing, and language-related tasks. Moreover, we found that the cortex in the region of right area V5 displaying structural changes in ASD patients showed consistent connectivity with the region showing aberrant responses in the context of face processing. Finally, this network was also implicated in the human action observation/imitation network. In summary, our findings thus suggest a functionally and structurally disturbed network of occipital regions related primarily to face (but potentially also language) processing, which interact with inferior frontal as well as limbic regions and may be the core of aberrant face processing and reduced interest in faces in ASD.
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Otsuka Y, Mareschal I, Calder AJ, Clifford CWG. Dual-route model of the effect of head orientation on perceived gaze direction. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2014; 40:1425-39. [PMID: 24730742 PMCID: PMC4120707 DOI: 10.1037/a0036151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies on gaze perception have identified 2 opposing effects of head orientation on perceived gaze direction—1 repulsive and the other attractive. However, the relationship between these 2 effects has remained unclear. By using a gaze categorization task, the current study examined the effect of head orientation on the perceived direction of gaze in a whole-head condition and an eye-region condition. We found that the perceived direction of gaze was generally biased in the opposite direction to head orientation (a repulsive effect). Importantly, the magnitude of the repulsive effect was more pronounced in the eye-region condition than in the whole-head condition. Based on these findings, we developed a dual-route model, which proposes that the 2 opposing effects of head orientation occur through 2 distinct routes. In the framework of this dual-route model, we explain and reconcile the findings from previous studies, and provide a functional account of attractive and repulsive effects and their interaction.
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Cheleski DJ, Mareschal I, Calder AJ, Clifford CWG. Eye gaze is not coded by cardinal mechanisms alone. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20131049. [PMID: 23782886 PMCID: PMC3712425 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gaze is an important social cue in regulating human and non-human interactions. In this study, we employed an adaptation paradigm to examine the mechanisms underlying the perception of another's gaze. Previous research has shown that the interleaved presentation of leftwards and rightwards gazing adaptor stimuli results in observers judging a wider range of gaze deviations as being direct. We applied a similar paradigm to examine how human observers encode oblique (e.g. upwards and to the left) directions of gaze. We presented observers with interleaved gaze adaptors and examined whether adaptation differed between congruent (adaptor and test along same axis) and incongruent conditions. We find greater adaptation in congruent conditions along cardinal (horizontal and vertical) and non-cardinal (oblique) directions suggesting gaze is not coded alone by cardinal mechanisms. Our results suggest that the functional aspects of gaze processing might parallel that of basic visual features such as orientation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic J Cheleski
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Griffith Taylor Building, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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Pellicano E, Rhodes G, Calder AJ. Reduced gaze aftereffects are related to difficulties categorising gaze direction in children with autism. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:1504-9. [PMID: 23583965 PMCID: PMC3708125 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2012] [Revised: 02/22/2013] [Accepted: 03/27/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Perceptual mechanisms are generally flexible or "adaptive", as evidenced by perceptual aftereffects: distortions that arise following exposure to a stimulus. We examined whether adaptive mechanisms for coding gaze direction are atypical in children diagnosed with an autism spectrum condition. Twenty-four typical children and 24 children with autism, of similar age and ability, were administered a developmentally sensitive eye-gaze adaptation task. In the pre-adaptation phase, children judged whether target faces showing subtle deviations in eye-gaze direction were looking leftwards, rightwards or straight-ahead. Next, children were adapted to faces gazing in one consistent direction (25° leftwards/rightwards) before categorising the direction of the target faces again. Children with autism showed difficulties in judging whether subtle deviations in gaze were directed to the left, right or straight-ahead relative to typical children. Although adaptation to leftward or rightward gaze resulted in reduced sensitivity to gaze on the adapted side for both groups, the aftereffect was significantly reduced in children with autism. Furthermore, the magnitude of children's gaze aftereffects was positively related to their ability to categorise gaze direction. These results show that the mechanisms coding gaze are less flexible in autism and offer a potential new explanation for these children's difficulties discriminating subtle deviations in gaze direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Pellicano
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University of London, 25 Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AA UK.
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McGregor KK, Rost G, Arenas R, Farris-Trimble A, Stiles D. Children with ASD can use gaze in support of word recognition and learning. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2013; 54:745-53. [PMID: 23574387 PMCID: PMC4232219 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) struggle to understand familiar words and learn unfamiliar words. We explored the extent to which these problems reflect deficient use of probabilistic gaze in the extra-linguistic context. METHOD Thirty children with ASD and 43 with typical development (TD) participated in a spoken word recognition and mapping task. They viewed photographs of a woman behind three objects and simultaneously heard a word. For word recognition, the objects and words were familiar and the woman gazed ahead (neutral), toward the named object (facilitative), or toward an un-named object (contradictory). For word mapping, the objects and words were unfamiliar and only the neutral and facilitative conditions were employed. The children clicked on the named object, registering accuracy and reaction time. RESULTS Speed of word recognition did not differ between groups but varied with gaze such that responses were fastest in the facilitative condition and slowest in the contradictory condition. Only the ASD group responded slower to low frequency than high-frequency words. Accuracy of word mapping did not differ between groups, but accuracy varied with gaze with higher performance in the facilitative than neutral condition. Both groups scored above single-trial chance levels in the neutral condition by tracking cross-situational information. Only in the ASD group did mapping vary with receptive vocabulary. CONCLUSIONS Under laboratory conditions, children with ASD can monitor gaze and judge its reliability as a cue to word meaning as well as typical peers. The use of cross-situational statistics to support word learning may be problematic for those who have weak language abilities.
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Mareschal I, Calder AJ, Clifford CWG. Humans have an expectation that gaze is directed toward them. Curr Biol 2013; 23:717-21. [PMID: 23562265 PMCID: PMC3918857 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2012] [Revised: 02/19/2013] [Accepted: 03/12/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Many animals use cues from another animal's gaze to help distinguish friend from foe. In humans, the direction of someone's gaze provides insight into their focus of interest and state of mind and there is increasing evidence linking abnormal gaze behaviors to clinical conditions such as schizophrenia and autism. This fundamental role of another's gaze is buoyed by the discovery of specific brain areas dedicated to encoding directions of gaze in faces. Surprisingly, however, very little is known about how others' direction of gaze is interpreted. Here we apply a Bayesian framework that has been successfully applied to sensory and motor domains to show that humans have a prior expectation that other people's gaze is directed toward them. This expectation dominates perception when there is high uncertainty, such as at night or when the other person is wearing sunglasses. We presented participants with synthetic faces viewed under high and low levels of uncertainty and manipulated the faces by adding noise to the eyes. Then, we asked the participants to judge relative gaze directions. We found that all participants systematically perceived the noisy gaze as being directed more toward them. This suggests that the adult nervous system internally represents a prior for gaze and highlights the importance of experience in developing our interpretation of another's gaze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Mareschal
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
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Neath K, Nilsen ES, Gittsovich K, Itier RJ. Attention orienting by gaze and facial expressions across development. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 13:397-408. [PMID: 23356559 DOI: 10.1037/a0030463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Processing of facial expressions has been shown to potentiate orienting of attention toward the direction signaled by gaze in adults, an important social-cognitive function. However, little is known about how this social attention skill develops. This study is the first to examine the developmental trajectory of the gaze orienting effect (GOE), its modulations by facial expressions, and its links with theory of mind (ToM) abilities. Dynamic emotional stimuli were presented to 222 participants (7-25 years old) with normal trait anxiety using a gaze-cuing paradigm. The GOE was found as early as 7 years of age and decreased linearly until 12-13 years, at which point adult levels were reached. Both fearful and surprised expressions enhanced the GOE compared with neutral expressions. The GOE for fearful faces was also larger than for joyful and angry expressions. These effects did not interact with age and were not driven by intertrial variance. Importantly, the GOE did not correlate with ToM abilities as assessed by the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" test. The implication of these findings for clinical and typically developing populations is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karly Neath
- Psychology Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario, Canada
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Tanaka JW, Wolf JM, Klaiman C, Koenig K, Cockburn J, Herlihy L, Brown C, Stahl S, South M, McPartland J, Kaiser MD, Schultz RT. The perception and identification of facial emotions in individuals with autism spectrum disorders using the Let's Face It! Emotion Skills Battery. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2012; 53:1259-67. [PMID: 22780332 PMCID: PMC3505257 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02571.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although impaired social-emotional ability is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the perceptual skills and mediating strategies contributing to the social deficits of autism are not well understood. A perceptual skill that is fundamental to effective social communication is the ability to accurately perceive and interpret facial emotions. To evaluate the expression processing of participants with ASD, we designed the Let's Face It! Emotion Skills Battery (LFI! Battery), a computer-based assessment composed of three subscales measuring verbal and perceptual skills implicated in the recognition of facial emotions. METHODS We administered the LFI! Battery to groups of participants with ASD and typically developing control (TDC) participants that were matched for age and IQ. RESULTS On the Name Game labeling task, participants with ASD (N = 68) performed on par with TDC individuals (N = 66) in their ability to name the facial emotions of happy, sad, disgust and surprise and were only impaired in their ability to identify the angry expression. On the Matchmaker Expression task that measures the recognition of facial emotions across different facial identities, the ASD participants (N = 66) performed reliably worse than TDC participants (N = 67) on the emotions of happy, sad, disgust, frighten and angry. In the Parts-Wholes test of perceptual strategies of expression, the TDC participants (N = 67) displayed more holistic encoding for the eyes than the mouths in expressive faces whereas ASD participants (N = 66) exhibited the reverse pattern of holistic recognition for the mouth and analytic recognition of the eyes. CONCLUSION In summary, findings from the LFI! Battery show that participants with ASD were able to label the basic facial emotions (with the exception of angry expression) on par with age- and IQ-matched TDC participants. However, participants with ASD were impaired in their ability to generalize facial emotions across different identities and showed a tendency to recognize the mouth feature holistically and the eyes as isolated parts.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W. Tanaka
- Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia
| | - Julie M. Wolf
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
| | | | | | - Jeffrey Cockburn
- Department of Cognitive, Linguistics and Psychological Sciences, Brown University
| | | | - Carla Brown
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
| | - Sherin Stahl
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine
| | - Mikle South
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University
| | | | | | - Robert T. Schultz
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
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Ho JS, Radoeva PD, Jalbrzikowski M, Chow C, Hopkins J, Tran WC, Mehta A, Enrique N, Gilbert C, Antshel KM, Fremont W, Kates WR, Bearden CE. Deficits in mental state attributions in individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (velo-cardio-facial syndrome). Autism Res 2012; 5:407-18. [PMID: 22962003 PMCID: PMC3528795 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2012] [Accepted: 08/07/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Velo-cardio-facial syndrome (VCFS; 22q11.2 deletion syndrome) results from a genetic mutation that increases risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We compared Theory of Mind (ToM) skills in 63 individuals with VCFS (25% with an ASD diagnosis) and 43 typically developing controls, and investigated the relationship of ToM to reciprocal social behavior. We administered a video-based task to assess mentalizing at two sites University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. The videos depicted interactions representing complex mental states (ToM condition), or simple movements (Random condition). Verbal descriptions of the videos were rated for Intentionality (i.e. mentalizing) and Appropriateness. Using Repeated Measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), we assessed the effects of VCFS and ASD on Intentionality and Appropriateness, and the relationship of mentalizing to Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores. Results indicated that individuals with VCFS overall had lower Intentionality and Appropriateness scores than controls for ToM but not for Random scenes. In the SUNY sample, individuals with VCFS, both with and without ASD, performed more poorly than controls on the ToM condition; however, in the UCLA sample, only individuals with VCFS without ASD performed significantly worse than controls on the ToM condition. Controlling for site and age, performance on the ToM condition was significantly correlated with SRS scores. Individuals with VCFS, regardless of an ASD diagnosis, showed impairments in the spontaneous attribution of mental states to abstract visual stimuli, which may underlie real-life problems with social interactions. A better understanding of the social deficits in VCFS is essential for the development of targeted behavioral interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S. Ho
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Petya D. Radoeva
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York: 750 East Adams Street Syracuse, NY 13210-2375
| | - Maria Jalbrzikowski
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles: 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
| | - Carolyn Chow
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Jessica Hopkins
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Wen-Ching Tran
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Ami Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Nicole Enrique
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Chelsea Gilbert
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
| | - Kevin M. Antshel
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York : 750 East Adams Street Syracuse, NY 13210-2375
| | - Wanda Fremont
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York : 750 East Adams Street Syracuse, NY 13210-2375
| | - Wendy R. Kates
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York : 750 East Adams Street Syracuse, NY 13210-2375
| | - Carrie E. Bearden
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles: 760 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles, CA 90095
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles: 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563
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D'Entremont B, Seamans E, Boudreau E. The Relationship Between Children's Gaze Reporting and Theory of Mind. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2011.602653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Weisberg J, Milleville SC, Kenworthy L, Wallace GL, Gotts SJ, Beauchamp MS, Martin A. Social perception in autism spectrum disorders: impaired category selectivity for dynamic but not static images in ventral temporal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2012; 24:37-48. [PMID: 23019245 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhs276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) reveal dysfunction in the neural systems mediating object processing (particularly faces) and social cognition, but few investigations have systematically assessed the specificity of the dysfunction. We compared cortical responses in typically developing adolescents and those with ASD to stimuli from distinct conceptual domains known to elicit category-related activity in separate neural systems. In Experiment 1, subjects made category decisions to photographs, videos, and point-light displays of people and tools. In Experiment 2, subjects interpreted displays of simple, geometric shapes in motion depicting social or mechanical interactions. In both experiments, we found a selective deficit in the ASD subjects for dynamic social stimuli (videos and point-light displays of people, moving geometric shapes), but not static images, in the functionally localized lateral region of the right fusiform gyrus, including the fusiform face area. In contrast, no group differences were found in response to either static images or dynamic stimuli in other brain regions associated with face and social processing (e.g. posterior superior temporal sulcus, amygdala), suggesting disordered connectivity between these regions and the fusiform gyrus in ASD. This possibility was confirmed by functional connectivity analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jill Weisberg
- NIMH, Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Bethesda, MD 20850
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Bal E, Yerys BE, Sokoloff JL, Celano MJ, Kenworthy L, Giedd JN, Wallace GL. Do Social Attribution Skills Improve with Age in Children with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders? RESEARCH IN AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS 2012; 7:9-16. [PMID: 23130085 PMCID: PMC3487707 DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2012.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Age-related changes in social attribution skills were assessed using the "Triangles Playing Tricks" task in 7-17 year old high functioning children with ASDs (n=41) and in typically developing (TD) children (n=58) matched on age, IQ, and sex ratio. Children with ASDs gave responses that received lower intentionality and appropriateness ratings than did TD children in both the goal-directed and theory of mind (ToM) conditions. Results remained unchanged when the effects of verbal output (i.e., number of clause produced) and verbal IQ were included as covariates in the analyses. Whereas age was highly associated with ToM performance in the TD children, this relationship was not as strong among children with ASDs. These results indicate not only a diminished tendency among high functioning children with ASDs to attribute social meaning and intentionality to ambiguous visual displays of interactive forms but also an aberrant developmental trajectory. That is, children with ASDs may fall further behind their typically developing peers in social attribution abilities as they get older.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elgiz Bal
- Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Jay N. Giedd
- National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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Hedley D, Brewer N, Young R. Face recognition performance of individuals with Asperger syndrome on the Cambridge face memory test. Autism Res 2011; 4:449-55. [DOI: 10.1002/aur.214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2011] [Accepted: 06/22/2011] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Ragsdale G, Foley RA. A maternal influence on Reading the mind in the Eyes mediated by executive function: differential parental influences on full and half-siblings. PLoS One 2011; 6:e23236. [PMID: 21850264 PMCID: PMC3151289 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2011] [Accepted: 07/12/2011] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Parent-of-origin effects have been found to influence the mammalian brain and cognition and have been specifically implicated in the development of human social cognition and theory of mind. The experimental design in this study was developed to detect parent-of-origin effects on theory of mind, as measured by the ‘Reading the mind in the eyes’ (Eyes) task. Eyes scores were also entered into a principal components analysis with measures of empathy, social skills and executive function, in order to determine what aspect of theory of mind Eyes is measuring. Methodology/Principal Findings Maternal and paternal influences on Eyes scores were compared using correlations between pairs of full (70 pairs), maternal (25 pairs) and paternal siblings (15 pairs). Structural equation modelling supported a maternal influence on Eyes scores over the normal range but not low-scoring outliers, and also a sex-specific influence on males acting to decrease male Eyes scores. It was not possible to differentiate between genetic and environmental influences in this particular sample because maternal siblings tended to be raised together while paternal siblings were raised apart. The principal components analysis found Eyes was associated with measures of executive function, principally behavioural inhibition and attention, rather than empathy or social skills. Conclusions/Significance In conclusion, the results suggest a maternal influence on Eye scores in the normal range and a sex-specific influence acting to reduce scores in males. This influence may act via aspects of executive function such as behavioural inhibition and attention. There may be different influences acting to produce the lowest Eyes scores which implies that the heratibility and/or maternal influence on poor theory of mind skills may be qualitatively different to the influence on the normal range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gillian Ragsdale
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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36
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Jones CRG, Pickles A, Falcaro M, Marsden AJS, Happé F, Scott SK, Sauter D, Tregay J, Phillips RJ, Baird G, Simonoff E, Charman T. A multimodal approach to emotion recognition ability in autism spectrum disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2011; 52:275-85. [PMID: 20955187 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02328.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by social and communication difficulties in day-to-day life, including problems in recognising emotions. However, experimental investigations of emotion recognition ability in ASD have been equivocal, hampered by small sample sizes, narrow IQ range and over-focus on the visual modality. METHODS We tested 99 adolescents (mean age 15;6 years, mean IQ 85) with an ASD and 57 adolescents without an ASD (mean age 15;6 years, mean IQ 88) on a facial emotion recognition task and two vocal emotion recognition tasks (one verbal; one non-verbal). Recognition of happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust were tested. Using structural equation modelling, we conceptualised emotion recognition ability as a multimodal construct, measured by the three tasks. We examined how the mean levels of recognition of the six emotions differed by group (ASD vs. non-ASD) and IQ (≥ 80 vs. < 80). RESULTS We found no evidence of a fundamental emotion recognition deficit in the ASD group and analysis of error patterns suggested that the ASD group were vulnerable to the same pattern of confusions between emotions as the non-ASD group. However, recognition ability was significantly impaired in the ASD group for surprise. IQ had a strong and significant effect on performance for the recognition of all six emotions, with higher IQ adolescents outperforming lower IQ adolescents. CONCLUSIONS The findings do not suggest a fundamental difficulty with the recognition of basic emotions in adolescents with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine R G Jones
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, London, UK
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37
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O'Hearn K, Lakusta L, Schroer E, Minshew N, Luna B. Deficits in adults with autism spectrum disorders when processing multiple objects in dynamic scenes. Autism Res 2011; 4:132-42. [PMID: 21254449 DOI: 10.1002/aur.179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2010] [Accepted: 12/01/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
People with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) process visual information in a manner that is distinct from typically developing individuals. They may be less sensitive to people's goals and, more generally, focus on visual details instead of the entire scene. To examine these differences, people with and without ASD were asked to detect changes in dynamic scenes with multiple elements. Participants viewed a brief video of a person or an inanimate object (the "figure") moving from one object to another; after a delay, they reported whether a second video was the same or different. Possible changes included the figure, the object the figure was moving from, or the object the figure was moving toward (the "goal"). We hypothesized that individuals with ASD would be less sensitive to changes in scenes with people, particularly elements that might be the person's goal. Alternately, people with ASD might attend to fewer elements regardless of whether the scene included a person. Our results indicate that, like controls, people with ASD noticed a change in the "goal" object at the end of a person's movement more often than the object at the start. However, the group with ASD did not undergo the developmental improvement that was evident typically when detecting changes in both the start and end objects. This atypical development led to deficits in adults with ASD that were not specific to scenes with people or to "goals." Improvements in visual processing that underlie mature representation of scenes may not occur in ASD, suggesting that late developing brain processes are affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirsten O'Hearn
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
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38
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Lawrence K, Bernstein D, Pearson R, Mandy W, Campbell R, Skuse D. Changing abilities in recognition of unfamiliar face photographs through childhood and adolescence: Performance on a test of non-verbal immediate memory (Warrington RMF) from 6 to 16 years. J Neuropsychol 2011; 2:27-45. [DOI: 10.1348/174866407x231074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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White SJ, Coniston D, Rogers R, Frith U. Developing the Frith-Happé animations: a quick and objective test of Theory of Mind for adults with autism. Autism Res 2011; 4:149-54. [PMID: 21480540 DOI: 10.1002/aur.174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2010] [Accepted: 11/12/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
It is now widely accepted that individuals with autism have a Theory of Mind (ToM) or mentalizing deficit. This has traditionally been assessed with false-belief tasks and, more recently, with silent geometric animations, an on-line ToM task. In adults with milder forms of autism standard false-belief tests, originally devised for children, often prove insensitive, while the Frith-Happé animations have had rather better success at capturing the on-line ToM deficit in this population. However, analysis of participants' verbal descriptions of these animations, which span scenarios from "Random" to "Goal-Directed" and "ToM," is time consuming and subjective. In this study, we developed and established the feasibility of an objective method of response through a series of multiple-choice questions. Sixteen adults with autism and 15 typically developing adults took part, matched for age and intelligence. The adults with autism were less accurate as a group at categorizing the Frith-Happé animations by the presence or absence of mental and physical interactions. Furthermore, they were less able to select the correct emotions that are typically attributed to the triangles in the mental state animations. This new objective method for assessing the understanding of the animations succeeded in being as sensitive as the original subjective method in detecting the mentalizing difficulties in autism, as well as being quicker and easier to administer and analyze.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J White
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.
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40
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Jones AP, Happé FGE, Gilbert F, Burnett S, Viding E. Feeling, caring, knowing: different types of empathy deficit in boys with psychopathic tendencies and autism spectrum disorder. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2010; 51:1188-97. [PMID: 20633070 PMCID: PMC3494975 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02280.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 282] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Empathy dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of psychopathy, but it is also sometimes thought to characterise autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Individuals with either condition can appear uncaring towards others. This study set out to compare and contrast directly boys with psychopathic tendencies and boys with ASD on tasks assessing aspects of affective empathy and cognitive perspective taking. The main aim of the study was to assess whether a distinct profile of empathy deficits would emerge for boys with psychopathic tendencies and ASD, and whether empathy deficits would be associated with conduct problems in general, rather than psychopathic tendencies or ASD specifically. METHODS Four groups of boys aged between 9 and 16 years (N = 96) were compared: 1) psychopathic tendencies, 2) ASD, 3) conduct problems and 4) comparison. Tasks were included to probe attribution of emotions to self, empathy for victims of aggression and cognitive perspective-taking ability. RESULTS Boys with psychopathic tendencies had a profile consistent with dysfunctional affective empathy. They reported experiencing less fear and less empathy for victims of aggression than comparison boys. Their cognitive perspective-taking abilities were not statistically significantly different from those of comparison boys. In contrast, boys with ASD had difficulties with tasks requiring cognitive perspective taking, but reported emotional experiences and victim empathy that were in line with comparison boys. Boys with conduct problems did not differ from comparison boys, suggesting that the affective empathy deficit seen in boys with psychopathic tendencies was specific to that group, rather than common to all boys with conduct problems. CONCLUSIONS Although both groups can appear uncaring, our findings suggest that the affective/information processing correlates of psychopathic tendencies and ASD are quite different. Psychopathic tendencies are associated with difficulties in resonating with other people's distress, whereas ASD is characterised by difficulties in knowing what other people think.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice P Jones
- Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths College, University of London, Lewisham Way, London, UK.
| | - Francesca GE Happé
- MRC Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of PsychiatryKings College London, UK
| | - Francesca Gilbert
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesUniversity College London, UK
| | | | - Essi Viding
- Division of Psychology and Language SciencesUniversity College London, UK
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Charman T, Jones CRG, Pickles A, Simonoff E, Baird G, Happé F. Defining the cognitive phenotype of autism. Brain Res 2010; 1380:10-21. [PMID: 21029728 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.10.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2010] [Revised: 10/18/2010] [Accepted: 10/19/2010] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Although much progress has been made in determining the cognitive profile of strengths and weaknesses that characterise individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), there remain a number of outstanding questions. These include how universal strengths and deficits are; whether cognitive subgroups exist; and how cognition is associated with core autistic behaviours, as well as associated psychopathology. Several methodological factors have contributed to these limitations in our knowledge, including: small sample sizes, a focus on single domains of cognition, and an absence of comprehensive behavioural phenotypic information. To attempt to overcome some of these limitations, we assessed a wide range of cognitive domains in a large sample (N=100) of 14- to 16-year-old adolescents with ASDs who had been rigorously behaviourally characterised. In this review, we will use examples of some initial findings in the domains of perceptual processing, emotion processing and memory, both to outline different approaches we have taken to data analysis and to highlight the considerable challenges to better defining the cognitive phenotype(s) of ASDs. Enhanced knowledge of the cognitive phenotype may contribute to our understanding of the complex links between genes, brain and behaviour, as well as inform approaches to remediation.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Charman
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, London, UK.
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42
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Santos NS, Kuzmanovic B, David N, Rotarska-Jagiela A, Eickhoff SB, Shah JN, Fink GR, Bente G, Vogeley K. Animated brain: a functional neuroimaging study on animacy experience. Neuroimage 2010; 53:291-302. [PMID: 20570742 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.05.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2009] [Revised: 05/21/2010] [Accepted: 05/27/2010] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous research used animated geometric figures to investigate social cognitive processes involved in ascribing mental states to others (e.g. mentalizing). The relationship between animacy perception and brain areas commonly involved in social cognition, as well as the influence of particular motion patterns on animacy experience, however, remains to be further elucidated. We used a recently introduced paradigm for the systematic variation of motion properties, and employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural mechanisms underlying animacy experience. Based on individual ratings of increased animacy experience the following brain regions of the "social neural network" (SNN), known to be involved in social cognitive processes, were recruited: insula, superior temporal gyrus, fusiform gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex bilaterally. Decreased animacy experience was associated with increased neural activity in the inferior parietal and inferior frontal gyrus, key constituents of the human "mirror neuron system" (hMNS). These findings were corroborated when analyses were based on movement patterns alone, irrespective of subjective experience. Additionally to the areas found for increased animacy experience, an increase in interactive movements elicited activity in the amygdala and the temporal pole. In conclusion, the results suggest that the hMNS is recruited during a low-level stage of animacy judgment representing a basic disposition to detect the salience of movements, whereas the SNN appears to be a high-level processing component serving evaluation in social and mental inference.
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Donno R, Parker G, Gilmour J, Skuse DH. Social communication deficits in disruptive primary-school children. Br J Psychiatry 2010; 196:282-9. [PMID: 20357304 DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.061341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Parent and teacher data, from questionnaire surveys, suggest that school-identified disruptive children often have pragmatic language deficits of an autistic type. AIMS This replication study aimed to confirm earlier findings, using individual clinical assessment to investigate traits of autism-spectrum disorder in disruptive children. METHOD Persistently disruptive children (n = 26) and a comparison group (n = 22) were recruited from primary schools in a deprived inner-city area. Measures included standardised autism diagnostic interviews (with parents) and tests of IQ, social cognition, theory of mind and attention (with children). RESULTS The disruptive children possessed poorer pragmatic language skills (P<0.0001) and mentalising abilities (P<0.05) than comparisons. Nine disruptive children (35%) met ICD-10 criteria for atypical autism or Asperger syndrome. CONCLUSIONS Many persistently disruptive children have undetected disorders of social communication, which are of potential aetiological significance.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Donno
- Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Institute of Child Health, University College London WC1N 1EH, UK
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44
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Graham R, Kelland Friesen C, Fichtenholtz HM, LaBar KS. Modulation of reflexive orienting to gaze direction by facial expressions. VISUAL COGNITION 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/13506280802689281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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45
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Pavlova M, Guerreschi M, Lutzenberger W, Krägeloh-Mann I. Social Interaction Revealed by Motion: Dynamics of Neuromagnetic Gamma Activity. Cereb Cortex 2010; 20:2361-7. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhp304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
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Pavlova M, Guerreschi M, Lutzenberger W, Sokolov AN, Krägeloh-Mann I. Cortical response to social interaction is affected by gender. Neuroimage 2010; 50:1327-32. [PMID: 20056153 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.12.096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2009] [Revised: 12/17/2009] [Accepted: 12/22/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of humans to predict and explain other people's actions is of immense value for adaptive behavior and nonverbal communication. Gender differences are often evident in the comprehension of social signals, but the underlying neurobiological basis for these differences is unclear. Combining visual psychophysics with an analysis of neuromagnetic activity, we assessed gender effects on the induced oscillatory response to visual social interaction revealed by motion. A robust difference in the induced gamma response was found between females and males over the left prefrontal cortex, a region implicated in perceptual decision making. The induced gamma neuromagnetic response peaked earlier in females than in males. Moreover, it appears that females anticipate social interaction predicting others' actions ahead of their realization, whereas males require accumulation of more sensory evidence for proper social decisions. The findings reflect gender-dependent modes in cortical processing of visually acquired social information. Contrary to popular wisdom, the outcome of this study indicates that gender effects are not evident in the neural circuitry underpinning visual social perception, but in the regions engaged in perceptual decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Pavlova
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, University of Tübingen Medical School, Tübingen, Germany.
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47
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Vision in autism spectrum disorders. Vision Res 2009; 49:2705-39. [PMID: 19682485 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2009.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 520] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2009] [Revised: 08/04/2009] [Accepted: 08/04/2009] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are developmental disorders which are thought primarily to affect social functioning. However, there is now a growing body of evidence that unusual sensory processing is at least a concomitant and possibly the cause of many of the behavioural signs and symptoms of ASD. A comprehensive and critical review of the phenomenological, empirical, neuroscientific and theoretical literature pertaining to visual processing in ASD is presented, along with a brief justification of a new theory which may help to explain some of the data, and link it with other current hypotheses about the genetic and neural aetiologies of this enigmatic condition.
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48
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Social skills interventions for individuals with autism: evaluation for evidence-based practices within a best evidence synthesis framework. J Autism Dev Disord 2009; 40:149-66. [PMID: 19655240 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0842-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 242] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2009] [Accepted: 07/21/2009] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents a best evidence synthesis of interventions to increase social behavior for individuals with autism. Sixty-six studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 2001 and July 2008 with 513 participants were included. The results are presented by the age of the individual receiving intervention and by delivery agent of intervention. The findings suggest there is much empirical evidence supporting many different treatments for the social deficits of individuals with autism. Using the criteria of evidence-based practice proposed by Reichow et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38:1311-1318, 2008), social skills groups and video modeling have accumulated the evidence necessary for the classifications of established EBP and promising EBP, respectively. Recommendations for practice and areas of future research are provided.
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49
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Schwartz C, Bente G, Gawronski A, Schilbach L, Vogeley K. Responses to nonverbal behaviour of dynamic virtual characters in high-functioning autism. J Autism Dev Disord 2009; 40:100-11. [PMID: 19653087 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0843-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2009] [Accepted: 07/21/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We investigated feelings of involvement evoked by nonverbal behaviour of dynamic virtual characters in 20 adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) and high IQ as well as 20 IQ-matched control subjects. The effects of diagnostic group showed that subjects with autism experienced less "contact" and "urge" to establish contact across conditions and less "interest" than controls in a condition with meaningful facial expressions. Moreover, the analyses within groups revealed that nonverbal behaviour had less influence on feelings in HFA subjects. In conclusion, disturbances of HFA subjects in experiencing involvement in social encounters with virtual characters displaying nonverbal behaviour do not extend to all kinds of feelings, suggesting different pathways in the ascription of involvement in social situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Schwartz
- Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Department of Social Psychology, University of Cologne, Herbert-Lewin Street 2, 50931 Cologne, Germany.
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50
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Itier RJ, Batty M. Neural bases of eye and gaze processing: the core of social cognition. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2009; 33:843-63. [PMID: 19428496 PMCID: PMC3925117 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 363] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2008] [Revised: 01/20/2009] [Accepted: 02/12/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Eyes and gaze are very important stimuli for human social interactions. Recent studies suggest that impairments in recognizing face identity, facial emotions or in inferring attention and intentions of others could be linked to difficulties in extracting the relevant information from the eye region including gaze direction. In this review, we address the central role of eyes and gaze in social cognition. We start with behavioral data demonstrating the importance of the eye region and the impact of gaze on the most significant aspects of face processing. We review neuropsychological cases and data from various imaging techniques such as fMRI/PET and ERP/MEG, in an attempt to best describe the spatio-temporal networks underlying these processes. The existence of a neuronal eye detector mechanism is discussed as well as the links between eye gaze and social cognition impairments in autism. We suggest impairments in processing eyes and gaze may represent a core deficiency in several other brain pathologies and may be central to abnormal social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roxane J Itier
- Psychology Department, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
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