Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

In this study, we present an eye-tracking paradigm, adapted from previous work with toddlers, for assessing social-interaction looking preferences in youth ages 5-17 with ASD and typically-developing controls (TDC). Videos of children playing together (Social Scenes, SS) were presented side-by-side with animated geometric shapes (GS). Participants with ASD demonstrated reduced SS preferences compared to TDC, results also represented continuously by associations between higher SS preferences and fewer social difficulties across the combined sample. Exploratory analyses identified associations between increased SS preferences and higher Vineland Daily Living Skills in ASD and suggested SS preferences in TDC females might drive ASD versus TDC between-group differences. These findings describe potentially sex-linked couplings between preferences for social information and social functioning in school-aged children.

The Use of Eye Tracking as a Biomarker of Treatment Outcome in a Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial for Young Children with Autism

“…In these studies, a stronger geometric preference was also associated with lower scores on measures of cognition, language, and autism severity. Similar results have been observed in older children with ASD using adapted versions of this social preference paradigm [Shaffer et al, ].…”

“…We hypothesized that this study would replicate previous research showing that social preference and face scanning patterns differentiate the ASD and TD groups and are related to baseline clinical measures. Specifically, we hypothesized that, in line with previous research [Pierce et al, ; Shaffer et al, ], children with ASD would show an attenuated social preference compared to TD children and that social preference would be negatively associated with autism severity. Second, we hypothesized that children with ASD would show increased mouth looking compared to TD participants, similar to Chawarska and Shic [].…”

Differentiating social preference and social anxiety phenotypes in fragile X syndrome using an eye gaze analysis: a pilot study

“…Studying eye movements during face or social context viewing has created an avenue to quantify and objectively study social processing through an examination of gaze patterns [19]. Studies of ASD have shown reduced gaze towards social stimuli and increased orientation towards non-social objects and movement [20–22]. Additionally, studies of eye gaze during the viewing of emotional faces have revealed atypical face scanning associated with hypoactivation of the fusiform gyrus and hyperactivation of the amygdala in ASD [23, 24].…”

Eye gaze differences in school scenes between preschool children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and those with typical development

“…To prevent developing psychosocial symptoms, it is essential to detect symptoms of ASD at an early stage and collaborate with school teachers. Increasing evidence suggests that patients with ASD, in contrast to persons with typical development (TD), exhibit characteristic eye gaze behavior [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], including paying attention to a person's mouth rather than his or her eyes [4,5], less attention to children playing [8] and social activities of others and more on background objects [10], and downward-looking of the elds of view [5].…”