Scan Path Differences and Similarities During Emotion Perception in those With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Typical adults use predictable scan patterns while observing faces. Some research suggests that people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) instead attend to eyes less, and perhaps to the mouth more. The current experiment was designed as a direct measure of scan paths that people with and without ASD use when identifying simple and complex emotions. Participants saw photos of emotions and chose emotion labels. Scan paths were measured via infrared corneal reflectance. Both groups looked significantly longer at eyes than mouth, and neither overall looking time at eyes nor first fixations distinguished the groups. These results are contrary to suggestions that those with ASD attend preferentially to the mouth and avoid the eyes. Furthermore, there was no interaction between group and area of the face: the ratio of attention between eyes and mouth did not differ between the ASD and control groups. However, those with ASD looked at the eyes less than the control group when viewing complex emotions.

Attention during social interaction in children with autism: Comparison to specific language impairment, typical development, and links to social cognition

“…Although very informative, important questions remain which could further the clinical utility of such research. The first is on the nature of atypicalities of social attention in autism, as although the patterns reported 6 above are representative of the literature, there have been important inconsistencies, particularly in relation to attention the mouth in autism (Bar-Haim, Shulman, Lamy, &Reuveni, 2006, andRutherford &Towns, 2008). Inconsistencies between reports of typical and atypical social attention are discussed in more detail in the next section.…”

The Role of Alexithymia in Reduced Eye-Fixation in Autism Spectrum Conditions

“…Despite the abundance of studies demonstrating atypical face and eye fixation in autism, an equally large number of studies have found contradictory results; showing no evidence for reduced fixations on the face and/or altered eye or mouth fixations in children or adults with autism (O'Connor and Hermelin 1967; Dapretto et al 2006;Neumann et al 2006;Rutherford and Towns 2008;Lahaie et al 2006;Falck-Ytter et al 2010;Freeth et al 2010;Fletcher-Watson et al 2009; see Senju and Johnson 2009a for an overview). Young et al (2009) studied the gaze behaviour of 6 month-old infants, some of which were considered at-risk for autism due to having affected siblings.…”

Atypical scanpaths in schizophrenia: Evidence of a trait- or state-dependent phenomenon?

“…96 Atypical visual scanning in itself is not specific to the schizophrenia spectrum. Scanpath abnormalities have been demonstrated in individuals with other psychi atric disorders, including social phobia, 97,98 autism, [99][100][101][102][103] bipolar affective disorder, 37,52 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 104 generalized anxiety disorder, 16 obsessivecompulsive disorder 46,105 and Alzheimer disease. 106 Importantly, these abnormalities differ from those found in individuals with schizophrenia, suggesting that scanpath dysfunction as seen in schizophrenia may have value as a disorder-specific marker.…”