Atypical Reflexive Gaze Patterns on Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Atypical Reflexive Gaze Patterns on Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.0688-10.2010
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发表时间：
2010-09-15
影响因子：
5.3
通讯作者：
Heekeren, Hauke R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kliemann, Dorit;Dziobek, Isabel;Heekeren, Hauke R.
情绪化面孔上的非典型扫描路径和减少的眼神接触代表了自闭症症状学的一个突出特征，但这些异常的原因仍然是一个谜。患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的人是否无法将目光转向眼睛，或者他们是否主动避免直接目光接触？在这里，我们使用了一项新任务来研究恐惧、快乐和中性面孔的反射性眼球运动。参与者（自闭症谱系障碍：12 名；对照组：11 名）最初关注的是眼睛或嘴巴。通过分析参与者的眼球运动远离眼睛和朝向眼睛的频率，我们分别探索了回避反应和定向反应。与对照组相比，自闭症谱系障碍组对眼睛的偏好降低，主要特征是眼球远离眼睛的运动更加频繁。眼球追踪数据显示，主动避免直接目光接触对自闭症患者的非典型凝视有显着影响。将回避和减少定向结合到一个单独的指数中可以预测情绪识别的表现。至关重要的是，这一结果为个人注视模式与相关社会症状之间的直接联系提供了证据。因此，这些发现为自闭症谱系障碍的社会病理学提供了重要的见解，对未来的研究和干预具有重要意义。
Atypical scan paths on emotional faces and reduced eye contact represent a prominent feature of autism symptomatology, yet the reason for these abnormalities remains a puzzle. Do individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) fail to orient toward the eyes or do they actively avoid direct eye contact? Here, we used a new task to investigate reflexive eye movements on fearful, happy, and neutral faces. Participants (ASDs: 12; controls: 11) initially fixated either on the eyes or on the mouth. By analyzing the frequency of participants' eye movements away from the eyes and toward the eyes, respectively, we explored both avoidance and orientation reactions. The ASD group showed a reduced preference for the eyes relative to the control group, primarily characterized by more frequent eye movements away from the eyes. Eye-tracking data revealed a pronounced influence of active avoidance of direct eye contact on atypical gaze in ASDs. The combination of avoidance and reduced orientation into an individual index predicted emotional recognition performance. Crucially, this result provides evidence for a direct link between individual gaze patterns and associated social symptomatology. These findings thereby give important insights into the social pathology of ASD, with implications for future research and interventions.