Mechanisms of facial emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorders: Insights from eye tracking and electroencephalography

Abstract

While behavioural difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) have been observed in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), behavioural studies alone are not suited to elucidate the specific nature of FER challenges in ASD. Eye tracking (ET) and electroencephalography (EEG) provide insights in to the attentional and neurological correlates of performance, and may therefore provide insight in to the mechanisms underpinning FER in ASD. Given that these processes develop over the course of the developmental trajectory, there is a need to synthesise findings in regard to the developmental stages to determine how the maturation of these systems may impact FER in ASD. We conducted a systematic review of fifty-four studies investigating ET or EEG meeting inclusion criteria. Findings indicate divergence of visual processing pathways in individuals with ASD. Altered function of the social brain in ASD impacts the processing of facial emotion across the developmental trajectory, resulting in observable differences in ET and EEG outcomes.

Eye‐tracking research in eating disorders: A systematic review

“…Avoidance of the eyes and social stimuli has been reported in ASD, and is considered a key characteristic of the disorder (Black et al, 2017 Kucharska-Pietura, Nikolaou, Masiak, & Treasure, 2004;Kuusikko et al, 2009) and production (Davies et al, 2016;McIntosh, Reichmann-Decker, Winkielman, & Wilbarger, 2006), high levels of alexithymia (Bird & Cook, 2013;Westwood, Kerr-Gaffney, Stahl, & Tchanturia, 2017) and social anxiety (Kerr-Gaffney, Harrison, & Tchanturia, 2018;Simonoff et al, 2008). Around 10% of those with AN meet diagnostic criteria for ASD, while a further 40% show high levels of ASD symptoms (Westwood, Mandy, Simic, & Tchanturia, 2018).…”

“…Despite numerous reviews of eye-tracking literature in psychiatric disorders such as those discussed above (Black et al, 2017;Chen & Clarke, 2017;Chita-Tegmark, 2016;Frazier et al, 2017;O'Driscoll & Callahan, 2008;Toh et al, 2011), no review to date has provided a synthesis of eye-tracking studies in EDs. Such a review will be important in understanding the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying the attentional biases seen in EDs.…”

Altered Connectivity in Autistic Adults during Complex Facial Emotion Recognition: A Study of EEG Imaginary Coherence

“…Difficulties in facial emotion recognition (FER) are commonly observed in individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition associated with alterations in social communication and interaction [1]. However, the mechanisms underlying these impairments in FER remain inconclusive [2]. As FER relies on the function of distributed networks within the brain [3], it is possible that deficits in FER may arise from more complex interactions within and between networks and may not be fully explained by dysfunction of individual structures.…”

KONTAKT© in Australian Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum: Protocol of a Randomized Control Trial

“…There is an increasing interest in whether an intervention is capable of eliciting change in biomarkers associated with ASD, one of which is eye gaze. Previous research suggests that people with ASD focus more on the mouth than eyes during emotion recognition, negatively impacting their accuracy (91). This study will investigate for the first time the impact of the KONTAKT© SSGT program on adolescent's eye gaze behaviour when viewing facially expressed emotions and their knowledge of basic and complex emotions.…”