Typical Emotion Processing for Cartoon but not for Real Faces in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

This study evaluated whether atypical face processing in autism extends from human to cartoon faces for which they show a greater interest. Twenty children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) were compared to two groups of typically developing children, matched on chronological and mental age. They processed the emotional expressions of real faces, human cartoon and nonhuman cartoon faces. Children with ASD were as capable as controls in processing emotional expressions, but strategies differed according to the type of face. Controls relied on a configural strategy with all faces. By contrast, ASD children exploited this typical configural strategy with cartoons but used a local strategy with real faces. This atypical visual processing style is discussed in the context of face expertise.

Brain activity of adolescents with high functioning autism in response to emotional words and facial emoticons

“…Based on these observations, there have also been several empirical results showing that the emoticon is associated with high levels of emotional abstraction [13] and nonverbal information recognition [14,15]. Interestingly, patients with ASD, relative to healthy comparison subjects, do not apply different strategies for perceiving cartoon faces, while they use different strategies during perception of real human faces [16,17]. While healthy comparison subjects used a configural strategy in assessing both real and cartoon faces, patients with ASD used a figural strategy in viewing cartoon faces and a local strategy in evaluating real faces [16].…”

“…Interestingly, patients with ASD, relative to healthy comparison subjects, do not apply different strategies for perceiving cartoon faces, while they use different strategies during perception of real human faces [16,17]. While healthy comparison subjects used a configural strategy in assessing both real and cartoon faces, patients with ASD used a figural strategy in viewing cartoon faces and a local strategy in evaluating real faces [16]. In an assessment of attentional bias using saccade-related, event-related potentials (ERPs), patients with ASD showed a smaller interval in attentional time between faces and objects, relative to healthy comparison subjects [18].…”

What Are Your Children Watching? Teacher’s Evaluation of the Educational, Emotional, Behavioral, Psychological, Physical & Religious impacts of Cartoons on the School Going Children

“…But from the age of four to ten year they increase this time more than two hours. At the age of 11 to 12 year this time increase suddenly 3 to 4 hours in a day (DiFranza et al, 1991;Rosset et al, 2008). From the age of 3 to 11 year children spent more time in front of TV then school, because they want to watch cartoons than any other activity.…”

Emotion recognition in autism spectrum disorder

“…The other is the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning theory (EPF), an alternative to the WCC that re-asserts the principle of locally oriented and low-level perception, without making assumptions about the quality and quantity of global processing [Mottron et al 2006]. Rosset et al [2008] compared the processing of emotional expressions of real faces, human cartoon and non-human cartoon faces in children with ASD to two groups of NTD children, finding that those with ASD relied on a local-oriented strategy. This atypical local strategy have also been reported by Behrmann et al [2006] and Deruelle et al [2008].…”