Attention to live eye contact in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder
Corresponding Author
Yukiko Kikuchi
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan
College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
Correspondence
Yukiko Kikuchi, UTokyo Institute for Diversity & Adaptation of Human Mind (UTIDAHM), Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorHironori Akechi
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan
Division of Information System Design, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAtsushi Senju
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorYoshikuni Tojo
College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroo Osanai
Musashino Higashi Center for Education and Research, Musashino Higashi Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAtsuko Saito
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorToshikazu Hasegawa
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yukiko Kikuchi
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan
College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
Correspondence
Yukiko Kikuchi, UTokyo Institute for Diversity & Adaptation of Human Mind (UTIDAHM), Center for Evolutionary Cognitive Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorHironori Akechi
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan
Division of Information System Design, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAtsushi Senju
Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
Search for more papers by this authorYoshikuni Tojo
College of Education, Ibaraki University, Ibaraki, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorHiroo Osanai
Musashino Higashi Center for Education and Research, Musashino Higashi Gakuen, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorAtsuko Saito
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorToshikazu Hasegawa
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Search for more papers by this authorFunding information: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant/Award Numbers: KAKENHI JP18K13211, JP26870072, JP24330207
Abstract
A number of studies have reported diminished attention to the eyes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These studies predominantly used static images of faces as stimuli. Recent studies, however, have shown enhanced response to eye contact in typically developing (TD) individuals when they observe a person in a live interaction. We investigated physiological orienting to perceived eye contact in adolescents with ASD and TD adolescents when they observed a person in live interaction or viewed a photograph of the same person's face. We measured heart rate (HR) deceleration as an index of attentional orienting. Adolescents with ASD, as well as TD adolescents, showed significant HR deceleration for the direct gaze compared to an averted gaze in the live condition, but not in the photographic condition. The results suggest an intact response to perceived eye contact in individuals with ASD during a live face-to-face interaction.
Lay Summary
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a different eye gaze pattern when observing photographic faces. However, little is known about how individuals with ASD process a real person's face. We measured heart rate (HR) and found that adolescents with ASD showed the typical decline in HR when they made eye contact with a real person, which suggests that both groups of individuals directed their attention to eye contact in a live face-to-face interaction.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Data available on request due to privacy/ethical restrictions.
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