Atypical physiological orienting to direct gaze in low-functioning children with autism spectrum disorder.

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101461858 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1939-3806 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19393806 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Autism Res Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Interpersonal Relations*; Arousal/*physiology ; Attention/*physiology ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/*physiopathology ; Developmental Disabilities/*physiopathology ; Fixation, Ocular/*physiology ; Orientation/*physiology; Affect/physiology ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/diagnosis ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/psychology ; Child, Preschool ; Developmental Disabilities/diagnosis ; Developmental Disabilities/psychology ; Female ; Heart Rate/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Nonverbal Communication/physiology ; Nonverbal Communication/psychology

Reduced use of eye contact is a prominent feature in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been proposed that direct gaze does not capture the attention of individuals with ASD. Experimental evidence is, however, mainly restricted to relatively high-functioning school-aged children or adults with ASD. This study investigated whether 2-5-year-old low-functioning children with severe ASD differ from control children in orienting to gaze stimuli, as measured with the heart rate deceleration response. Responses were measured to computerized presentations of dynamic shifts of gaze direction either toward (direct) or away (averted) from the observing child. The results showed a significant group by gaze direction interaction effect on heart rate responses (permuted P = .004), reflecting a stronger orienting response to direct versus averted gaze in typically developing (N = 17) and developmentally delayed (N = 16) children but not in children with ASD (N = 12). The lack of enhanced orienting response to direct gaze in the ASD group was not caused by a lack of looking at the eye region, as confirmed by eye tracking. The results suggest that direct gaze is not a socially salient, attention-grabbing signal for low-functioning children with ASD. Autism Res 2017, 10: 810-820. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
(© 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Keywords: attention; autism spectrum disorder; eye contact; heart rate; orienting

Date Created: 20170301 Date Completed: 20180426 Latest Revision: 20181202

20240628

10.1002/aur.1738

28244277