Department of Child Psychiatry, Tampere University Hospital and University of Tampere, Box 2000, 33521, Tampere, Finland.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2012 Sep;42(9):1917-27. doi: 10.1007/s10803-011-1435-2.
The present study investigated whether autonomic arousal to direct gaze is related to social impairments among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Arousal was measured through skin conductance responses (SCR) while the participants (15 children with ASD and 16 control children) viewed a live face of another person. Impairments in social skills was assessed with the Developmental, Dimensional and Diagnostic Interview. The level of arousal enhancement to direct gaze in comparison to arousal to faces with averted gaze or closed eyes was positively associated with impairments in social skills (use of language and other social communication skills and use of gesture and non-verbal play) among children with ASD. There was no similar association among children without ASD. The role of arousal-related factors in influencing eye contact behaviour in ASD is discussed.
本研究旨在探讨自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童对直视的自主唤醒是否与社交障碍有关。参与者（15 名 ASD 儿童和 16 名对照组儿童）观看他人的实时面部图像时，通过皮肤电反应（SCR）来测量唤醒程度。社会技能障碍使用发育、维度和诊断访谈进行评估。与回避目光或闭眼的面部相比，对直视的唤醒增强程度与 ASD 儿童的社会技能障碍（语言和其他社会沟通技能的使用、手势和非言语游戏的使用）呈正相关。在没有 ASD 的儿童中，没有类似的关联。讨论了唤醒相关因素在影响 ASD 中的眼神接触行为中的作用。
