Owada Keiho, Kojima Masaki, Yassin Walid, Kuroda Miho, Kawakubo Yuki, Kuwabara Hitoshi, Kano Yukiko, Yamasue Hidenori
Department of Child Psychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Psychiatry, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan.
PLoS One. 2018 Jan 2;13(1):e0190442. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190442. eCollection 2018.
To develop novel interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) core symptoms, valid, reliable, and sensitive longitudinal outcome measures are required for detecting symptom change over time. Here, we tested whether a computerized analysis of quantitative facial expression measures could act as a marker for core ASD social symptoms. Facial expression intensity values during a semi-structured socially interactive situation extracted from the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) were quantified by dedicated software in 18 high-functioning adult males with ASD. Controls were 17 age-, gender-, parental socioeconomic background-, and intellectual level-matched typically developing (TD) individuals. Statistical analyses determined whether values representing the strength and variability of each facial expression element differed significantly between the ASD and TD groups and whether they correlated with ADOS reciprocal social interaction scores. Compared with the TD controls, facial expressions in the ASD group appeared more "Neutral" (d = 1.02, P = 0.005, PFDR < 0.05) with less variation in Neutral expression (d = 1.08, P = 0.003, PFDR < 0.05). Their expressions were also less "Happy" (d = -0.78, P = 0.038, PFDR > 0.05) with lower variability in Happy expression (d = 1.10, P = 0.003, PFDR < 0.05). Moreover, the stronger Neutral facial expressions in the ASD participants were positively correlated with poorer ADOS reciprocal social interaction scores (ρ = 0.48, P = 0.042). These findings indicate that our method for quantitatively measuring reduced facial expressivity during social interactions can be a promising marker for core ASD social symptoms.
为了开发针对自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）核心症状的新型干预措施，需要有效、可靠且灵敏的纵向结局指标来检测症状随时间的变化。在此，我们测试了对定量面部表情测量进行计算机化分析是否可作为ASD核心社交症状的标志物。从自闭症诊断观察量表（ADOS）中提取的半结构化社交互动情境中的面部表情强度值，通过专用软件对18名高功能成年男性ASD患者进行了量化。对照组为17名年龄、性别、父母社会经济背景和智力水平相匹配的发育正常（TD）个体。统计分析确定了代表每个面部表情元素强度和变异性的值在ASD组和TD组之间是否存在显著差异，以及它们是否与ADOS相互社交互动得分相关。与TD对照组相比，ASD组的面部表情显得更“中性”（d = 1.02，P = 0.005，校正后错误发现率PFDR < 0.05），中性表情的变化较小（d = 1.08，P = 0.003，PFDR < 0.05）。他们的表情也较不“开心”（d = -0.78，P = 0.038，PFDR > 0.05），开心表情的变异性较低（d = 1.10，P = 0.003，PFDR < 0.05）。此外，ASD参与者较强的中性面部表情与较差的ADOS相互社交互动得分呈正相关（ρ = 0.48，P = 0.042）。这些发现表明，我们用于定量测量社交互动中面部表情减少的方法可能是ASD核心社交症状的一个有前景的标志物。
