Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Turnhoutseweg 30, 2340, Beerse, Belgium.
Janssen Research & Development, LLC, 1125 Trenton-Harbourton Road, Titusville, NJ, 08560, USA.
Mol Autism. 2020 Oct 19;11(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s13229-020-00388-5.
Diminished visual monitoring of faces and activities of others is an early feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is uncertain whether deficits in activity monitoring, identified using a homogeneous set of stimuli, persist throughout the lifespan in ASD, and thus, whether they could serve as a biological indicator ("biomarker") of ASD. We investigated differences in visual attention during activity monitoring in children and adult participants with autism compared to a control group of participants without autism.
Eye movements of participants with autism (n = 122; mean age [SD] = 14.5 [8.0] years) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 40, age = 16.4 [13.3] years) were recorded while they viewed a series of videos depicting two female actors conversing while interacting with their hands over a shared task. Actors either continuously focused their gaze on each other's face (mutual gaze) or on the shared activity area (shared focus). Mean percentage looking time was computed for the activity area, actors' heads, and their bodies.
Compared to TD participants, participants with ASD looked longer at the activity area (mean % looking time: 58.5% vs. 53.8%, p < 0.005) but less at the heads (15.2% vs. 23.7%, p < 0.0001). Additionally, within-group differences in looking time were observed between the mutual gaze and shared focus conditions in both participants without ASD (activity: Δ = - 6.4%, p < 0.004; heads: Δ = + 3.5%, p < 0.02) and participants with ASD (bodies: Δ = + 1.6%, p < 0.002).
The TD participants were not as well characterized as the participants with ASD. Inclusion criteria regarding the cognitive ability [intelligence quotient (IQ) > 60] limited the ability to include individuals with substantial intellectual disability.
Differences in attention to faces could constitute a feature discriminative between individuals with and without ASD across the lifespan, whereas between-group differences in looking at activities may shift with development. These findings may have applications in the search for underlying biological indicators specific to ASD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02668991.
对他人面部和活动的视觉监控能力下降是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一个早期特征。目前尚不确定在 ASD 患者中，使用一组同质刺激物识别出的活动监控缺陷是否会在整个生命周期内持续存在，因此它们是否可以作为 ASD 的生物标志物。我们研究了自闭症儿童和成人参与者与无自闭症的对照组参与者在活动监控过程中的视觉注意力差异。
我们记录了自闭症患者（n=122；平均年龄[标准差]为 14.5[8.0]岁）和典型发育（TD）对照组（n=40，年龄为 16.4[13.3]岁）的眼动，当他们观看一系列视频时，视频中两个女性演员在共同任务上进行互动时会彼此注视或注视共同活动区域。计算了活动区域、演员头部和身体的注视时间百分比。
与 TD 参与者相比，ASD 参与者注视活动区域的时间更长（平均注视时间百分比：58.5%比 53.8%，p<0.005），而注视头部的时间更短（15.2%比 23.7%，p<0.0001）。此外，在无 ASD 的参与者（活动：Δ=-6.4%，p<0.004；头部：Δ=+3.5%，p<0.02）和 ASD 参与者（身体：Δ=+1.6%，p<0.002）中，在相互注视和共同关注条件之间观察到组内差异。
TD 参与者的特征描述不如 ASD 参与者全面。纳入标准中关于认知能力[智商（IQ）>60]的规定限制了纳入智力严重残疾个体的能力。
在整个生命周期中，对面孔的注意力差异可能是区分 ASD 患者和非 ASD 患者的特征，而在活动注视方面的组间差异可能会随着发育而变化。这些发现可能有助于寻找特定于 ASD 的潜在生物学标志物。临床试验注册ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符 NCT02668991。
