Ioannou Chara, Seernani Divya, Stefanou Maria Elena, Biscaldi-Schaefer Monica, Tebartz Van Elst Ludger, Fleischhaker Christian, Boccignone Giuseppe, Klein Christoph
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.
Front Psychiatry. 2020 Sep 23;11:585149. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.585149. eCollection 2020.
Social interaction in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by qualitative impairments that highly impact quality of life. Bayesian theories in ASD frame an understanding of underlying mechanisms suggesting atypicalities in the evaluation of probabilistic links within the perceptual environment of the affected individual. To address these theories, the present study explores the applicability of an innovative Bayesian framework on social visual perception in ASD and demonstrates the use of gaze transitions between different parts of social scenes. We applied advanced analyses with Bayesian Hidden Markov Modeling (BHMM) to track gaze movements while presenting real-life scenes to typically developing (TD) children and adolescents ( = 25) and participants with ASD and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ASD+ADHD, = 15) and ASD without comorbidity (ASD, = 12). Regions of interest (ROIs) were generated by BHMM based both on spatial and temporal gaze behavior. Social visual perception was compared between groups using transition and fixation variables for social (faces, bodies) and non-social ROIs. Transition variables between faces, namely gaze transitions between faces and likelihood of linking faces, were reduced in the ASD+ADHD compared to TD participants. Fixation count to faces was also reduced in this group. The ASD group showed similar performance to TD in the studied variables. There was no difference between groups for non-social ROIs. Our study provides an innovative, interpretable example of applying Bayesian theories of social visual perception in ASD. BHMM analyses and gaze transitions have the potential to reveal fundamental social perception components in ASD, contributing thus to amelioration of social-skill interventions.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）个体的社交互动具有质性损伤的特征，这对生活质量有很大影响。ASD中的贝叶斯理论构建了对潜在机制的理解，表明受影响个体在感知环境中对概率联系的评估存在异常。为了验证这些理论，本研究探讨了一种创新的贝叶斯框架在ASD社交视觉感知中的适用性，并展示了在社会场景不同部分之间的注视转换的应用。我们应用贝叶斯隐马尔可夫模型（BHMM）进行高级分析，以跟踪注视运动，同时向发育正常（TD）的儿童和青少年（n = 25）、患有ASD和注意力缺陷多动障碍（ASD+ADHD，n = 15）以及无合并症的ASD患者（ASD，n = 12）呈现现实生活场景。基于空间和时间注视行为，由BHMM生成感兴趣区域（ROIs）。使用社交（面部、身体）和非社交ROIs的转换和注视变量比较组间的社交视觉感知。与TD参与者相比，ASD+ADHD组中面部之间的转换变量，即面部之间的注视转换和连接面部的可能性降低。该组对面部的注视次数也减少。在研究变量方面，ASD组与TD组表现相似。非社交ROIs组间无差异。我们的研究提供了一个在ASD中应用社交视觉感知贝叶斯理论的创新、可解释的例子。BHMM分析和注视转换有可能揭示ASD中基本的社会感知成分，从而有助于改善社交技能干预。
