Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the "excess mouth/diminished eye attention" hypothesis in autism / Sofie VETTORI in Molecular Autism, 11 (2020)  

Public ISBD [article]  inMolecular Autism > 11 (2020) Titre : Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the "excess mouth/diminished eye attention" hypothesis in autism Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Jannes NYS, Auteur ; Pieter MOORS, Auteur ; Tim VAN WESEMAEL, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bruno ROSSION, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur Langues : Anglais (eng) Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Scanning faces is important for social interactions. Difficulty with the social use of eye contact constitutes one of the clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been suggested that individuals with ASD look less at the eyes and more at the mouth than typically developing (TD) individuals, possibly due to gaze aversion or gaze indifference. However, eye-tracking evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. While gaze patterns convey information about overt orienting processes, it is unclear how this is manifested at the neural level and how relative covert attention to the eyes and mouth of faces might be affected in ASD. METHODS: We used frequency-tagging EEG in combination with eye tracking, while participants watched fast flickering faces for 1-min stimulation sequences. The upper and lower halves of the faces were presented at 6 Hz and 7.5 Hz or vice versa in different stimulation sequences, allowing to objectively disentangle the neural saliency of the eyes versus mouth region of a perceived face. We tested 21 boys with ASD (8-12 years old) and 21 TD control boys, matched for age and IQ. RESULTS: Both groups looked longer at the eyes than the mouth, without any group difference in relative fixation duration to these features. TD boys looked significantly more to the nose, while the ASD boys looked more outside the face. EEG neural saliency data partly followed this pattern: neural responses to the upper or lower face half were not different between groups, but in the TD group, neural responses to the lower face halves were larger than responses to the upper part. Face exploration dynamics showed that TD individuals mostly maintained fixations within the same facial region, whereas individuals with ASD switched more often between the face parts. LIMITATIONS: Replication in large and independent samples may be needed to validate exploratory results. CONCLUSIONS: Combined eye-tracking and frequency-tagged neural responses show no support for the excess mouth/diminished eye gaze hypothesis in ASD. The more exploratory face scanning style observed in ASD might be related to their increased feature-based face processing style. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-020-00396-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=438 [article] Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the "excess mouth/diminished eye attention" hypothesis in autism [texte imprimé] / Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Jannes NYS, Auteur ; Pieter MOORS, Auteur ; Tim VAN WESEMAEL, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bruno ROSSION, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Molecular Autism > 11 (2020) Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Scanning faces is important for social interactions. Difficulty with the social use of eye contact constitutes one of the clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been suggested that individuals with ASD look less at the eyes and more at the mouth than typically developing (TD) individuals, possibly due to gaze aversion or gaze indifference. However, eye-tracking evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. While gaze patterns convey information about overt orienting processes, it is unclear how this is manifested at the neural level and how relative covert attention to the eyes and mouth of faces might be affected in ASD. METHODS: We used frequency-tagging EEG in combination with eye tracking, while participants watched fast flickering faces for 1-min stimulation sequences. The upper and lower halves of the faces were presented at 6 Hz and 7.5 Hz or vice versa in different stimulation sequences, allowing to objectively disentangle the neural saliency of the eyes versus mouth region of a perceived face. We tested 21 boys with ASD (8-12 years old) and 21 TD control boys, matched for age and IQ. RESULTS: Both groups looked longer at the eyes than the mouth, without any group difference in relative fixation duration to these features. TD boys looked significantly more to the nose, while the ASD boys looked more outside the face. EEG neural saliency data partly followed this pattern: neural responses to the upper or lower face half were not different between groups, but in the TD group, neural responses to the lower face halves were larger than responses to the upper part. Face exploration dynamics showed that TD individuals mostly maintained fixations within the same facial region, whereas individuals with ASD switched more often between the face parts. LIMITATIONS: Replication in large and independent samples may be needed to validate exploratory results. CONCLUSIONS: Combined eye-tracking and frequency-tagged neural responses show no support for the excess mouth/diminished eye gaze hypothesis in ASD. The more exploratory face scanning style observed in ASD might be related to their increased feature-based face processing style. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-020-00396-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=438

Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation EEG Reveals Reduced Neural Sensitivity to Fearful Faces in Children with Autism / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49-11 (November 2019)  

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders > 49-11 (November 2019) . - p.4658-4673 Titre : Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation EEG Reveals Reduced Neural Sensitivity to Fearful Faces in Children with Autism Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Hella THIELEN, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bruno ROSSION, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.4658-4673 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism  Eeg  Fpvs  Face inversion effect  Facial emotion processing  Implicit fear detection Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : We objectively quantified the neural sensitivity of school-aged boys with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to detect briefly presented fearful expressions by combining fast periodic visual stimulation with frequency-tagging electroencephalography. Images of neutral faces were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved with fearful expressions at 1.2 Hz oddball rate. While both groups equally display the face inversion effect and mainly rely on information from the mouth to detect fearful expressions, boys with ASD generally show reduced neural responses to rapid changes in expression. At an individual level, fear discrimination responses predict clinical status with an 83% accuracy. This implicit and straightforward approach identifies subtle deficits that remain concealed in behavioral tasks, thereby opening new perspectives for clinical diagnosis. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04172-0 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=408 [article] Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation EEG Reveals Reduced Neural Sensitivity to Fearful Faces in Children with Autism [texte imprimé] / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Hella THIELEN, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bruno ROSSION, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur . - p.4658-4673. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders > 49-11 (November 2019) . - p.4658-4673 Mots-clés : Autism  Eeg  Fpvs  Face inversion effect  Facial emotion processing  Implicit fear detection Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : We objectively quantified the neural sensitivity of school-aged boys with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to detect briefly presented fearful expressions by combining fast periodic visual stimulation with frequency-tagging electroencephalography. Images of neutral faces were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved with fearful expressions at 1.2 Hz oddball rate. While both groups equally display the face inversion effect and mainly rely on information from the mouth to detect fearful expressions, boys with ASD generally show reduced neural responses to rapid changes in expression. At an individual level, fear discrimination responses predict clinical status with an 83% accuracy. This implicit and straightforward approach identifies subtle deficits that remain concealed in behavioral tasks, thereby opening new perspectives for clinical diagnosis. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04172-0 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=408

Investigating automatic emotion processing in boys with autism via eye tracking and facial mimicry recordings / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK in Autism Research, 14-7 (July 2021)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism Research > 14-7 (July 2021) . - p.1404-1420 Titre : Investigating automatic emotion processing in boys with autism via eye tracking and facial mimicry recordings Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Soha Sadat MAHDI, Auteur ; Peter CLAES, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1404-1420 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism Spectrum Disorder/complications  Autistic Disorder/complications  Child  Emotions  Eye-Tracking Technology  Facial Expression  Facial Recognition  Humans  Male  autism spectrum disorder  emotion processing  eye tracking  facial expression recognition  facial mimicry Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Difficulties in automatic emotion processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might remain concealed in behavioral studies due to compensatory strategies. To gain more insight in the mechanisms underlying facial emotion recognition, we recorded eye tracking and facial mimicry data of 20 school-aged boys with ASD and 20 matched typically developing controls while performing an explicit emotion recognition task. Proportional looking times to specific face regions (eyes, nose, and mouth) and face exploration dynamics were analyzed. In addition, facial mimicry was assessed. Boys with ASD and controls were equally capable to recognize expressions and did not differ in proportional looking times, and number and duration of fixations. Yet, specific facial expressions elicited particular gaze patterns, especially within the control group. Both groups showed similar face scanning dynamics, although boys with ASD demonstrated smaller saccadic amplitudes. Regarding the facial mimicry, we found no emotion specific facial responses and no group differences in the responses to the displayed facial expressions. Our results indicate that boys with and without ASD employ similar eye gaze strategies to recognize facial expressions. Smaller saccadic amplitudes in boys with ASD might indicate a less exploratory face processing strategy. Yet, this slightly more persistent visual scanning behavior in boys with ASD does not imply less efficient emotion information processing, given the similar behavioral performance. Results on the facial mimicry data indicate similar facial responses to emotional faces in boys with and without ASD. LAY SUMMARY: We investigated (i) whether boys with and without autism apply different face exploration strategies when recognizing facial expressions and (ii) whether they mimic the displayed facial expression to a similar extent. We found that boys with and without ASD recognize facial expressions equally well, and that both groups show similar facial reactions to the displayed facial emotions. Yet, boys with ASD visually explored the faces slightly less than the boys without ASD. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2490 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=449 [article] Investigating automatic emotion processing in boys with autism via eye tracking and facial mimicry recordings [texte imprimé] / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Soha Sadat MAHDI, Auteur ; Peter CLAES, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur . - p.1404-1420. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism Research > 14-7 (July 2021) . - p.1404-1420 Mots-clés : Autism Spectrum Disorder/complications  Autistic Disorder/complications  Child  Emotions  Eye-Tracking Technology  Facial Expression  Facial Recognition  Humans  Male  autism spectrum disorder  emotion processing  eye tracking  facial expression recognition  facial mimicry Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Difficulties in automatic emotion processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might remain concealed in behavioral studies due to compensatory strategies. To gain more insight in the mechanisms underlying facial emotion recognition, we recorded eye tracking and facial mimicry data of 20 school-aged boys with ASD and 20 matched typically developing controls while performing an explicit emotion recognition task. Proportional looking times to specific face regions (eyes, nose, and mouth) and face exploration dynamics were analyzed. In addition, facial mimicry was assessed. Boys with ASD and controls were equally capable to recognize expressions and did not differ in proportional looking times, and number and duration of fixations. Yet, specific facial expressions elicited particular gaze patterns, especially within the control group. Both groups showed similar face scanning dynamics, although boys with ASD demonstrated smaller saccadic amplitudes. Regarding the facial mimicry, we found no emotion specific facial responses and no group differences in the responses to the displayed facial expressions. Our results indicate that boys with and without ASD employ similar eye gaze strategies to recognize facial expressions. Smaller saccadic amplitudes in boys with ASD might indicate a less exploratory face processing strategy. Yet, this slightly more persistent visual scanning behavior in boys with ASD does not imply less efficient emotion information processing, given the similar behavioral performance. Results on the facial mimicry data indicate similar facial responses to emotional faces in boys with and without ASD. LAY SUMMARY: We investigated (i) whether boys with and without autism apply different face exploration strategies when recognizing facial expressions and (ii) whether they mimic the displayed facial expression to a similar extent. We found that boys with and without ASD recognize facial expressions equally well, and that both groups show similar facial reactions to the displayed facial emotions. Yet, boys with ASD visually explored the faces slightly less than the boys without ASD. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2490 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=449

Rapid neural categorization of angry and fearful faces is specifically impaired in boys with autism spectrum disorder / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61-9 (September 2020)  

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry > 61-9 (September 2020) . - p.1019-1029 Titre : Rapid neural categorization of angry and fearful faces is specifically impaired in boys with autism spectrum disorder Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Soha Sadat MAHDI, Auteur ; Peter CLAES, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1019-1029 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism  electroencephalography  facial emotion processing  fast periodic visual stimulation  implicit expression detection Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Difficulties with facial expression processing may be associated with the characteristic social impairments in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Emotional face processing in ASD has been investigated in an abundance of behavioral and EEG studies, yielding, however, mixed and inconsistent results. METHODS: We combined fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) with EEG to assess the neural sensitivity to implicitly detect briefly presented facial expressions among a stream of neutral faces, in 23 boys with ASD and 23 matched typically developing (TD) boys. Neutral faces with different identities were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved with an expressive face (angry, fearful, happy, sad in separate sequences) every fifth image (i.e., 1.2 Hz oddball frequency). These distinguishable frequency tags for neutral and expressive stimuli allowed direct and objective quantification of the expression-categorization responses, needing only four sequences of 60 s of recording per condition. RESULTS: Both groups show equal neural synchronization to the general face stimulation and similar neural responses to happy and sad faces. However, the ASD group displays significantly reduced responses to angry and fearful faces, compared to TD boys. At the individual subject level, these neural responses allow to predict membership of the ASD group with an accuracy of 87%. Whereas TD participants show a significantly lower sensitivity to sad faces than to the other expressions, ASD participants show an equally low sensitivity to all the expressions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate an emotion-specific processing deficit, instead of a general emotion-processing problem: Boys with ASD are less sensitive than TD boys to rapidly and implicitly detect angry and fearful faces. The implicit, fast, and straightforward nature of FPVS-EEG opens new perspectives for clinical diagnosis. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13201 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=430 [article] Rapid neural categorization of angry and fearful faces is specifically impaired in boys with autism spectrum disorder [texte imprimé] / Stephanie VAN DER DONCK, Auteur ; Milena DZHELYOVA, Auteur ; Sofie VETTORI, Auteur ; Soha Sadat MAHDI, Auteur ; Peter CLAES, Auteur ; Jean STEYAERT, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur . - p.1019-1029. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry > 61-9 (September 2020) . - p.1019-1029 Mots-clés : Autism  electroencephalography  facial emotion processing  fast periodic visual stimulation  implicit expression detection Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Difficulties with facial expression processing may be associated with the characteristic social impairments in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Emotional face processing in ASD has been investigated in an abundance of behavioral and EEG studies, yielding, however, mixed and inconsistent results. METHODS: We combined fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) with EEG to assess the neural sensitivity to implicitly detect briefly presented facial expressions among a stream of neutral faces, in 23 boys with ASD and 23 matched typically developing (TD) boys. Neutral faces with different identities were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved with an expressive face (angry, fearful, happy, sad in separate sequences) every fifth image (i.e., 1.2 Hz oddball frequency). These distinguishable frequency tags for neutral and expressive stimuli allowed direct and objective quantification of the expression-categorization responses, needing only four sequences of 60 s of recording per condition. RESULTS: Both groups show equal neural synchronization to the general face stimulation and similar neural responses to happy and sad faces. However, the ASD group displays significantly reduced responses to angry and fearful faces, compared to TD boys. At the individual subject level, these neural responses allow to predict membership of the ASD group with an accuracy of 87%. Whereas TD participants show a significantly lower sensitivity to sad faces than to the other expressions, ASD participants show an equally low sensitivity to all the expressions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate an emotion-specific processing deficit, instead of a general emotion-processing problem: Boys with ASD are less sensitive than TD boys to rapidly and implicitly detect angry and fearful faces. The implicit, fast, and straightforward nature of FPVS-EEG opens new perspectives for clinical diagnosis. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13201 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=430

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