Altered interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during face-to-face interaction in autistic individuals: a dual eye-tracking study / Bastian SCHILLER ; Antonia VEHLEN ; Kathrin NICKEL ; Ludger Tebartz VAN ELST ; Gregor DOMES ; Markus HEINRICHS in Molecular Autism, 16 (2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inMolecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 12 Titre : Altered interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during face-to-face interaction in autistic individuals: a dual eye-tracking study Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Bastian SCHILLER, Auteur ; Antonia VEHLEN, Auteur ; Kathrin NICKEL, Auteur ; Ludger Tebartz VAN ELST, Auteur ; Gregor DOMES, Auteur ; Markus HEINRICHS, Auteur Article en page(s) : 12 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Humans  Male  Female  Eye-Tracking Technology  Autistic Disorder/physiopathology/psychology  Fixation, Ocular  Adult  Young Adult  Social Interaction  Adolescent  Eye Movements  Case-Control Studies  Autism spectrum  Dual eye-tracking  Naturalistic gaze behavior  Social interaction  the University of Freiburg approved this study (reference number: EK-Freiburg:  439/15). All participants gave written informed consent before the experiment  took place. Autism-related language preferences: The authors of this paper aimed  to use terminology that aligns with the language preferences of autistic adults,  referring to [93]. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests:  The authors declare no competing interests. Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Previous eye-tracking research on autistic individuals has mostly examined the gaze behavior of one individual in response to social stimuli presented on a computer screen, suggesting that there is atypical gaze behavior. However, it is unknown how these findings translate to the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during "face-to-face" encounters between two individuals. Only by analyzing the gaze behaviour of both interaction partners is it possible to determine the frequency of actual eye-contact and who initiates or breaks such periods of mutual eye gaze. The knowledge gained from this analysis could contribute to theorizing about the psychological mechanisms (e.g., gaze avoidance vs. gaze indifference) underlying autism. METHODS: The present study applied a novel dual eye-tracking setup that allows the assessment and analysis of the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior regarding (i) mutual eye gaze (i.e., eye contact), (ii) initiations, and (iii) break-ups of eye contact. Participants (37 autistic individuals, 37 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical individuals) performed a semi-standardized social interaction (i.e., Fast Friends Procedure) with a confederate (trained to interact in a standardized manner). RESULTS: Eye contact was reduced in interactions involving autistic individuals. Additional analyses revealed that this reduction was primarily due to the more frequent breaking of eye contact by these individuals. We also found considerable heterogeneity among autistic individuals, with atypical gaze behavior present in only about half of the sample. LIMITATIONS: Further research is required to determine whether the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior observed in this dual eye-tracking setup can be generalized to real-world situations. Future studies could also include arousal-related physiological measures. CONCLUSIONS: By tracking the gaze behavior of two interacting individuals, this study reveals specific atypicalities in the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior in a subset of autistic individuals, potentially informing diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. More broadly, our study highlights the added value of dual eye-tracking in elucidating the interactive nature of social encounters in both neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered as a clinical trial before starting data collection ( https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00018957 ; Registration Date: 12/17/2019). En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00645-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555 [article] Altered interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during face-to-face interaction in autistic individuals: a dual eye-tracking study [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Bastian SCHILLER, Auteur ; Antonia VEHLEN, Auteur ; Kathrin NICKEL, Auteur ; Ludger Tebartz VAN ELST, Auteur ; Gregor DOMES, Auteur ; Markus HEINRICHS, Auteur . - 12. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Molecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 12 Mots-clés : Humans  Male  Female  Eye-Tracking Technology  Autistic Disorder/physiopathology/psychology  Fixation, Ocular  Adult  Young Adult  Social Interaction  Adolescent  Eye Movements  Case-Control Studies  Autism spectrum  Dual eye-tracking  Naturalistic gaze behavior  Social interaction  the University of Freiburg approved this study (reference number: EK-Freiburg:  439/15). All participants gave written informed consent before the experiment  took place. Autism-related language preferences: The authors of this paper aimed  to use terminology that aligns with the language preferences of autistic adults,  referring to [93]. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests:  The authors declare no competing interests. Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Previous eye-tracking research on autistic individuals has mostly examined the gaze behavior of one individual in response to social stimuli presented on a computer screen, suggesting that there is atypical gaze behavior. However, it is unknown how these findings translate to the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during "face-to-face" encounters between two individuals. Only by analyzing the gaze behaviour of both interaction partners is it possible to determine the frequency of actual eye-contact and who initiates or breaks such periods of mutual eye gaze. The knowledge gained from this analysis could contribute to theorizing about the psychological mechanisms (e.g., gaze avoidance vs. gaze indifference) underlying autism. METHODS: The present study applied a novel dual eye-tracking setup that allows the assessment and analysis of the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior regarding (i) mutual eye gaze (i.e., eye contact), (ii) initiations, and (iii) break-ups of eye contact. Participants (37 autistic individuals, 37 age- and IQ-matched neurotypical individuals) performed a semi-standardized social interaction (i.e., Fast Friends Procedure) with a confederate (trained to interact in a standardized manner). RESULTS: Eye contact was reduced in interactions involving autistic individuals. Additional analyses revealed that this reduction was primarily due to the more frequent breaking of eye contact by these individuals. We also found considerable heterogeneity among autistic individuals, with atypical gaze behavior present in only about half of the sample. LIMITATIONS: Further research is required to determine whether the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior observed in this dual eye-tracking setup can be generalized to real-world situations. Future studies could also include arousal-related physiological measures. CONCLUSIONS: By tracking the gaze behavior of two interacting individuals, this study reveals specific atypicalities in the interactive dynamics of gaze behavior in a subset of autistic individuals, potentially informing diagnostic and therapeutic decisions. More broadly, our study highlights the added value of dual eye-tracking in elucidating the interactive nature of social encounters in both neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered as a clinical trial before starting data collection ( https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00018957 ; Registration Date: 12/17/2019). En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00645-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555

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