Abstract
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.
Highlights
Social behavior and communication are largely determined by the efficient use and interpretation of nonverbal cues (Argyle 1972), such as facial expressions
Emotional face processing has often been studied in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired reciprocal social communication and interaction, including deficient non-verbal communicative behavior (American Psychiatric Association 2014)
We found an overall lower sensitivity to detect fearful faces in boys with ASD as compared to TD boys, regardless whether the faces were presented upright or inverted, or whether attention was oriented towards the eye or the mouth region
Summary
Social behavior and communication are largely determined by the efficient use and interpretation of nonverbal cues (Argyle 1972), such as facial expressions. Emotional face processing has often been studied in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired reciprocal social communication and interaction, including deficient non-verbal communicative behavior (American Psychiatric Association 2014). An abundance of behavioral studies has investigated emotion recognition in individuals with and without ASD, yielding mixed results in terms of group differences (Harms et al 2010; Lozier et al 2014; Uljarevic and Hamilton 2013). Due to the ongoing development of fear recognition abilities during childhood, floor effects in both ASD and control children might conceal possible group differences until they emerge during adulthood
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
