Individual differences in autistic traits predict the perception of direct gaze for males, but not for females

Daisuke Matsuyoshi,Katsumi Watanabe,Seina Uchida,Yumiko Tanaka,Kana Kuraguchi,Hiroshi Ashida

doi:10.1186/2040-2392-5-12

Daisuke Matsuyoshi, Katsumi Watanabe + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-12

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Abstract

Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and a psychophysical approach in a normal population (N = 128), here we demonstrated that individual differences in autistic traits predicted direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Our findings suggest that direct-gaze perception may not constitute an autistic endophenotype in both sexes, and highlight the importance of sex differences when considering relationships between autistic traits and behaviors.

Highlights

Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibit atypical behavior in perceiving others’ eye gaze and eye contact, a crucial factor underlying social communication [1,2]. Their heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations has led researchers to suggest that autistic traits are extending into the normal population [3,4]
By examining the relationship between performance in perceiving direct gaze and the scores on the AutismSpectrum Quotient (AQ) [6] in a normal population, we show that individual differences in autistic traits predict performance in direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females

Summary

Introduction

Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. By examining the relationship between performance in perceiving direct gaze and the scores on the AutismSpectrum Quotient (AQ) [6] in a normal population, we show that individual differences in autistic traits predict performance in direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Participants (64 females, 64 males) were required to indicate whether the eyes were looking directly at them for the gaze task.

Results

Conclusion