Abstract
Background. We investigated whether individuals with high levels of autistic traits integrate relevant communicative signals, such as facial expression, when decoding eye-gaze direction. Methods. Students with high vs. low scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) performed a task in which they responded to the eye directions of faces, presented on the left or the right side of a screen, portraying different emotional expressions. Results. In both groups, the identification of gaze direction was faster when the eyes were directed towards the center of the scene. However, in the low AQ group, this effect was larger for happy faces than for neutral faces or faces showing other emotional expressions, whereas participants from high AQ group were not affected by emotional expressions. Conclusions. These results suggest that individuals with more autistic traits may not integrate multiple communicative signals based on their emotional value.
Highlights
Faces are among the most important visual stimuli, conveying complex information of considerable importance in the context of social interactions, including identity, race, sex, attractiveness, and emotions [1–3]
We aimed to investigate whether the ability to integrate facial expression when decoding eye-gaze direction depended on the extent of autistic-like traits measured with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)
Both low and high AQ groups showed that the identification of gaze direction was faster when the eyes were directed towards the center of the scene
Summary
Faces are among the most important visual stimuli, conveying complex information of considerable importance in the context of social interactions, including identity, race, sex, attractiveness, and emotions [1–3]. Even fetuses, show a visual preference for basic face-like configurations [4–6]. This preference is very functional to the newborn, facilitating connection with the caregiver and evoking a response [7]. We investigated whether individuals with high levels of autistic traits integrate relevant communicative signals, such as facial expression, when decoding eye-gaze direction. Students with high vs low scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) performed a task in which they responded to the eye directions of faces, presented on the left or the right side of a screen, portraying different emotional expressions. These results suggest that individuals with more autistic traits may not integrate multiple communicative signals based on their emotional value
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