Recognition of valence using QRS complex in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Abstract

In children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the absence of emotional inexpressiveness continues to be a consistent issue. This causes them to an unexpected emotional outbursts and meltdowns. This study utilizes the QRS complex derived from the Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals to investigate the positive (“Like”) and negative (“Dislike”) valence using a personalized emotion elicitation protocol using audio- and audio-visual cues in children who have ASD under the ages between 5 and 11 years. The sample size consisted of 15 controls and 15 children who have ASD.The acquired raw ECG signals are cleaned using various digital filters and the useful valence specific features are extracted from the QRS complex and are classified using the K nearest neighbour (KNN) and Ensemble learner. The control children were able to exhibit largely to the valence states, in contrast the children who have ASD did not show much difference in their valence states which was also verified using the Ensemble learner which achieved a maximum mean accuracy of 75.5 % in controls and 70.5% in children who have ASD.