Combined frequency-tagging EEG and eye-tracking measures provide no support for the "excess mouth/diminished eye attention" hypothesis in autism.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Scanning faces is important for social interactions. Difficulty with the social use of eye contact constitutes one of the clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It has been suggested that individuals with ASD look less at the eyes and more at the mouth than typically developing (TD) individuals, possibly due to gaze aversion or gaze indifference. However, eye-tracking evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. While gaze patterns convey information about overt orienting processes, it is unclear how this is manifested at the neural level and how relative covert attention to the eyes and mouth of faces might be affected in ASD.

Methods

We used frequency-tagging EEG in combination with eye tracking, while participants watched fast flickering faces for 1-min

SUBMITTER: Vettori S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7686749 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature