Parsing Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Visual Scanning of Dynamic Social Scenes in School-Aged Children

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Katherine Rice, Emory University; Jennifer M. Moriuchi, Emory University; Warren R Jones, Emory University; Ami Klin, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2012-03
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2012 American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2011.12.017
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• ISSN: 0890-8567
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 238
• End Page: 248
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by grants the Marcus Foundation, the Simons Foundation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD42127) and the National Science Foundation (NSF0532610) (AK, WJ).
• Research Categories: Psychology, General; Health Sciences, Human Development; Psychology, Developmental

Abstract

Objective: To examine patterns of variability in social visual engagement and their relationship to standardized measures of social disability in a heterogeneous sample of school-age children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Method: Eye-tracking measures of visual fixation during free-viewing of dynamic social scenes were obtained for 109 children with ASD (mean age=10.2 ± 3.2 years), 37 of whom were matched to 26 typically developing (TD) children (mean age=9.5 ± 2.2 years) on gender, age and IQ. The smaller subset allowed for between-group comparisons whereas the larger group was used for within-group examinations of ASD heterogeneity. Results: Between-group comparisons revealed significantly attenuated orientation to socially salient aspects of the scenes, with the largest effect size (Cohen’s d=1.5) obtained for reduced fixation on faces. Within-group analyses revealed a robust association between higher fixation on the inanimate environment and greater social disability. However, the associations between fixation on the eyes and mouth and social adaptation varied greatly, even reversing, when comparing different cognitive profile subgroups. Conclusions: While patterns of social visual engagement with naturalistic social stimuli are profoundly altered in children with ASD, the social adaptivity of these behaviors varies for different groups of children. This variation likely represents different patterns of adaptation and maladaptation that should be traced longitudinally to the first years of life, before complex interactions between early predispositions and compensatory learning take place. We propose that variability in these early mechanisms of socialization may serve as proximal behavioral manifestations of genetic vulnerabilities.