title: Atypical modulation of face-elicited saccades in autism spectrum disorder in a double-step saccade paradigm.
abstract: Atypical development of face processing is a major characteristic in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which could be due to atypical interactions between subcortical and cortical face processing. The current study investigated the saccade planning towards faces in ASD. Seventeen children with ASD and 17 typically developing (TD) children observed a pair of upright or inverted face configurations flashed sequentially in two different spatial positions. The reactive saccades of participants were recorded by eye-tracking. The results did not provide evidence of overall impairment of subcortical route in ASD, However, the upright, but not the inverted, face configuration modulated the frequency of vector sum saccades (an index of subcortical control) in TD, but not in ASD. The current results suggests that children with ASD do not have overall impairment of the subcortital route, but the subcortical route may not be specialized to face processing.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Senju
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Hironori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akechi
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Yoshikuni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tojo
authors.forename: Hiroo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Osanai
authors.forename: Mark H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: autism spectrum disorder; double saccade; eye tracking; face processing; subcortical route; superior colliculus