title: Face Recognition and Visual Search Strategies in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Amending and Extending a Recent Review by Weigelt et al.
abstract: The purpose of this review was to build upon a recent review by Weigelt et al. which examined visual search strategies and face identification between individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing peers. Seven databases, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE, ERIC, Medline, Proquest, PsychInfo and PubMed were used to locate published scientific studies matching our inclusion criteria. A total of 28 articles not included in Weigelt et al. met criteria for inclusion into this systematic review. Of these 28 studies, 16 were available and met criteria at the time of the previous review, but were mistakenly excluded; and twelve were recently published. Weigelt et al. found quantitative, but not qualitative, differences in face identification in individuals with ASD. In contrast, the current systematic review found both qualitative and quantitative differences in face identification between individuals with and without ASD. There is a large inconsistency in findings across the eye tracking and neurobiological studies reviewed. Recommendations for future research in face recognition in ASD were discussed.
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; School of Education and Communication, CHILD programme, Institution of Disability Research Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden; Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falkmer
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Horlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Tele
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Sharmila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.affiliation: School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Medicine and Health Sciences (IMH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University & Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, UHL, County Council, Linköping, Sweden; Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC), Long Pocket, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Torbjörn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Falkmer
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D011930:Reaction Time