The Importance of Networking in Autism Gaze Analysis.
Visual scanning of faces in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been intensively studied using eye-tracking technology. However, most of studies have relied on the same analytic approach based on the quantification of fixation time, which may have failed to reveal some important features of the scanning strategies employed by individuals with ASD. In the present study, we examined the scanning of faces in a group of 20 preschoolers with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers, using both classical fixation time approach and a new developed approach based on transition matrices and network analysis. We found between group differences in the eye region in terms of fixation time, with increased right eye fixation time for the ASD group and increased left eye fixation time for the TD group. Our complementary network approach revealed that the left eye might play the role of an anchor in the scanning strategies of TD children but not in that of children with ASD. In ASD, fixation time on the different facial parts was almost exclusively dependent on exploratory activity. Our study highlights the importance of developing innovative measures that bear the potential of revealing new properties of the scanning strategies employed by individuals with ASD.
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.
Quentin
Q
Guillon
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.
Mohammad H
MH
Afzali
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France; Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France.
Bernadette
B
Rogé
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.
Sophie
S
Baduel
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France.
Jeanne
J
Kruck
URI Octogone, University Toulouse Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France; Harvard Medical School / MGH / MIT, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America; Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Center, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Nouchine
N
Hadjikhani
D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005145:Face; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011930:Reaction Time