title: Physiological responses to dyadic interactions are influenced by neurotypical adults' levels of autistic and empathy traits.
abstract: Autistic traits are distributed on a continuum that ranges from non-clinical to clinical condition. Atypical responses to social situations represent a core feature of the Autism Spectrum Disorders phenotype. Here, we hypothesize that atypical physiological responses to social stimuli may predict non-clinical autistic and empathy traits levels. We measured physiological responses (heart rate, facial temperature) of 40 adults (20F) while showing them 24 movies representing dyadic interactions. Autistic traits were assessed through Autism Quotient questionnaire (AQ), while empathy traits were measured using the Empathy Quotient questionnaire (EQ). Opposite correlations between AQ and EQ scores and physiological responses were found. Analysis of physiological responses revealed that individuals with better social abilities, low AQ and high EQ, show opposite activation patterns compared to people with high AQ and low EQ. Findings show that physiological responses could be biomarkers for people's autistic traits and social abilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, TN, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Truzzi
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Peipei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Setoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Unit of Basic Medical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shinohara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, TN, Italy; Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Electronic address: gianluca.esposito@unitn.it.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001831:Body Temperature; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology*; D005145:Face / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011581:Psychological Tests; D066107:Social Skills; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism Quotient; Autistic traits; Empathy; Physiological responses; Social interactions