title: Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: In this study, we present an eye-tracking paradigm, adapted from previous work with toddlers, for assessing social-interaction looking preferences in youth ages 5-17 with ASD and typically-developing controls (TDC). Videos of children playing together (Social Scenes, SS) were presented side-by-side with animated geometric shapes (GS). Participants with ASD demonstrated reduced SS preferences compared to TDC, results also represented continuously by associations between higher SS preferences and fewer social difficulties across the combined sample. Exploratory analyses identified associations between increased SS preferences and higher Vineland Daily Living Skills in ASD and suggested SS preferences in TDC females might drive ASD versus TDC between-group differences. These findings describe potentially sex-linked couplings between preferences for social information and social functioning in school-aged children.
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA. Rebecca.shaffer@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Rebecca C
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6935-4403
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Shaffer
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Ernest V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Pedapati
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shic
authors.affiliation: University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gaietto
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Logan K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Wink
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 4002, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Erickson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D012917:Social Adjustment
keywords: ASD; Autism spectrum disorder; Eye tracking; Social impairment; Social interest