title: Social attention and autism symptoms in high functioning women with autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research has suggested a different, less visible, clinical manifestation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in females. There is, however, limited research into possible underlying mechanisms explaining the female phenotype.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates social attention in females with ASD.
  
  
  METHODS
  26 women diagnosed with ASD and 26 typical female controls were shown three video clips containing intense emotions. Social attention was assessed by measuring eye fixation patterns during the video clips. Autism symptoms were assessed using the informant reported Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results show normal time to first fixation to the face, but lower fixation duration to the face in women with ASD. Analyzing the visual patterns further, there were similar impairments in fixation to mouth, eyes and other facial areas. Relating social attention to autism symptoms revealed several significant correlations within the ASD group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women with ASD show abnormalities in social attention and these abnormalities are related to level of autism symptoms. In contrast to other studies which investigate male dominated ASD samples, a hyperfocus to the mouth area could not be found.
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.p.ketelaars@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
authors.forename: Mieke P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ketelaars
authors.affiliation: Centrum Autisme Rivierduinen, Sandifortdreef 19, 2333 ZZ Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: In't Velt
authors.affiliation: Altrecht, Rembrandthage 77, 3437 PD Nieuwegein, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mol
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Swaab
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Fenne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bodrij
authors.affiliation: Leiden University, Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Rijn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012919:Social Behavior; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: ASD; Autism symptoms; Fixation duration; Social attention; Women