Neural and gaze pattern responses to happy faces in autism: Predictors of adaptive difficulties and re-evaluation of the social motivation hypothesis

IF 5.3 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology Pub Date : 2024-10-01 DOI:10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100527

Mengyuan Yang , Lan Zhang , Zijie Wei , Pingping Zhang , Lei Xu , Lihui Huang , Keith M. Kendrick , Yi Lei , Juan Kou

{"title":"Neural and gaze pattern responses to happy faces in autism: Predictors of adaptive difficulties and re-evaluation of the social motivation hypothesis","authors":"Mengyuan Yang , Lan Zhang , Zijie Wei , Pingping Zhang , Lei Xu , Lihui Huang , Keith M. Kendrick , Yi Lei , Juan Kou","doi":"10.1016/j.ijchp.2024.100527","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The “Social Motivation” hypothesis posits that social deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) arise from altered reward perception. However, few studies have examined neural and behavioral responses to social reward-related cues in low functioning ASD children with limited cognitive or language abilities.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study investigated if young children with ASD show atypical gaze towards happy faces and its association with altered brain reward responses.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Eye-tracking was performed in 36 ASD and 36 typically developing (TD) children (2.5–6 years) viewing happy faces of children or emoticons. Functional near infrared spectroscopy was used to record group differences in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activation simultaneously.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Children with ASD showed increased pupil diameter and OFC activation compared to TD children when viewing all happy faces and gazed less at the eyes of actual faces and the mouths of emoticons. These atypical responses was associated with lower adaptive behavior scores and greater symptom severity.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Our research reveals distinct neural hyperactivity and viewing patterns in young children with ASD when presented with reward-related facial stimuli. These results contradict the Social Motivation Hypothesis. Children with ASD exhibit heightened levels of arousal and employ less efficient facial processing strategies. This heightened demand for cognitive resources could have long-term effects on children's well-being and may hinder their ability to develop adaptive skills effectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":47673,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","volume":"24 4","pages":"Article 100527"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1697260024000929","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The “Social Motivation” hypothesis posits that social deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) arise from altered reward perception. However, few studies have examined neural and behavioral responses to social reward-related cues in low functioning ASD children with limited cognitive or language abilities.

Objective

This study investigated if young children with ASD show atypical gaze towards happy faces and its association with altered brain reward responses.

Methods

Eye-tracking was performed in 36 ASD and 36 typically developing (TD) children (2.5–6 years) viewing happy faces of children or emoticons. Functional near infrared spectroscopy was used to record group differences in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activation simultaneously.

Results

Children with ASD showed increased pupil diameter and OFC activation compared to TD children when viewing all happy faces and gazed less at the eyes of actual faces and the mouths of emoticons. These atypical responses was associated with lower adaptive behavior scores and greater symptom severity.

Conclusion

Our research reveals distinct neural hyperactivity and viewing patterns in young children with ASD when presented with reward-related facial stimuli. These results contradict the Social Motivation Hypothesis. Children with ASD exhibit heightened levels of arousal and employ less efficient facial processing strategies. This heightened demand for cognitive resources could have long-term effects on children's well-being and may hinder their ability to develop adaptive skills effectively.

查看原文本刊更多论文

自闭症患者对快乐面孔的神经和注视模式反应：适应困难的预测因素和社交动机假说的重新评估

背景 "社交动机 "假说认为，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的社交障碍源于奖赏感知的改变。本研究调查了患有自闭症谱系障碍的幼儿是否会对快乐的面孔表现出不典型的注视，以及这种注视是否与大脑奖赏反应的改变有关。方法对 36 名患有自闭症谱系障碍的幼儿和 36 名发育正常的幼儿（2.5-6 岁）进行眼球追踪，观察他们观看儿童或表情符号的快乐面孔的情况。结果与TD儿童相比，ASD儿童在观看所有开心面孔时，瞳孔直径和OFC激活程度都有所增加，而在观看真实面孔的眼睛和表情符号的嘴巴时，瞳孔直径和OFC激活程度都有所下降。这些非典型反应与较低的适应行为得分和较严重的症状有关。结论我们的研究揭示了 ASD 幼儿在受到与奖励相关的面部刺激时的独特神经过度活动和观看模式。这些结果与 "社会动机假说 "相矛盾。患有 ASD 的儿童会表现出更高的唤醒水平，并采用效率更低的面部处理策略。这种对认知资源的更高需求可能会对儿童的福祉产生长期影响，并可能阻碍他们有效发展适应技能的能力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

10.70

自引率

5.70%

发文量

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology is dedicated to publishing manuscripts with a strong emphasis on both basic and applied research, encompassing experimental, clinical, and theoretical contributions that advance the fields of Clinical and Health Psychology. With a focus on four core domains—clinical psychology and psychotherapy, psychopathology, health psychology, and clinical neurosciences—the IJCHP seeks to provide a comprehensive platform for scholarly discourse and innovation. The journal accepts Original Articles (empirical studies) and Review Articles. Manuscripts submitted to IJCHP should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere. All signing authors must unanimously agree on the submitted version of the manuscript. By submitting their work, authors agree to transfer their copyrights to the Journal for the duration of the editorial process.