Access to awareness of direct gaze is related to autistic traits

Background: The atypical processing of eye contact is a characteristic hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The severity of these symptoms, however, is thought to lie on a continuum that extends into the typical population. While behavioural evidence shows that differences in social cognitive tasks in typically developed (TD) adults are related to the levels of autistic-like traits, it remains unknown whether such a relation exists for the sensitivity to direct gaze.; Methods: In two experiments, we measured reaction times to detect the faces with direct and averted gaze, suppressed from awareness, i.e. the access to awareness. In experiment 1, we tested N = 19 clinically diagnosed adults with ASD and N = 22 TD matched controls, while in experiment 2, we tested an independent sample of N = 20 TD adults.; Results: In line with the literature, experiment 1 showed preferential processing of direct gaze in the TD group but not in the ASD group. Importantly, we found a linear relationship in both experiments between the levels of autistic traits within the groups of TD participants and their sensitivity to direct gaze: with increasing autistic characteristics, there was a decrease in sensitivity to direct gaze.; Conclusion: These results provide the first evidence that differences in gaze processing and the sensitivity to direct gaze are already present in individuals with subclinical levels of autistic traits. Furthermore, they lend support to the continuum view of the disorder and could potentially help in an earlier diagnosis of individuals at high risk for autism.Peer Reviewe

Bewusste und unbewusste Verarbeitung von sozial relevanten visuellen Reizen

The efficient processing of socially relevant information is critical for successful social interactions. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the extent to which the processing of socially relevant information depends on awareness using a combination of behavioural and neural data. Study 1 used eyetracking in healthy human participants to provide empirical evidence that eye gaze, an inherently salient social cue, influences ongoing behaviour in the absence of awareness and showed an unconscious bias towards direct gaze. Study 2 explored the neural mechanism behind this preferential processing of direct gaze. Finally, Study 3 used classical conditioning to ascribe salience to a stimulus and showed that eye movements were not preferentially directed to a fear-conditioned stimulus, in the absence of awareness. Taken together, these studies exhibit the profound influence of inherent social relevance on human behaviour while at the same time demonstrating the limits to which complex information can affect human behaviour outside awareness. They further offer a promising platform for new interventions in disorders characterized by impaired social interactions and investigations into the behavioural and neural effects of other ecologically relevant stimuli.Die effiziente Verarbeitung von sozial relevanten Reizen ist entscheidend für erfolgreiche soziale Interaktionen. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, zu untersuchen, inwieweit die Verarbeitung von sozial relevanten Informationen vom visuellen Bewusstsein über diese Informationen abhängt. In Studie 1 wurde Augenbewegungsmessungen durchgeführt um empirische Beweise dafür zu liefern, dass Blickkontakt - ein sozialer Reiz, der sich durch eine inhärente Salienz auszeichnet - laufendes Verhalten in Abwesenheit von Bewusstsein beeinflussen kann. In dieser Studie zeigten gesunde Teilnehmer eine Präferenz für Blickkontakt, obwohl sie die präsentierten Gesichter nicht bewusst wahrnehmen konnten. Studie 2 untersuchte den neuronalen Mechanismus, der dieser bevorzugten Verarbeitung von Blickkontakt in gesunden Teilnehmern zugrunde liegt. In Studie 3 wurde die soziale Relevanz eines Reizes mittels klassischer Konditionierung manipuliert. Hier zeigte sich, dass in Abwesenheit von Bewusstsein Augenbewegungen nicht bevorzugt auf den konditionierten Reiz gelenkt wurden. Zusammengefasst zeigen diese Studien den Einfluss von Reizen mit inhärenter sozialer Salienz auf das menschliche Verhalten. Zugleich zeigen sie aber auch, dass die Effekte sozialer Informationen auf das Verhalten außerhalb des visuellen Bewusstseins begrenzt sind. Sie stellen weiterhin eine Grundlage für neue Interventionen bei psychiatrischen Erkrankungen, die soziale Interaktionen betreffen, sowie für Untersuchungen zu Verhaltens- und neuronalen Effekten anderer ökologisch relevanter Reize dar

Unconscious avoidance of eye contact in autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Atypical responses to direct gaze are one of the most characteristic hallmarks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The cause and mechanism underlying this phenomenon, however, have remained unknown. Here we investigated whether the atypical responses to eye gaze in autism spectrum disorder is dependent on the conscious perception of others’ faces. Face stimuli with direct and averted gaze were rendered invisible by interocular suppression and eye movements were recorded from participants with ASD and an age and sex matched control group. Despite complete unawareness of the stimuli, the two groups differed significantly in their eye movements to the face stimuli. In contrast to the significant positive saccadic index observed in the TD group, indicating an unconscious preference to the face with direct gaze, the ASD group had no such preference towards direct gaze and instead showed a tendency to prefer the face with averted gaze, suggesting an unconscious avoidance of eye contact. These results provide the first evidence that the atypical response to eye contact in ASD is an unconscious and involuntary response. They provide a better understanding of the mechanism of gaze avoidance in autism and might lead to new diagnostic and therapeutic interventions

A short humorous intervention protects against subsequent psychological stress and attenuates cortisol levels without affecting attention

Presentation of humor simultaneously with a stressful event has been shown to dampen the psychological and physiological responses of stress. However, whether a relatively short humorous intervention can be utilized to prevent the subsequent stress processing is still underinvestigated. Furthermore, it is unknown, whether such a humor intervention changes stress processing at a cost of cognitive functioning. According to the broaden-and-build theory inducing positive emotions may subsequently impact cognitive performance. Here, we investigated whether humor protects against subsequent stressors by attenuating both, psychological and physiological stress levels and whether this affects cognitive performance. Participants watched either a humorous or a neutral movie, underwent stress induction and performed in a visual search task. Compared to the control group, psychological stress levels and salivary cortisol levels were lower in the humor group, yet no differences were found in response times and accuracy rates for the visual search task. Our results demonstrate that a short humorous intervention shields against subsequent psychological stress leaving cognitive performance intact, thus making it highly applicable to improve mental and physical health in everyday life situations

Unchanged food approach‐avoidance behaviour of healthy men after oxytocin administration

The oxytocinergic system has been assumed to contribute to food intake, possibly via interactions with dopamine. However, so far, it is unknown whether oxytocin influences the underlying motivational behaviour towards food. In the present study, we used a food‐based approach‐avoidance task (AAT) in a randomised, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, cross‐over design to compare intranasal oxytocin with a placebo. In the AAT, participants pushed or pulled a joystick when images of foods with a high or low craving rating were presented, where differences in response times typically reflect approach and avoidance motivational biases towards positively and negatively valence stimuli, respectively. Thirty‐three healthy male participants (age = 25.12 ± 3.51 years; body mass index = 24.25 ± 2.48 kg/m2) completed the two‐session study, one with placebo and the other with oxytocin. We used mixed‐effects models to investigate effects of treatment (oxytocin, placebo), response type (approach, avoid) and stimulus (high, low craving). The results showed that both approach and avoid responses tended to be faster for foods higher in craving compared to foods lower in craving. Most importantly, we did not observe any significant effects of oxytocin compared to placebo in motivational behaviour towards food. Our study demonstrates a general response bias towards foods with different craving values, which could have implications for future studies investigating food‐related behaviour. We discuss possible explanations for the null effects of oxytocin and suggest further investigation of the relationship between oxytocin, dopamine and food‐reward processing