The primary objective of this study is to examine whether people with autism have an atypical sensitivity to specific visual information, and if this can explain differences between them and healthy controls in looking at faces.
ID
Source
Brief title
Condition
- Developmental disorders NEC
Synonym
Research involving
Sponsors and support
Intervention
Outcome measures
Primary outcome
The main study parameters are (relative) duration of fixations on the eyes and
(relative) number of fixations on the eyes. The hypothesis is that these
measures will be different for the different levels of saliency, and that this
difference will be dissimilar in the two subject groups.
Secondary outcome
Besides examining the eyes as region of interest (ROI) we will also examine
looking at the mouth, since some studies report differences in it between the
two groups. Likewise, we will check fixations on the face and the background to
see whether the two groups spent the same amount of time/ fixations on the
stimulus in general in the first flace. Self paced presentation time will also
be recorded.
Above mentioned parameters are all about sustained attention, which is quite
hard to interpret. That*s why we are also interested in the capture of
attention. Therefore, we want to examine as well whether the start time of the
first fixation on the eyes is different for the two levels of saliency
manipulation and for the two groups.
Background summary
An important part of daily functioning exists of social interaction, which is
something people with autism and related disorders (Autism Spectrum Disorders;
ASD) have problems with. The diagnosis of autism or ASD is based on behavioral
symptoms, but it has been proposed more and more that perceptual abnormalities
underlie or contribute to these symptoms. An example of this abnormal
perception is enhanced detail discrimination in people with ASD.
Especially a deficit in face processing would be important because this kind of
processing is a crucial part of social interaction. Different views exist on
abnormalities in this kind of processing in ASD, but this might be due to how
people look at the stimulus material in the first place. This is why research
on gaze behavior is very important, but also the results of this kind of
research diverge. This might be explained by the differences in stimuli used.
It is possible that people with ASD have an atypical sensitivity to specific
visual information, since their focus on detail, and that this produces
inconsistent results between studies using different stimuli. That is why in
the current study it is examined whether (manipulated) saliency in the stimulus
material will have a (different) influence on gaze behavior in people with ASD,
when they look at faces.
Study objective
The primary objective of this study is to examine whether people with autism
have an atypical sensitivity to specific visual information, and if this can
explain differences between them and healthy controls in looking at faces.
Study design
In the proposed study, the patient group (diagnosed with ASD) will be compared
to the control group on a number of measures of gaze behavior obtained using
eye tracking. We propose a 2x2x2 design with group (patient, control) as
between subject factor, and saliency (low, high), and emotion (neutral,
fearful) as within subject factors.
Study burden and risks
The participants will be asked to visit the UMC Utrecht once. This session will
take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes, and will exist of IQ testing,
additional tests/ questionnaires, and performing a computer task while eye
movements are being tracked. Additional diagnostic testing will be required for
some participants (up to an hour). Participants will receive 12,50 euro (or 20
when additional diagnostic testing is necessary) for compensation.
There are no foreseeable risks involved associated with IQ testing and the
additional tests/ questionnaires, and eye tracking during the computer task.
Heidelberglaan 2
Utrecht 3584 CS
NL
Heidelberglaan 2
Utrecht 3584 CS
NL
Listed location countries
Age
Inclusion criteria
1. Positive diagnosis of one of the autism-spectrum disorders other than PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified) - i.e. Autism or Asperger syndrome, based on the DSM-IV and in addition standardized diagnostic instruments were administered: the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI-R, Lord, Rutter, & Le Couteur, 1994) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS, Lord et al., 1989). - for patient group only.
2. IQ greater than 70 (in the average range or above).
3. Age and sex match to patient group - for the healthy-volunteer group only.
4. Normal (or corrected-to-normal) vision.
5. Good health.
6. Age over 18.
Exclusion criteria
1. Diagnosis of PDD-NOS assigned by both the DSM-IV and ADI/ ADOS (both is a prerequisite for exclusion).
2. History of closed head injury
Design
Recruitment
Followed up by the following (possibly more current) registration
No registrations found.
Other (possibly less up-to-date) registrations in this register
No registrations found.
In other registers
| Register | ID |
|---|---|
| CCMO | NL36405.041.11 |