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Brain Mechanisms for Processing Direct and Averted Gaze in Individuals with Autism

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Abstract

Prior studies have indicated brain abnormalities underlying social processing in autism, but no fMRI study has specifically addressed the differential processing of direct and averted gaze, a critical social cue. Fifteen adolescents and adults with autism and 14 typically developing comparison participants viewed dynamic virtual-reality videos depicting a simple but realistic social scenario, in which an approaching male figure maintained either direct or averted gaze. Significant group by condition interactions reflecting differential responses to direct versus averted gaze in people with autism relative to typically developing individuals were identified in the right temporoparietal junction, right anterior insula, left lateral occipital cortex, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results provide initial evidence regarding brain mechanisms underlying the processing of gaze direction during simple social encounters, providing new insight into the social deficits in individuals with autism.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to Yale University to fund Clinical Research Fellow Naomi Pitskel. Kevin Pelphrey was supported by an NIMH Career Development Award (K01 MH071284) and by the John Merck Scholars Fund. This research was further supported by the John Merck Scholars Fund, Autism Speaks, NIMH grant MH071284, and by the NICHD Autism Center of Excellence HD055748.

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  1. Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Naomi B. Pitskel, Danielle Z. Bolling, Caitlin M. Hudac, Brent C. Vander Wyk & Kevin A. Pelphrey

  2. University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Stephen D. Lantz & Nancy J. Minshew

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  1. Naomi B. Pitskel
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  2. Danielle Z. Bolling
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Pitskel, N.B., Bolling, D.Z., Hudac, C.M. et al. Brain Mechanisms for Processing Direct and Averted Gaze in Individuals with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 1686–1693 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1197-x

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