Eye-Tracking Studies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05524-z

Meta-Analysis

. 2023 Jun;53(6):2430-2443.

doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05524-z. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Eye-Tracking Studies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Imanol Setien-Ramos^#¹, Jorge Lugo-Marín^#^{2

3}, Laura Gisbert-Gustemps^{4

5

6}, Emiliano Díez-Villoria⁷, María Magán-Maganto⁷, Ricardo Canal-Bedia⁷, Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga^{1

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
² Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. jlugo@vhebron.net.
³ Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain. jlugo@vhebron.net.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
⁵ Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
⁷ Centro de Atención Integral al Autismo-InFoAutismo. INICO-Instituto Universitario de Integración en la Comunidad, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 35355174
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05524-z

Meta-Analysis

Eye-Tracking Studies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Imanol Setien-Ramos et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2023 Jun.

. 2023 Jun;53(6):2430-2443.

doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05524-z. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Psychiatric Genetics Unit, Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
² Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. jlugo@vhebron.net.
³ Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain. jlugo@vhebron.net.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
⁵ Biomedical Network Research Centre on Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
⁷ Centro de Atención Integral al Autismo-InFoAutismo. INICO-Instituto Universitario de Integración en la Comunidad, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 35355174
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05524-z

Abstract

Eye-tracking studies have shown potential in effectively discriminating between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and non-ASD groups. The main objective of the present study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of eye-tracking studies in adults with ASD. A total of 22 studies were included for meta-analysis. Eyes and Non-Social regions proved better for discriminating between ASD and non-ASD adults, while fixation duration seems to be the outcome to choose. Active engaged tasks seem to reduce differences between ASD and non-ASD adults, regardless of the emotional content of the stimuli/task. Proportional fixation duration on eyes and non-social areas in non-active tasks (e.g. free viewing) seems to be the best eye-tracking design for increasing the sensitivity and specificity in ASD adults.

Keywords: Adults; Autism spectrum disorder; Eye-tracking; Meta-analysis; Systematic review.

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References

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
1. Amestoy, A., Guillaud, E., Bouvard, M. P., & Cazalets, J. R. (2015). Developmental changes in face visual scanning in autism spectrum disorder as assessed by data-based analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 989. - PubMed - PMC
1. Anderson, G. M. (2015). Autism biomarkers: Challenges, pitfalls and possibilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(4), 1103–1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2225-4 - PubMed
1. Åsberg Johnels, J., Hovey, D., Zürcher, N., Hippolyte, L., Lemonnier, E., Gillberg, C., & Hadjikhani, N. (2017). Autism and emotional face-viewing. Autism Research, 10(5), 901–910. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1730 - PubMed
1. Auyeung, B., Lombardo, M. V., Heinrichs, M., Chakrabarti, B., Sule, A., Deakin, J. B., Bethlehem, R. A., Dickens, L., Mooney, N., Sipple, J. A., Thiemann, P., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism. Translational Psychiatry, 5(2), e507. - PubMed - PMC

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[1] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

[2] American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

[3] Amestoy, A., Guillaud, E., Bouvard, M. P., & Cazalets, J. R. (2015). Developmental changes in face visual scanning in autism spectrum disorder as assessed by data-based analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 989. - PubMed - PMC

[4] Amestoy, A., Guillaud, E., Bouvard, M. P., & Cazalets, J. R. (2015). Developmental changes in face visual scanning in autism spectrum disorder as assessed by data-based analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 989. - PubMed - PMC

[5] Anderson, G. M. (2015). Autism biomarkers: Challenges, pitfalls and possibilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(4), 1103–1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2225-4 - PubMed

[6] Anderson, G. M. (2015). Autism biomarkers: Challenges, pitfalls and possibilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(4), 1103–1113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-014-2225-4 - PubMed

[7] Åsberg Johnels, J., Hovey, D., Zürcher, N., Hippolyte, L., Lemonnier, E., Gillberg, C., & Hadjikhani, N. (2017). Autism and emotional face-viewing. Autism Research, 10(5), 901–910. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1730 - PubMed

[8] Åsberg Johnels, J., Hovey, D., Zürcher, N., Hippolyte, L., Lemonnier, E., Gillberg, C., & Hadjikhani, N. (2017). Autism and emotional face-viewing. Autism Research, 10(5), 901–910. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.1730 - PubMed

[9] Auyeung, B., Lombardo, M. V., Heinrichs, M., Chakrabarti, B., Sule, A., Deakin, J. B., Bethlehem, R. A., Dickens, L., Mooney, N., Sipple, J. A., Thiemann, P., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism. Translational Psychiatry, 5(2), e507. - PubMed - PMC

[10] Auyeung, B., Lombardo, M. V., Heinrichs, M., Chakrabarti, B., Sule, A., Deakin, J. B., Bethlehem, R. A., Dickens, L., Mooney, N., Sipple, J. A., Thiemann, P., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2015). Oxytocin increases eye contact during a real-time, naturalistic social interaction in males with and without autism. Translational Psychiatry, 5(2), e507. - PubMed - PMC

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Eye-Tracking Studies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Eye-Tracking Studies in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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