Gaze behavior, facial emotion processing, and neural underpinnings

A comparison of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and conduct disorder

Bibliographic Data

ID21344453
AuthorsAntonia Tkalcec (0000-0003-2872-5882, Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Alessandro Baldassarri (Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Alex Junghans (0009-0000-5334-9191, Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Vithusan Somasundaram (Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Willeke M Menks (0000-0002-0983-7929, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, and Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen The Netherlands), Lynn Valérie Fehlbaum (0000-0002-7649-8699, University of Zurich), Réka Borbàs (0000-0001-9538-3574, Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland), Nora Maria Raschle (0000-0002-3160-5999, University of Zurich), Nora Raschle (Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland), Gudrun Seeger‐Schneider (Child and Youth Psychiatry Psychiatric University Clinic, University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland), Bettina Jenny (Child and Youth Psychiatry Psychiatric University Clinic, University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland), Susanne Walitza (0000-0002-8161-8683, Child and Youth Psychiatry Psychiatric University Clinic, University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland), David M Cole (0000-0001-9260-0430, Translational Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Philipp Sterzer (0000-0003-4687-2317, Translational Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Francesco Santini (0000-0001-6984-4816, Radiological Physics Department University Hospital Basel Switzerland), Evelyn Herbrecht (0000-0003-3287-6261, Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Ana Cubillo (0000-0001-5657-7341, Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland), Christina Stadler (0000-0003-2178-0635, Child and Youth Psychiatry University Psychiatric Clinic Basel Switzerland, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume66
Issue11
Pages1664-1674
Publication date2025-11-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9630 • E-ISSN: 1469-7610
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jcpp.14172
PMID40420478
OpenAlexW4410791918
LanguageEN
References cited52

BACKGROUND: Facial emotion processing deficits and atypical eye gaze are often described in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with conduct disorder (CD) and high callous unemotional (CU) traits. Yet, the underlying neural mechanisms of these deficits are still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate if eye gaze can partially account for the differences in brain activation in youth with ASD, with CD, and typically developing youth (TD). METHODS: = 39; mean age = 15.59 years) underwent a brain functional imaging session including eye tracking during an implicit emotion processing task while parents/caregivers completed questionnaires. Group differences in gaze behavior (number of fixations to the eye and mouth regions) for different facial expressions (neutral, fearful, angry) presented in the task were investigated using Bayesian analyses. Full-factorial models were used to investigate group differences in brain activation with and without including gaze behavior parameters and focusing on brain regions underlying facial emotion processing (insula, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex). RESULTS: Youth with ASD showed increased fixations on the mouth compared to TD and CD groups. CD participants with high CU traits tended to show fewer fixations to the eye region compared to TD for all emotions. Brain imaging results show higher right anterior insula activation in the ASD compared with the CD group when angry faces were presented. The inclusion of gaze behavior parameters in the model reduced the size of that cluster. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in insula activation may be partially explained by gaze behavior. This implies an important role of gaze behavior in facial emotion processing, which should be considered for future brain imaging studies. In addition, our results suggest that targeting gaze behavior in interventions might be potentially beneficial for disorders showing impairments associated with the processing of emotional faces. The relation between eye gaze, CU traits, and neural function in different diagnoses needs further clarification in larger samples

Amygdala · Audiology · Autism · Autism spectrum disorder · Developmental psychology · Eye tracking · Facial expression · Functional magnetic resonance imaging · Gaze · Insula · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Communication · Face Recognition and Perception · Memory and Neural Mechanisms · Neuroscience · Psychology

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