Children suffering from autism pay very little attention to faces, even those of people close to them. Indeed, this characteristic can become apparent as early as the age of one, and is often used as a developmental sign of the disease. The results of a new study provide additional insight into why autistic children avoid eye contact: they perceive faces as an uncomfortable threat, even if they are familiar.

Kim M. Dalton of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her colleagues studied 27 autistic teenagers who looked at pictures of faces (see image) while a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine scanned their brains. The researchers also tracked the subjects' eye movements as they studied the images. "This is the very first published study that assesses how individuals with autism look at faces while simultaneously monitoring which of their brain areas are active," Dalton says. When the image included a direct gaze from a nonthreatening face, brain activity in the amygdala--a brain region associated with negative feelings--was much higher for autistic children than it was in members of the control group. "Imagine walking through the world and interpreting every face that looks at you as a threat, even the face of your own mother," remarks study co-author Richard Davidson, also at UW-Madison.

The results also indicate that a brain area associated with face perception, known as the fusiform region, is fundamentally normal in autistic children; it does exhibit decreased activity, however. Davidson notes that this could result because the over-aroused amygdala makes an autistic child want to look away from faces. In addition, he comments that it was surprising that "when subjects with autism averted their gaze away from the eye region of a face, they showed reduced activity in the amygdala, suggesting that the gaze aversion is serving a functional purpose." The findings are published today in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

5 Comments

1. 1. zhykitty 11:22 AM 9/22/09

   For me, as a person with Asperger's Syndrome, I find that the study holds true in what they see on the MRI but the motivations you have described here are wrong, at least for me.
   I dont like round things - convex, concave, or flat and I DO NOT like images or models of eyes and feel physically sick when I look at them. Because people try to "chase your face" to make eye contact, something completely unessesary in a conversation, you usually have to pick a place on their foreheads to look at so they will stop trying to do whatever it is neuro-typical people do when they insist on making that kind of violating personal contact. It makes as much sense to me as if people needed to hold each other's privates to communicate.
   I can hear every expression and inflection in a voice and need not look at a face to read another person.
   Understanding WHY they have those feelings is my problem.
   You can feel emotions - such as the most common one - when people are uncomfortable around me.
   It has a feeling and a sound.
   I dont need to look to know it.
   I just wish someone would explain to me WHY so called neuro-typical people radiate it so often.
   People don't harass the blind by trying to make this kind of facial invasion and I don't see why they continue to do it to people like myself.
   It makes me angry.
   I feel like they're peeking at me naked and I feel revulsion, and impatience, but NOT a need to flee.
   Other people's faces dont feel hostile.
   They seem ignorant and seem to be invading my personal space most of the time.
   It makes me want to strike someone sometimes, but I dont.
   
   While researching my condition I have found that the more some blowhard goes on about what it's like to be someone like me - the less they usually know about it.
   If it's not another person with Aspergers doing the research - how can you expect to get anything useful out of it?
   Our perspectives are rarely like yours so please tell me HOW you can claim to interpret that data?
   You're guessing. Period.
   
   The people in my life, if they dont understand it, at least accomodate me and even though I sense their curiosity, annoyance, or discomfort from time to time - because to neuro-typical people avoiding eye contact has different meaning - like someone not being trustworthy - I think that it is us who have evolved past that need and so called neuro-typicals who still have a long way to go. I dont see Aspergers as a syndrome or a disease. I think it makes me unique and special and I wouldnt trade it to become just one of the sheeple grazing in the field
   .

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2. 2. luv2learn 11:14 PM 8/7/10

   Growing up I usually focused on mouths when in conversation with others. I thought this was normal until I learned about eye contact through my studies. I try to do more eye contact in my relationships though it does not come naturally to me and I have to remind myself to do it. I am not as comfortable with it as I'd like but have never been diagnosed with a social problem. I'd like to know how significant an indicator this is and more about the neurological and/or psychological factors that may cause it.

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3. 3. trweb2 in reply to zhykitty 09:48 AM 11/4/10

   zhykitty, much of what you said is fairly understandable. Some of it is just disparaging and venting.
   
   No doubt you have been over this before in many contexts, but maintaining eye contact is important to "neurotypicals" for reasons beyond control or conscious recognition. To me, it seems bizarre that you have such an awareness of your own characteristics and preferences, but fail to recognise other's for what they are - instead you label them as harassing and violating.
   
   I'm glad there are people in your life who can "accommodate" you - but maybe you should consider that the 'comfortableness' that you sense in others, is actually those people trying to accommodate your unique affect. Surely you must appreciate when people become conscious of how they are being perceived, they also feel naked and uneasy. Yes, even us neuro-typicals.
   
   Your comments about being "evolved past that need" is as uninformed as it is disparaging. Eye contact allows advanced communication and it feels natural to neuro-typicals. I would never suggest that the fact that you either don't want to or are unable to enjoy the benefits of this interaction means I am more evolved than you. We "neuro-typicals" may have a long way to go, but you too have much to learn it seems.
   
   
   
   
   
   

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4. 4. trekker4 03:56 PM 6/11/11

   I would agree the article seems to be making some assumptions about motive, based on what they think they know about what kind of info is processed in a section of the brain, but mention nothing about asking the subjects of the study if that fits what they feel is happening. I'm wondering if that is because the people they are studing are non-verbal or they just don't think to ask or what? From what my son has taught me (diagnosis of aspergers) in our discussions about it (he's adult & we've talked a lot in those years), he tells himself to look at their face, but most people hide they emotions or portray false emotions or non-emotions and he can't always pick up their true feelings unless they are open about it in voice and face, and it is more straight forward simple emotion, and he's gotten better at it with time and what training I've been able to give him. Both parents have trouble with remembering faces, especially if the faces are not much different than others generally speaking, and his is more profound a problem than theirs. I've looked up about face blindness, it has a scientific name I can't remember at this time. A mild form of it seem to affect all 3 of us. But saying my son avoids looking at faces because they bother him to look at is not true. They just don't give him a whole lot to work with compared to NT folks. So I'd say this researcher, and others, needs more feedback from those on ASD, especially those verbally able, such as those with Aspergers, but of course even there it seems there are wide differences from what zhykitty said here, correct zhykitty?
   
   I think half the problem is ASD is too wide a catagory, maybe Aspergers is to wide as well. And now they are getting rid of all the catagories and going to just ASD alone. Not much sense in that, to me!

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5. 5. trweb2 07:40 AM 7/30/11

   "So I'd say this researcher, and others, needs more feedback from those on ASD, especially those verbally able, such as those with Aspergers, but of course even there it seems there are wide differences from what zhykitty said here, correct zhykitty?"
   
   Of course there are wide differences - people with ASDs are human beings. The only person who has tried to claim some kind of homogeneity (ie that all ASD people think/feel alike, and assuming to know what all people with ASD think/feel) is zhykitty him/herself. It would be helpful if zhykitty would seek more feedback from people with ASD, because I can confidently state that his/her sentiments are not representative of all people with ASD. At all.
   
   In my professional capacity I have had close contact with over 200 individuals with some degree of ASD and two of my close friends identify as 'aspies' (their words). What I have noticed, particularly in the last 5 years, is many aspies respond to the stress, marginalisation and admittedly careless 'forced' interaction by some neurotypicals by adopting derogatory attitudes and belief-systems about neurotypicals. It is a defence mechanism to the discomfort and stigma (i.e. that it is a 'disease' - a classification that I also do not agree with or like!). Regardless, it is unhelpful and serves no purpose other than to marginalise and segregate.
   
   zhykitty's rant is a prime example. "Violating personal contact" and describing people as ignorant and un-evolved when they perform a perfectly natural and common behaviour (ie eye contact) is an example of the hypocrisy and reverse-discrimination I am talking about. This person makes these statements while simultaneously expressing exasperation for people not recognising her unique disposition and carefully modifying their natural tendencies and affect in order to accommodate.
   
   Referring to neurotypicals as "sheep grazing in the field" categorically reveals zhykitty as someone who, despite clearly having the requisite intelligence and insight, is actually contributing to the ignorance and misinformation about the social aspects of ASD and ASD-neurotypical interaction.

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