Human Face Recognition, Information Processing and Social Behavior in Children with Autism
Author(s)
Pascale Planche*
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate whether children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger’s syndrome (AS) can be differentiated from each other and from typically developing children in ability to recognize a human face. The present study included 69 participants: children with autism (high-functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome, n = 15 per group) and a control group of 39 typically developing children. It involved a face recognition task included in the NEPSY scale. Results showed that the autism groups performed poorer than the typically developing group, but no difference was found between high-functioning and Asperger groups. Both the information processing peculiarities of children with autism and their (interactional and communicative) social impairments could explain their difficulty to recognize human faces.
KEYWORDS
Asperger’s Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, Face Recognition, Information Processing, Social Impairment
Asperger’s Syndrome, High-Functioning Autism, Face Recognition, Information Processing, Social Impairment
Cite this paper
Planche, P. (2014). Human Face Recognition, Information Processing and Social Behavior in Children with Autism. Psychology, 5, 1366-1374. doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.511147.
Planche, P. (2014). Human Face Recognition, Information Processing and Social Behavior in Children with Autism. Psychology, 5, 1366-1374. doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.511147.
References
[1] American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association. [2] American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association. [3] Baron-Cohen, S., Campbell, R., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Grant, J., & Walker, J. (1995). Are Children with Autism Blind to the Mentalistic Significance of the Eyes? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13, 379-398.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1995.tb00687.x [4] Chevallier, C., Grezes, J., Molesworth, C., Berthoz, S., & Happe, F. (2012). Selective Social Anhedonia in High Functioning Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1504-1509.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1364-0 [5] Chevallier, C., Kohls, G., Troiani, V., Brodkin, E. S., & Schultz, R. T. (2012). The Social Motivation Theory of Autism. Trends in Cognitive Science, 16, 231-239.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007 [6] Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., Wijsman, E. S. G., Estes, A., Munson, J., & Faja, S. (2005). Neurocognitive and Electrophysiological Evidence of Altered Face Processing of Children with Autism: Implications for a Model of Abnormal Development of Social Brain Circuitry in Autism. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 679-697.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050327 [7] Deruelle, C., Rondan, C., Gepner, B., & Tardiff, C. (2004). Spatial Frequency and Face Processing in Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 199-209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022610.09668.4c [8] Frith, F. U. (1989). Autism Explaining the Enigma. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell. [9] Gepner, B. (2005). Malvoyance du mouvement dans l’autisme: De la clinique à la recherche et à la reeducation. In C. Andres, C. Barthelemy, A. Berthoz, J. Massion, & B. Roge (Eds.), L’autisme : De la recherche à la pratique (pp. 205-226). Paris: Odile Jacob. [10] Hadjikhani, N., Joseph, R. M., Snyder, J., Chabris, C. F., Clark, J., Steele, S. et al. (2004). Activation of the Fusiform Gyrus When Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder View Faces. Neuroimage, 22, 1141-1150.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.03.025 [11] Happe, F. (1999). Autism: Cognitive Deficit or Cognitive Style? Trends in Cognitive Science, 3, 216-222.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2 [12] Kenworthy, L., Yerys, B. E., Anthony, L. G., & Wallace, G. L. (2008). Understanding Executive Control in Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Lab and in the Real World. Neuropsychological Review, 18, 320-338.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-008-9077-7 [13] Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., Volkmar, F., & Cohen, D. (2002). Visual Fixation Patterns during Viewing of Naturalistic Social Situations as Predictors of Social Competence in Individuals with Autism. Archives of General psychiatry, 59, 809-816.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.59.9.809 [14] Klin, A., Sparrow, S. S., de Bildt, A., Cicchetti, D. V., Cohen, D. J., & Volkmar, F. R. (1999). A Normed Study of Face Recognition in Autism and Related Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 499-508.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022299920240 [15] Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. (2003). NEPSY, bilan neuropsychologique de l’enfant. ECPA: Editions du Centre de Psychologie Appliquee. [16] Langdell, T. (1978). Recognition of Faces: An Approach to the Study of Autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 19, 255-268.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1978.tb00468.x [17] Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A Revised Version of a Diagnostic Interview for Caregivers of Individuals with Possible Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659-685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02172145 [18] McPartland, J., Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., Panagiotides, H., & Carver, L. J. (2004). Event Related Brain Potentials Reveal Anomalies in Temporal Processing of Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 1235-1245.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00318.x [19] Mottron, L., Burack J. A., Iarocci, G., Belleville, S., & Enns, J. T. (2003). Locally Oriented Perception with Intact Global Processing among Adolescents with High-Functioning Autism: Evidence from Multiple Paradigms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 904-913.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00174 [20] Parish-Morris, J., Chevallier, C., Tong, N., Letzen, J., Pandey, J., & Schultz, R. T. (2013). Visual Attention to Dynamic Faces and Objects Is Linked to Face Processing Skills: A Combined Study of Children with Autism and Controls. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 185.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00185 [21] Piepers, D. W., & Robbins, R. A. (2012). A Review and Clarification of the Terms “Holistic,” “Configural,” and “Relational” in the Face Perception Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 559.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00559 [22] Planche, P., & Lemonnier, E. (2011). Le pic d’habilete aux taches visuospatiales chez les autistes de haut niveau designe-t-il vraiment un deficit du traitement global? L’Encephale, 37, 10-17.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2010.03.007 [23] Planche, P., & Lemonnier, E. (2012). Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome: Can We Differentiate Their Cognitive Profiles? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 939-948.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.12.009 [24] Planche, P., Lemonnier, E., Moalic, K., Labous, C., & Lazartigues, A. (2002). Les modalites du traitement de l‘information chez les enfants autistes. Annales Medico-Psychologiques, 160, 559-564.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4487(02)00231-7 [25] Rice, K., Moriuchi, J. M., Jones, W., & Klin, A. (2012). Parsing Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Visual Scanning of Dynamic Social Scenes in School-Aged Children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 238-248.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2011.12.017 [26] Rinehart, N. J., Bradshaw, J. L., Moss, S. A., Brereton, A. V., & Tonge, B. J. (2000). Atypical Interference of Local Detail on Global Processing in High-Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 769-778.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00664 [27] Ritvo, R. A., Ritvo, E. R., Guthrie, D., & Ritvo, M. J. (2008). Clinical Evidence That Asperger’s Disorder Is a Mild Form of Autism. Comprehensive Psychology, 49, 1-5.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.06.010 [28] Schultz, R., Gauthier, I., Klin, A., Fulbright, R. K., Anderson, A. W., Volkmar, F., Skudlarski, P., Lacadin, C., Cohen, D. J., & Gore, J. C. (2000). Abnormal Ventral Temporal Cortical Activity during Face Discrimination among Individuals with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 331-340.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.4.331 [29] Spek, A. A., Scholte, E. M., & Van Berckelaer-Onnes, I. A. (2011). Local Information Processing in Adults with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Usefulness of Neuropsychological Tests and Self-Reports. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 859-869.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1106-8 [30] Tanaka, J. W., Wolf, J. M., Klaiman, C., Koenig, K., Cockburn, J., Herlihy, L. et al. (2012). The Perception and Identification of Facial Motions in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using the Let’s Face It! Emotion Skills Battery. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 1259-1267.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02571.x [31] Tantam, D. (1988). Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 245-255.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1988.tb00713.x [32] Tsai, L. Y. (2013) Asperger’s Disorder Will Be Back. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2914-2942.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1839-2 [33] Valla, J. M., Maendel, J. W., Ganzel, B. L., Barsky, A. R., & Belmonte, M. K. (2013). Autistic Trait Interactions Underlie Sex-Dependant Facial Recognition Abilities in the Normal Population. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 286.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00286 [34] Van Boxtel, J. J., & Lu, H. (2013). Impaired Global, and Compensatory Local, Biological Motion Processing in People with High Levels of Autistic Traits. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00209
[1] American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association. [2] American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association. [3] Baron-Cohen, S., Campbell, R., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Grant, J., & Walker, J. (1995). Are Children with Autism Blind to the Mentalistic Significance of the Eyes? British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13, 379-398.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1995.tb00687.x [4] Chevallier, C., Grezes, J., Molesworth, C., Berthoz, S., & Happe, F. (2012). Selective Social Anhedonia in High Functioning Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42, 1504-1509.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1364-0 [5] Chevallier, C., Kohls, G., Troiani, V., Brodkin, E. S., & Schultz, R. T. (2012). The Social Motivation Theory of Autism. Trends in Cognitive Science, 16, 231-239.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.02.007 [6] Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., Wijsman, E. S. G., Estes, A., Munson, J., & Faja, S. (2005). Neurocognitive and Electrophysiological Evidence of Altered Face Processing of Children with Autism: Implications for a Model of Abnormal Development of Social Brain Circuitry in Autism. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 679-697.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954579405050327 [7] Deruelle, C., Rondan, C., Gepner, B., & Tardiff, C. (2004). Spatial Frequency and Face Processing in Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 199-209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:JADD.0000022610.09668.4c [8] Frith, F. U. (1989). Autism Explaining the Enigma. Cambridge: Basil Blackwell. [9] Gepner, B. (2005). Malvoyance du mouvement dans l’autisme: De la clinique à la recherche et à la reeducation. In C. Andres, C. Barthelemy, A. Berthoz, J. Massion, & B. Roge (Eds.), L’autisme : De la recherche à la pratique (pp. 205-226). Paris: Odile Jacob. [10] Hadjikhani, N., Joseph, R. M., Snyder, J., Chabris, C. F., Clark, J., Steele, S. et al. (2004). Activation of the Fusiform Gyrus When Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder View Faces. Neuroimage, 22, 1141-1150.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.03.025 [11] Happe, F. (1999). Autism: Cognitive Deficit or Cognitive Style? Trends in Cognitive Science, 3, 216-222.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2 [12] Kenworthy, L., Yerys, B. E., Anthony, L. G., & Wallace, G. L. (2008). Understanding Executive Control in Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Lab and in the Real World. Neuropsychological Review, 18, 320-338.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-008-9077-7 [13] Klin, A., Jones, W., Schultz, R., Volkmar, F., & Cohen, D. (2002). Visual Fixation Patterns during Viewing of Naturalistic Social Situations as Predictors of Social Competence in Individuals with Autism. Archives of General psychiatry, 59, 809-816.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.59.9.809 [14] Klin, A., Sparrow, S. S., de Bildt, A., Cicchetti, D. V., Cohen, D. J., & Volkmar, F. R. (1999). A Normed Study of Face Recognition in Autism and Related Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 499-508.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022299920240 [15] Korkman, M., Kirk, U., & Kemp, S. (2003). NEPSY, bilan neuropsychologique de l’enfant. ECPA: Editions du Centre de Psychologie Appliquee. [16] Langdell, T. (1978). Recognition of Faces: An Approach to the Study of Autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 19, 255-268.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1978.tb00468.x [17] Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A Revised Version of a Diagnostic Interview for Caregivers of Individuals with Possible Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659-685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02172145 [18] McPartland, J., Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., Panagiotides, H., & Carver, L. J. (2004). Event Related Brain Potentials Reveal Anomalies in Temporal Processing of Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 45, 1235-1245.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00318.x [19] Mottron, L., Burack J. A., Iarocci, G., Belleville, S., & Enns, J. T. (2003). Locally Oriented Perception with Intact Global Processing among Adolescents with High-Functioning Autism: Evidence from Multiple Paradigms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 904-913.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00174 [20] Parish-Morris, J., Chevallier, C., Tong, N., Letzen, J., Pandey, J., & Schultz, R. T. (2013). Visual Attention to Dynamic Faces and Objects Is Linked to Face Processing Skills: A Combined Study of Children with Autism and Controls. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 185.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00185 [21] Piepers, D. W., & Robbins, R. A. (2012). A Review and Clarification of the Terms “Holistic,” “Configural,” and “Relational” in the Face Perception Literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 559.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00559 [22] Planche, P., & Lemonnier, E. (2011). Le pic d’habilete aux taches visuospatiales chez les autistes de haut niveau designe-t-il vraiment un deficit du traitement global? L’Encephale, 37, 10-17.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.encep.2010.03.007 [23] Planche, P., & Lemonnier, E. (2012). Children with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome: Can We Differentiate Their Cognitive Profiles? Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 939-948.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.12.009 [24] Planche, P., Lemonnier, E., Moalic, K., Labous, C., & Lazartigues, A. (2002). Les modalites du traitement de l‘information chez les enfants autistes. Annales Medico-Psychologiques, 160, 559-564.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4487(02)00231-7 [25] Rice, K., Moriuchi, J. M., Jones, W., & Klin, A. (2012). Parsing Heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Visual Scanning of Dynamic Social Scenes in School-Aged Children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51, 238-248.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2011.12.017 [26] Rinehart, N. J., Bradshaw, J. L., Moss, S. A., Brereton, A. V., & Tonge, B. J. (2000). Atypical Interference of Local Detail on Global Processing in High-Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 769-778.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00664 [27] Ritvo, R. A., Ritvo, E. R., Guthrie, D., & Ritvo, M. J. (2008). Clinical Evidence That Asperger’s Disorder Is a Mild Form of Autism. Comprehensive Psychology, 49, 1-5.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.06.010 [28] Schultz, R., Gauthier, I., Klin, A., Fulbright, R. K., Anderson, A. W., Volkmar, F., Skudlarski, P., Lacadin, C., Cohen, D. J., & Gore, J. C. (2000). Abnormal Ventral Temporal Cortical Activity during Face Discrimination among Individuals with Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 331-340.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.57.4.331 [29] Spek, A. A., Scholte, E. M., & Van Berckelaer-Onnes, I. A. (2011). Local Information Processing in Adults with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Usefulness of Neuropsychological Tests and Self-Reports. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 859-869.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1106-8 [30] Tanaka, J. W., Wolf, J. M., Klaiman, C., Koenig, K., Cockburn, J., Herlihy, L. et al. (2012). The Perception and Identification of Facial Motions in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using the Let’s Face It! Emotion Skills Battery. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 1259-1267.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02571.x [31] Tantam, D. (1988). Asperger’s Syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 245-255.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1988.tb00713.x [32] Tsai, L. Y. (2013) Asperger’s Disorder Will Be Back. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 2914-2942.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1839-2 [33] Valla, J. M., Maendel, J. W., Ganzel, B. L., Barsky, A. R., & Belmonte, M. K. (2013). Autistic Trait Interactions Underlie Sex-Dependant Facial Recognition Abilities in the Normal Population. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 286.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00286 [34] Van Boxtel, J. J., & Lu, H. (2013). Impaired Global, and Compensatory Local, Biological Motion Processing in People with High Levels of Autistic Traits. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00209