Neural correlates of face processing associated with development of social communication in 12-month infants with familial risk of autism spectrum disorder

Background Differences in face processing in individuals with ASD is hypothesized to impact the development of social communication skills. This study aimed to characterize the neural correlates of face processing in 12-month-old infants at familial risk of developing ASD by (1) comparing face-sensitive event-related potentials (ERP) (Nc, N290, P400) between high-familial-risk infants who develop ASD (HR-ASD), high-familial-risk infants without ASD (HR-NoASD), and low-familial-risk infants (LR), and (2) evaluating how face-sensitive ERP components are associated with development of social communication skills. Methods 12-month-old infants participated in a study in which they were presented with alternating images of their mother’s face and the face of a stranger (LR = 45, HR-NoASD = 41, HR-ASD = 24) as EEG data were collected. Parent-reported and laboratory-observed social communication measures were obtained at 12 and 18 months. Group differences in ERP responses were evaluated using ANOVA, and multiple linear regressions were conducted with maternal education and outcome groups as covariates to assess relationships between ERP and behavioral measures. Results For each of the ERP components (Nc [negative-central], N290, and P400), the amplitude difference between mother and stranger (Mother-Stranger) trials was not statistically different between the three outcome groups (Nc p = 0.72, N290 p = 0.88, P400 p = 0.91). Marginal effects analyses found that within the LR group, a greater Nc Mother-Stranger response was associated with better expressive language skills on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, controlling for maternal education and outcome group effects (marginal effects dy/dx = 1.15; p < 0.01). No significant associations were observed between the Nc and language or social measures in HR-NoASD or HR-ASD groups. In contrast, specific to the HR-ASD group, amplitude difference between the Mother versus Stranger P400 response was positively associated with expressive (dy/dx = 2.1, p < 0.001) and receptive language skills at 12 months (dy/dx = 1.68, p < 0.005), and negatively associated with social affect scores on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (dy/dx = − 1.22, p < 0.001) at 18 months. Conclusions In 12-month-old infant siblings with subsequent ASD, increased P400 response to Mother over Stranger faces is positively associated with concurrent language and future social skills.

The Study of Face Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder Based on Face-Specific N170 Component

Although previous studies showed that social anxiety disorder (SAD) exhibits the attentional bias for angry faces, few studies investigated effective face recognition combined with event-related potential (ERP) technique in SAD patients, especially the treatment effect. This study examines the differences in face processing in SAD patients before and after treatment and healthy control people (H-group). High-density EEG scans were registered in response to emotional schematic faces, particularly interested in the face processing N170 component. Analysis of N170 amplitude revealed a larger N170 for P-group-pre in response to inverted and upright stimuli than H-group in the right hemisphere. The result of the intragroup t-test showed that N170 was delayed for inverted relative to upright faces only in P-group-post and H-group but not in P-group-pre. Remarkably, the results of ANOVAs manifested that emotional expression cannot modulate N170 for SAD patients. Besides, the N170-based asymmetry index (AI) was introduced to analyze the left- and right-hemisphere dominance of N170 for three groups. It was found that, with the improvement of patients’ treatment, the value of A I N 170 − b a s e d presented a decreasing trend. These results together suggested that there was no inversion effect observed for patients with SAD. The change in the value of A I N 170 − b a s e d can be used as potential electrophysiological markers for the diagnosis and treatment effects on patients with SAD.

Atypically slow processing of faces and non-faces in older autistic adults

Face recognition is a fundamental function that requires holistic processing. Differences in face processing have been consistently identified in autistic children, but it is unknown whether these differences persist across the adult lifespan. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we measured holistic face processing with a rapid Mooney faces task in 50 autistic and 49 non-autistic participants (30–74 years). Behavioral tasks included a self-paced version of the same paradigm and a global–local processing task (Navon). Reduced detection rates for faces, but not non-faces, were found in autistic adults, including slower responses on all conditions. Without time constraints, differences in accuracy disappeared between groups, although reaction times in correctly identifying faces remained higher in autistic adults. The functional magnetic resonance imaging results showed lower activation in the left and right superior frontal gyrus in the autism group but no age-related differences. Overall, our findings point toward slower information processing speed rather than a face recognition deficit in autistic adults. This suggests that face-processing differences are not a core feature of autism across the adult lifespan. Lay abstract Some theories suggested that social difficulties in autism arise from differences in the processing of faces. If face-processing difficulties are central to autism, then they should be as persistent as social difficulties across the lifespan. We tested this by asking autistic and neurotypical participants between 30 and 75 years to complete face detection tasks. Both autistic and neurotypical adults responded more slowly with age. When participants had to respond quickly, autistic adults made more errors in face detection regardless of their age. However, when the time constraint was removed, autistic adults performed as well as the neurotypical group. Across tasks, autistic adults responded more slowly when asked to detect both face and non-face stimuli. We also investigated brain activation differences in the face detection task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results indicated lower activation in the autism group in the left and right superior frontal gyrus. The superior frontal gyrus is not typically implicated in face processing but in more general processing, for example, keeping instructions in mind and following them. Together with the behavioral results, this suggests that there is no specific deficit in face processing in autistic adults between 30 and 75 years. Instead, the results suggest differences in general processing, particularly in the speed of processing. However, this needs to be investigated further with methods that are more sensitive to the timing of brain activation.

The Role of Multilingual Script Systems in Face Processing

Becoming multilingual has a broad impact on cognitive abilities, especially visual processing. An important theoretical issue is whether the acquisition of distinct script systems affects face processing in an identical way, or, if not, how this acquisition may exert differential impacts on face processing. By reviewing the existing literature, we propose that Asian participants with the logographic script system differ from Western counterparts with the alphabetic script system in viewing faces. The contribution of the chapter is to identify the possible role of types of script systems in face processing mechanisms and to put forward the research direction in the future with several new methodological efforts.

Holistic processing of faces and words predicts reading accuracy and speed in dyslexic readers

We compared the performance of dyslexic and typical readers on two perceptual tasks, the Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Task and the Holistic Word Processing Task. Both yield a metric of holistic processing that captures the extent to which participants automatically attend to information that is spatially nearby but irrelevant to the task at hand. Our results show, for the first time, that holistic processing of faces is comparable in dyslexic and typical readers but that dyslexic readers show greater holistic processing of words. Remarkably, we show that these metrics predict the performance of dyslexic readers on a standardized reading task, with more holistic processing in both tasks associated with higher accuracy and speed. In contrast, a more holistic style on the words task predicts less accurate reading of both words and pseudowords for typical readers. We discuss how these findings may guide our conceptualization of the visual deficit in dyslexia.

The Composite Face Effect Between Young and Older Chinese Adults Remains Stable

Holistic face perception is often considered to be a cornerstone of face processing. However, the development of the ability to holistically perceive faces in East Asian individuals is unclear. Therefore, we measured and compared holistic face processing in groups of Chinese children, young adults, and older adults by employing the complete composite face paradigm. The results demonstrate a similar magnitude of the composite effect in all three groups although face recognition performance in the task was better in young adults than in the two other groups. These findings suggest that holistic face perception in Eastern individuals is stable from late childhood to at least age 60, whereas face memory may be subject to later development and earlier decline.

The Stigmatized Perceiver: Exploring the Implications of Social Stigma for Cross-Race Face Processing and Memory

The human face is an important source of information, such as race or ethnicity, that can guide social interaction and outcomes. Research suggests that compared to majority and dominant group members, minority and subordinate group members tend to experience chronic stigma, resulting in more negative life outcomes (e.g., educational and occupational attainment). We argue that theory and research exploring face perception has not led to models that incorporate how the chronic experience of stigma may impact judgments, reflecting a gap with potential consequences for the validity and generalizability of the theories developed. We propose a framework for understanding how experiencing a socially stigmatized racial identity may lead perceivers to engage in face processing differently from their non-stigmatized counterparts. With a focus on the literature examining the cross-race effect, we explore the potential impact of chronic social stigma on three theorized moderators guiding processing and memory for same- versus cross-race faces. Our analysis suggests that future research focusing on stigmatized perceivers could help to explain some variation in findings, lead to novel theoretical development, and ultimately produce more generalizable research across several domains of inquiry.