Social and attention‐to‐detail subclusters of autistic traits differentially predict looking at eyes and face identity recognition ability

This study distinguished between different subclusters of autistic traits in the general population and examined the relationships between these subclusters, looking at the eyes of faces, and the ability to recognize facial identity. Using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) measure in a university‐recruited sample, we separate the social aspects of autistic traits (i.e., those related to communication and social interaction; AQ‐Social) from the non‐social aspects, particularly attention‐to‐detail (AQ‐Attention). We provide the first evidence that these social and non‐social aspects are associated differentially with looking at eyes: While AQ‐Social showed the commonly assumed tendency towards reduced looking at eyes, AQ‐Attention was associated with increased looking at eyes. We also report that higher attention‐to‐detail (AQ‐Attention) was then indirectly related to improved face recognition, mediated by increased number of fixations to the eyes during face learning. Higher levels of socially relevant autistic traits (AQ‐Social) trended in the opposite direction towards being related to poorer face recognition (significantly so in females on the Cambridge Face Memory Test). There was no evidence of any mediated relationship between AQ‐Social and face recognition via reduced looking at the eyes. These different effects of AQ‐Attention and AQ‐Social suggest face‐processing studies in Autism Spectrum Disorder might similarly benefit from considering symptom subclusters. Additionally, concerning mechanisms of face recognition, our results support the view that more looking at eyes predicts better face memory.     

Lack of correlation between digit ratio (2D:4D) and Baron-Cohen’s “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, empathy, systemising, and autism-spectrum quotients in a general population sample

The second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) is sexually differentiated and is a likely biomarker for the organisational (permanent) effects of prenatal testosterone on the human brain. Recent research has highlighted a possible role of prenatal testosterone levels in both the etiology of autism-spectrum disorders and in sex and individual differences in cognitive styles of the normal mind (Baron-Cohen’s Extreme Male Brain Theory of Autism and Empathising/Systemising Theory). Importantly, autistic children present lower (hypermasculinised) 2D:4D than healthy controls. Based on these accounts, we investigated the relation of 2D:4D with Baron-Cohen’s measures of empathising (“Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, RMET; Empathy Quotient, EQ), systemising (Systemising Quotient, SQ), and autistic-like traits (Autism-Spectrum Quotient, AQ) in the general population (N = 423 Austrian adults). Whereas sex differences into the expected direction and of expected size were obtained for all variables and internal scale consistencies tallied to retrievable reference values, 2D:4D was unrelated to RMET, EQ, SQ, and AQ scores. Candidate explanations for this lack of correlation might be possible developmental timing differences in the expression of 2D:4D and empathising/systemising, qualitative (as opposed to quantitative) functional differences between the normal and the autistic mind, or the suboptimal psychometric properties of the measures.     

Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome do not score higher on the autism‐spectrum quotient than healthy controls: Comparison with autism spectrum disorder

Clinically, there is an overlap of several symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS ) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD ), including fatigue; brain “fog”; cognitive impairments; increased sensitivity to sound, light, and odour; increased pain and tenderness; and impaired emotional contact. Adults with CFS (n = 59) or ASD (n = 50) and healthy controls (HC ; n = 53) were assessed with the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient (AQ ) in a cross‐sectional study. Non‐parametric analysis was used to compare AQ scores among the groups. Univariate analysis of variance (ANCOVA ) was used to identify if age, sex, or diagnostic group influenced the differences in scores. Patients with ASD scored significantly higher on the AQ than the CFS group and the HC group. No differences in AQ scores were found between the CFS and HC groups. AQ results were influenced by the diagnostic group but not by age or sex, according to ANCOVA . Despite clinical observations of symptom overlap between ASD and CFS , adult patients with CFS report few autistic traits in the self‐report instrument, the AQ . The choice of instrument to assess autistic traits may influence the results.     

Lexical effects on speech perception in individuals with "autistic" traits

It has been claimed that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by a limited ability to process perceptual stimuli in reference to the contextual information of the percept. Such a connection between a nonholistic processing style and behavioral traits associated with ASD is thought to exist also within the neurotypical population albeit in a more subtle way. We examined this hypothesis with respect to auditory speech perception, by testing whether the extent to which phonetic categorization shifts to make the percept a known word (i.e., the 'Ganong effect') is weakened as a function of autistic traits in neurotypicals. Fifty-five university students were given the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and a segment identification test using two word-to-nonword Voice Onset Time (VOT) continua (kiss-giss and gift-kift). A significant negative correlation was found between the total AQ score and the identification shift that occurred between the continua. The AQ score did not correlate with scores on separately administered VOT discrimination, auditory lexical decision, or verbal IQ, thus ruling out enhanced auditory sensitivity, slower lexical access or verbal intelligence as explanations of the AQ-related shift in phonetic categorization.     

Individual differences in autistic trait load in the general population predict visual working memory performance

Prior studies have reported instances of both intact and impaired working memory (WM) performance in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In order to investigate the relation between autistic traits that extend into the normal population and WM, 104 normal college-aged students who varied in their levels of autistic traits were tested. The loading of ASD-associated traits in the normal population leads to differing predictions about WM performance. ASD traits related to a local processing style (or “attention to detail”) might enhance WM while ASD-associated traits related to difficulty switching attention and reorienting focus (or “social interaction”) might impair WM performance. To assess these predictions, participants filled out the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and performed a working memory task with both visual and verbal variants. AQ scores were then broken into “attention to detail” and “social interaction” factors, as proposed by Hoekstra and colleagues. The results showed that AQ scores did not predict verbal WM performance but they did predict visual WM performance. The social interaction and attention to detail factors of the AQ had opposing relationships with visual WM performance: A higher level of social difficulty was associated with significantly poorer visual WM performance while a higher level of attention to detail was associated with enhanced visual WM performance. Further investigation of the relation between AQ and WM using the original five-factor model proposed by Baron-Cohen and colleagues (2001) revealed an association between impoverished imagination and visual WM overall.     

Are autistic traits autistic?

According to the extreme male brain theory of autism ( Baron‐Cohen, 2002 ), autistic traits would be extreme manifestations of typical male behaviours. The Auyeung et al. (2009) paper establishes a link between autistic traits and higher fetal testosterone (fT) levels in typically developing children. We argue that the construct behind this relationship needs further investigation. First, the link between fT levels and sexually dimorphic traits, that are for example, associated with empathizing and systemizing, is controversial. Likewise, describing autistic behaviours as being extreme male‐like is debatable. The cerebral hemisphere laterality pattern of individuals with autism also seems to differ from the pattern typically observed in males. Moreover, the parallel that should exist, according to the fT theory, between individuals with autism and individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), because of their high fT levels, is unclear. The theory implying fT levels in autism fails to account for a big part of autism, and the link between fT and normal ‘autistic traits’ hardly demonstrates the causal link between fT and autism.     

Gaze and arrow cueing of attention reveals individual differences along the autism spectrum as a function of target context

Observing averted gaze results in a reflexive shift of attention to the gazed‐at location. In two experiments, participants scoring high and low on the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient questionnaire (AQ; Baron‐Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin, & Clubley, 2001 ) observed arrow and gaze cues to investigate cueing effect magnitude as a function of the context in which peripheral targets could appear. While identical cueing effects were found with gaze and arrow cues, the more striking results concerned target stimuli. In Experiment 1, targets could appear on a peripheral face, or on scrambled face parts. Overall, greater cueing effects were found when the target appeared on a face. However, this face bias was only observed in participants with low AQ scores, whereas high AQ scorers oriented more to scrambled features. Experiment 2 found equal cueing to targets appearing on tools, as compared with tool parts. However, individual differences were again observed, where low AQ scorers showed larger cueing towards tools, while high scorers oriented more to scrambled parts, as in Experiment 1. These results support the idea that low AQ individuals orient strongly to objects attended by others. However, since the same results were found for arrow cues, this effect may generalize to all central cues to attention. High AQ scorers possessing many more autistic‐like traits tended to orient more to scrambled shapes, perhaps reflecting a bias for orienting to local details.     

Should I trust you? Autistic traits predict reduced appearance‐based trust decisions

Facial impressions of trustworthiness guide social decisions in the general population, as shown by financial lending in economic Trust Games. As an exception, autistic boys fail to use facial impressions to guide trust decisions, despite forming typical facial trustworthiness impressions (Autism, 19, 2015a, 1002). Here, we tested whether this dissociation between forming and using facial impressions of trustworthiness extends to neurotypical men with high levels of autistic traits. Forty‐six Caucasian men completed a multi‐turn Trust Game, a facial trustworthiness impressions task, the Autism‐Spectrum Quotient, and two Theory of Mind tasks. As hypothesized, participants’ levels of autistic traits had no observed effect on the impressions formed, but negatively predicted the use of those impressions in trust decisions. Thus, the dissociation between forming and using facial impressions of trustworthiness extends to the broader autism phenotype. More broadly, our results identify autistic traits as an important source of individual variation in the use of facial impressions to guide behaviour. Interestingly, failure to use these impressions could potentially represent rational behaviour, given their limited validity.     

Perceptual learning and perceptual search are altered in male university students with higher Autism Quotient scores

Two experiments investigated the validity of the Autism Quotient (AQ) scale for measuring traits associated with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a population of male university students. Both studies found evidence that individuals who scored higher on the AQ questionnaire performed in a similar way to individuals with ASD on tasks with a perceptual component. Experiment 1 demonstrated a difference in the degree to which higher scoring AQ individuals performed on a perceptual learning task; with higher AQ scorers showing no advantage for familiar over novel items less. In Experiment 2, higher scorers showed fewer errors when judging the elements, as opposed to the global configuration, of a Navon task letter. Both of these patterns of results had previously been noted in individuals with ASD. These results suggest that the AQ may have some validity in identifying individuals in the nonclinical population with similar performance profiles to those with ASD.     

Evidence of differential performance on simultaneous and sequential lineups for individuals with autism-spectrum traits

Given the impaired facial recognition of autistic individuals, we examined whether certain autism-spectrum traits affected eyewitness identification performance in a general adult population. In a sample of 120 individuals, levels of autism-spectrum traits were examined in relation to performance on simultaneous vs. sequential lineups using a signal detection paradigm. For simultaneous lineups, total Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores and scores on the excessive Attention to detail subscale were related to fewer hits and a more conservative response criterion. Attention to detail interacted with lineup type in that it was significantly related to improved discrimination accuracy and a less conservative response criterion in sequential lineups, but with impaired discrimination accuracy and a more conservative response criterion in simultaneous lineups. Higher AQ scores on the Attention switching subscale resulted in fewer hits, lower discrimination accuracy, and a more conservative response criterion with sequential lineups. Additionally, partial disguises led to more false alarms but not decreased accuracy. More thorough investigations of the effect of lineup type on identifications are needed before policy changes are recommended.     

Genetically based correlates of serum oxytocin and testosterone in autism and schizotypy

The hormones oxytocin and testosterone have been implicated in autism spectrum and schizophrenia-spectrum cognition and disorders, but their roles in mediating these psychological phenotypes remain largely unknown. We genotyped a large set of healthy individuals for loci that represent established genetic indicators of serum testosterone and oxytocin levels, and tested for associations of these genetic indices of hormone levels with self-report measures of autistic and schizotypal cognition. A low genetic index of testosterone, a high genetic index of oxytocin, and/or a low ratio of testosterone to oxytocin indices were positively correlated with high imagination (by the Autism Quotient) and high positive and total schizotypy (by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire). The genetic indices for oxytocin, and testosterone relative to oxytocin, also showed significant correlations with a metric of positive schizotypy relative to autism, implicating higher oxytocin and lower testosterone in increased positively-schizotypal traits combined with decreased autism-associated traits. These results link genetic indicators of serum hormone levels with measures of schizotypy and autism among healthy individuals.     

Are systemizing and autistic traits related to talent and interest in mathematics and engineering? Testing some of the central claims of the empathizing–systemizing theory

In two experiments, we tested some of the central claims of the empathizing–systemizing (E‐S) theory. Experiment 1 showed that the systemizing quotient (SQ) was unrelated to performance on a mathematics test, although it was correlated with statistics‐related attitudes, self‐efficacy, and anxiety. In Experiment 2, systemizing skills, and gender differences in these skills, were more strongly related to spatial thinking styles than to SQ. In fact, when we partialled the effect of spatial thinking styles, SQ was no longer related to systemizing skills. Additionally, there was no relationship between the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and the SQ, or skills and interest in mathematics and mechanical reasoning. We discuss the implications of our findings for the E‐S theory, and for understanding the autistic cognitive profile.     

Empathizing and systemizing are differentially related to dimensions of autistic traits in the general population

Background/Objective:

Empathizing-Systemizing Theory suggests that low empathizing and high systemizing are linked to autistic traits in the general population. Evidence from autistic individuals is convincing, but more research in the normal population is needed. Method: We conducted two surveys (N = 3,345) investigating the relationships between empathizing, systemizing and autistic traits in the general population, using a large variety of self-report instruments and direct performance tests. Results: Strong connections between autistic symptoms, empathizing, and systemizing were found using commonly used measures (Autism Quotient, Systemizing Quotient and Empathizing Quotient). Other measures on empathizing and systemizing found the connections that E-S-theory predicts, but the correlations were a lot more modest. Weak empathizing was related to autism's social difficulties, while systemizing was linked to non-social aspects of autism. Conclusions: The present results support the main tenets of empathizing-systemizing theory, but suggest that earlier findings might be inflated due to overlapping items in the most common assessment instruments.     

Unique sets of social and mood characteristics differentiate autistic and negative schizotypy traits in a young adult non-clinical sample

While well-established as distinct disorders, new evidence linking autism and schizophrenia has emerged. One line of evidence is the strong correlation identified between the social traits assessed by the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ:Social) and the negative traits of schizotypy. To further explore this association, the current study examined whether these sets of traits are convergent or divergent in the degree to which they relate to specific aspects of socio-emotional functioning. Regression analyses conducted on self-report data collected from 284 undergraduate students showed that the social items from the AQ uniquely relate to levels of social anxiety and social skills, while negative schizotypy traits uniquely relate to social anhedonia and depression. Additionally, AQ:Social and negative schizotypy traits were found to share a significant proportion of variance, independent of each of the socio-emotional variables examined. The results thus provide further evidence of shared atypical social function linked to both autistic-like traits and negative schizotypy traits, but importantly also highlight clear differences in the specific socio-emotional profiles associated with these sets of traits.     

Relationships between autistic-like and schizotypy traits: An analysis using the Autism Spectrum Quotient and Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences

To further investigate claims of a relationship between autism and schizophrenia, the current study examined the associations between specific dimensions of autistic-like and schizotypy traits. These traits were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences. After using factor analysis to explore the dimensions of autistic-like and schizotypy traits represented in these measures in two separate groups of students (N₁ = 362, N₂ = 639), the relationships between these dimensions were examined. While the results are consistent with suggestions in the literature of an overlap in the interpersonal deficits associated with autism and schizophrenia, they offer little support for Crespi and Badcock’s (2008) claim that autism and positive schizophrenia are diametrically opposed disorders.     

Developmental path between language and autistic‐like impairments: a twin study

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are diagnosed when individuals show impairments in three behavioural domains: communication, social interactions, and repetitive, restrictive behaviours and interests (RRBIs). Recent data suggest that these three sets of behaviours are genetically heterogeneous. Early language delay is strongly associated with ASD, but the basis for this association and the relationship with individual sub‐domains of ASD has not been systematically investigated. In the present study, data came from a population‐based twin sample with language development data at 2–4 years, measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI), and data at 8 years using the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST). For the total CAST and the three subscales at 8 years, approximately 300 same‐sex twin pairs were selected as showing extreme autistic‐like traits (ALTs), defined here as pairs in which at least one member of the twin pair scored in the highest 5% of the distribution. Phenotypic analyses indicated that children showing extreme social and communication ALTs (but not the RRBI subscale) at 8 years were below average in language development at 2–4 years. A regression model for selected twin data suggested that genetic influences account for this overlap, but that these effects are only in part mediated by genes that are shared between language and extreme autistic traits. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self-rated autistic-like traits and capacity of visual working memory

The effect on the capacity of visual working memory of spatial complexity (as defined by Garner's principle) in rotation and reflection transformation was examined in persons differing along the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), using a change-detection task. On each trial, nine line segments were arrayed in simple, medium, and complex configurations, which were presented in memory and test displays. 27 participants (8 men, 19 women; M age = 22.3 yr., SD = 2.7) were asked whether the orientations of stimuli between two displays were the same or different. On the basis of their AQ scores out of 50 (M AQ scores = 20.9, SD = 6.3), the participants were divided into groups with high (n = 13; M AQ scores = 26.2, SD = 4.1) and low (n = 12; M AQ scores = 15.3, SD = 2.7) self-reported autistic-like traits (High and Low AQ groups, 2 excluded for scores at the median). The results showed that spatial complexity affects the capacity of visual working memory for the Low AQ group but not for the High AQ group, suggesting the functional dissociation of spatial configuration and visual working memory in the High AQ group.     

Validation of the Empathy Quotient in Mainland China

This research aimed to validate a simplified Chinese version of the Empathy Quotient (EQ; 60 items) for use with Mainland Chinese people. The original English version of the EQ was translated into simplified Chinese. Through an online survey, 588 Mainland Chinese participants completed the EQ and 3 other questionnaires: the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS–20). Thirty-five participants completed retesting of the EQ 3 to 4 weeks later. Sex differences on the EQ scores and psychometric properties of the EQ items were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that an EQ 15-item structural model fitted the data quite well. Self-report empathy, as assessed by the current simplified Chinese version of the EQ, appeared to relate to participants' autistic and alexithymic traits but not sex.     

Individual differences in the emotional modulation of gaze-cuing

Gaze-cuing refers to the spontaneous orienting of attention towards a gazed-at location, characterised by shorter response times to gazed-at than non-gazed at targets. Previous research suggests that processing of these gaze cues interacts with the processing of facial expression cues to enhance gaze-cuing. However, whether only negative emotions (which signal potential threat or uncertainty) can enhance gaze-cuing is still debated, and whether this emotional modulation varies as a function of individual differences still remains largely unclear. Combining data from seven experiments, we investigated the emotional modulation of gaze-cuing in the general population as a function of participant sex, and self-reported subclinical trait anxiety, depression, and autistic traits. We found that (i) emotional enhancement of gaze-cuing can occur for both positive and negative expressions, (ii) the higher the score on the Attention to Detail subscale of the Autism Spectrum Quotient, the smaller the emotional enhancement of gaze-cuing, especially for happy expressions, and (iii) emotional modulation of gaze-cuing does not vary as a function of participant anxiety, depression or sex, although women display an overall larger gaze-cuing effect than men.     

Autistic traits in mentalization-based treatment for concurrent borderline personality disorder and substance use disorder: Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled feasibility study

Autism is suggested to be a dimensional construct and often represents a comorbid state. However, research on the clinical implications of the presence of autistic traits is scarce. This study aimed to investigate the impact of subclinical autistic traits in mentalization-based treatment (MBT) for concurrent borderline personality disorder (BPD) and substance use disorder (SUD). Based on the data of a randomized controlled feasibility study by Philips, Wennberg, Konradsson, and Franck (2018), secondary analyses were conducted. It was tested, if patients’ (N = 46) levels of autistic traits were associated with treatment outcome measured in the course of and after treatment using interviews and self-report measures. Participants’ autistic traits were not associated with the change in the severity of BPD throughout and at the end of the treatment. However, results showed associations between autistic traits and the change in patients’ consumption of alcohol in the course of MBT. Furthermore, there was an association between autistic traits and the change in mentalizing capacity at the end of MBT, indicating that elevated autistic traits were associated with an improvement in mentalizing capacity. Autistic traits on a subclinical level do not appear to be a complicating factor in MBT for concurrent BPD and SUD. On the contrary, in terms of mentalizing capacity autistic traits might be associated with a larger potential for improvement or facilitate treatment outcome. Further research is needed to explore the role of higher autistic traits in treatment of this special patient group.