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Face and emotion recognition in MCDD versus PDD-NOS
Catherine M Herba1, Esther de Bruin, Monika Althaus
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. c.herba@erasmusmc.nl
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|August 28, 2007
Summary
Children with Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder (MCDD) and PDD-NOS showed similar social-cognitive functioning in identifying faces and expressions. Face recognition differences were linked to autistic traits, not MCDD specifics.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Previous research indicates symptom and psychophysiological differences between children with Multiple Complex Developmental Disorder (MCDD), Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and autism.
- Social-cognitive functioning, particularly face processing, is a key area of investigation in developmental disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare social-cognitive functioning, specifically the identification of neutral faces and facial expressions, between children with MCDD and PDD-NOS.
- To investigate potential differences in face processing strategies and recognition abilities between these two groups.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving children diagnosed with MCDD (n=21) and PDD-NOS (n=62).
- Assessment of two key facets of social-cognitive functioning: neutral face identification and facial expression recognition.
- Analysis of face processing strategies, comparing performance on neutral faces versus complex patterns.
Main Results:
- Few significant group differences were found in identifying neutral faces and facial expressions.
- Children with PDD-NOS employed a more attention-demanding face processing strategy and processed neutral faces similarly to complex patterns.
- Children with MCDD demonstrated an advantage in face recognition compared to complex patterns.
Conclusions:
- The subtle differences in face recognition observed were more attributable to autistic features within the PDD-NOS group than to characteristics specific to MCDD.
- No significant group differences were found in the ability to identify facial expressions, suggesting preserved abilities in this domain for both groups.
