Autistic traits modulate conscious and nonconscious face perception

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Developmental Science

Background:

• Difficulty with emotion perception is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the broader autism phenotype.
• Autistic traits are linked to challenges in social cognition and face processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the neural mechanisms of conscious and nonconscious emotion perception in relation to autistic traits.
• To examine how autistic traits influence face processing efficiency using event-related potentials (ERPs).

Main Methods:

• Utilized event-related potentials (ERPs), specifically P100, N170, and P300 components.
• Presented emotional faces at durations for nonconscious (16 ms) and conscious (200 ms) perception.
• Assessed autistic traits using the Autism Quotient (AQ) in typically developing adults.

Main Results:

• All participants showed heightened neural responses (P100, P300 amplitude, N170 latency) to nonconsciously perceived faces compared to consciously perceived faces.
• Individuals with high AQ scores exhibited delayed ERP components, indicating inefficient face perception.
• Nonconscious emotional face perception elicited robust neural responses irrespective of AQ score.

Conclusions:

• Higher autistic traits are associated with delayed neural processing of faces, mirroring delays seen in ASD.
• Inefficient social perception, characterized by processing delays, may be present in individuals with subclinical autistic traits.
• These findings highlight the continuity of social perception challenges from subclinical traits to diagnosed ASD.