Brief Report: Visual Perception, Task-Induced Pupil Response Trajectories and ASD Features in Children

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents with diverse behavioral and cognitive features.
• Understanding the underlying perceptual strategies in ASD is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Eye tracking offers a non-invasive method to investigate visual processing in ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply a novel trajectory-based analysis to eye tracking data.
• To quantify individualized pupil response patterns related to global-local processing in ASD.
• To identify distinct perceptual strategies associated with ASD features.

Main Methods:

• Eye tracking data was collected during global-local processing tasks.
• A trajectory-based analysis was employed to identify pupil response patterns.
• Individuals were grouped based on combined global and local pupil response trajectories.

Main Results:

• Multiple distinct pupil response trajectories were identified for both global and local conditions.
• Three distinct groups, reflecting different perceptual strategies, were identified based on trajectory membership.
• A significantly higher proportion of children with ASD were found in the group exhibiting a local-focus response.

Conclusions:

• A novel analytical approach objectively characterizes individualized pupil response patterns.
• These patterns are associated with specific perceptual strategies in autism spectrum disorder.
• This methodology provides new insights into the visual processing differences in ASD.