Understanding face processing in autism spectrum disorder: insights from cognitive neuroscience

Faces convey critical information for social communication, such as identity, expression, and eye gaze. Unfortunately, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties in processing this information, and these deficits lead to their suffering from social interactions. Importantly, since face processing is a social skill developed during early childhood, its deficits may be an early symptom of ASD. In recent years, researchers have made great progress in identifying face processing impairments in individuals with ASD and exploring their biological underpinnings. In this paper, we reviewed the research progress on face processing impairments in individuals with ASD. Moreover, we mainly summarized the mechanisms proposed to underlie these impairments, including the changes in brain structure and function, atypical social cognition, and genetic variation. Finally, we discussed the factors leading to the inconsistent results of existing studies. Focused efforts to research the alterations and mechanisms of face processing might improve our knowledge of this complex, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder. The ultimate purpose is to help clinical diagnosis and treatment, thereby improving the function of individuals with ASD.