No added cost: Emotion recognition in co-occurring ADHD and ASD

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Developmental Disorders

Background:

• Facial emotion recognition (FER) is crucial for social interaction.
• Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often exhibit impaired FER.
• The impact of co-occurring ADHD and ASD on FER remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether FER deficits are specific to emotion processing or indicative of broader facial processing challenges.
• To determine if the co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD exacerbates FER difficulties.

Main Methods:

• Compared emotion discrimination thresholds (EDT) in 92 participants (aged 17-45) across four groups: autistic-only, ADHD-only, co-occurring ADHD+ASD, and typically developing.
• Measured EDT using faces transitioning from neutral to emotional expressions.
• Utilized eye tracking to control for visual attention differences.

Main Results:

• All clinical groups (autistic-only, ADHD-only, ADHD+ASD) demonstrated increased EDTs compared to controls.
• Deficits in emotion recognition were specific and not amplified by the co-occurrence of ADHD and ASD.
• Effect sizes for increased EDT ranged from 0.43 (ADHD+ASD) to 0.77 (autistic-only).

Conclusions:

• Findings suggest shared underlying mechanisms for reduced FER in both ASD and ADHD.
• Identifying these mechanisms is vital for developing targeted interventions for social cognitive challenges.
• Clinicians should recognize that FER difficulties are common in both conditions, avoiding assumptions of co-occurrence based on FER deficits alone.