Individual differences in autistic traits predict the perception of direct gaze for males, but not for females

Daisuke Matsuyoshi; Kana Kuraguchi; Yumiko Tanaka; Seina Uchida; Hiroshi Ashida; Katsumi Watanabe

doi:10.1186/2040-2392-5-12

Individual differences in autistic traits predict the perception of direct gaze for males, but not for females

Daisuke Matsuyoshi^*, Kana Kuraguchi, Yumiko Tanaka, Seina Uchida, Hiroshi Ashida, Katsumi Watanabe

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and a psychophysical approach in a normal population (N = 128), here we demonstrated that individual differences in autistic traits predicted direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Our findings suggest that direct-gaze perception may not constitute an autistic endophenotype in both sexes, and highlight the importance of sex differences when considering relationships between autistic traits and behaviors.

Original language	English
Article number	12
Journal	Molecular Autism
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-12
Publication status	Published - 2014 Feb 12
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
Autistic traits
Direct gaze
Individual differences
Sex differences

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Molecular Biology
Developmental Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Psychiatry and Mental health

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Cite this

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title = "Individual differences in autistic traits predict the perception of direct gaze for males, but not for females",

abstract = "Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and a psychophysical approach in a normal population (N = 128), here we demonstrated that individual differences in autistic traits predicted direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Our findings suggest that direct-gaze perception may not constitute an autistic endophenotype in both sexes, and highlight the importance of sex differences when considering relationships between autistic traits and behaviors.",

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note = "Funding Information: This study was supported by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science #23700315 to DM, #22220003 to HA, #24300279 to KW; and CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency to KW. The use of the face image in Figure 1 is acknowledged by the photographed model with a written informed consent.",

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AU - Matsuyoshi, Daisuke

AU - Kuraguchi, Kana

AU - Tanaka, Yumiko

AU - Uchida, Seina

AU - Ashida, Hiroshi

AU - Watanabe, Katsumi

N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science #23700315 to DM, #22220003 to HA, #24300279 to KW; and CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency to KW. The use of the face image in Figure 1 is acknowledged by the photographed model with a written informed consent.

PY - 2014/2/12

Y1 - 2014/2/12

N2 - Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and a psychophysical approach in a normal population (N = 128), here we demonstrated that individual differences in autistic traits predicted direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Our findings suggest that direct-gaze perception may not constitute an autistic endophenotype in both sexes, and highlight the importance of sex differences when considering relationships between autistic traits and behaviors.

AB - Despite the emphasis of autism spectrum disorders as a continuum of atypical social behaviors and the sexual heterogeneity of phenotypic manifestations, whether gaze processing constitutes an autistic endophenotype in both sexes remains unclear. Using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient and a psychophysical approach in a normal population (N = 128), here we demonstrated that individual differences in autistic traits predicted direct-gaze perception for males, but not for females. Our findings suggest that direct-gaze perception may not constitute an autistic endophenotype in both sexes, and highlight the importance of sex differences when considering relationships between autistic traits and behaviors.

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KW - Direct gaze

KW - Individual differences

KW - Sex differences

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Individual differences in autistic traits predict the perception of direct gaze for males, but not for females

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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