Joint Attention Processing in Social Threat Scenarios

Inclusion Criteria: \- For ASD group: 1. 3 years ≤ age ≤ 10 years; 2. a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder based on clinical symptoms, confirmed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and other auxiliary diagnostic scales, including the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS); 3. further confirmation of ASD symptoms by experimenters with established research reliability using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), with severity scores reported; 4. absence of comorbid physical diseases or other psychiatric disorders, including normal vision (or corrected-to-normal vision) and normal hearing; 5. no receipt of medication, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) within the past three months. For TD group:The inclusion criterion for the TD group was a score below the cutoff on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Exclusion Criteria: \- For ASD group: 1. age \< 3 years or \> 10 years; 2. absence of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and other auxiliary diagnostic scales, including the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS); 3. failure to meet diagnostic criteria after confirmation of ASD symptoms by experimenters with established research reliability using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2); 4. presence of comorbid physical diseases or other psychiatric disorders, or problems with vision (or corrected-to-normal vision) and hearing; 5. receipt of medication, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) within the past three months. For TD group: children were excluded if their scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) exceeded the cutoff.