Emotion Intensity Modulates Intention in ASD

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China80 enrolled

Overview

This study used eye-tracking to examine how emotional expression intensity (low/medium/high) influences intention understanding in children with ASD, PDD, and TD during a puzzle-search task.

This study examined how emotional expression intensity influences children's intention understanding during a puzzle-search task. Children with ASD, PDD, and typical development (TD) watched videos in which a model searched for a missing puzzle piece under three levels of emotional expression intensity: low, medium, and high. Eye-tracking measures were used to assess both the outcome and the dynamic process of intention understanding.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)Intellectual Disability

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 3 YearsMax age: 10 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: \- Typically developing children without any developmental or neurological disorders. Confirmed clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder and reconfirmed by the criteria of the Diagnostic Observation Table for ASD, Second Edition (ADOS-2). Confirmed clinical diagnosis of Intellectual Disability and the ADOS-2 with a comparison score below the ASD diagnostic cut-off score (comparison score≤2). Exclusion Criteria: \- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision, no color vision deficiencies, and legal guardian provided written informed consent.

Locations (1)

School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

The visitation rate of the AOI

Number of times the gaze enters the AOI per unit time. It measures how frequently the AOI is re-visited. Higher rates indicate repeated returns, reflecting high interest or difficulty disengaging; lower rates suggest rare or brief attention.

Time frame: From second 3 to second 30 of the experimental stimulus.

The proportions of fixation duration

fixation duration on an AOI ÷ total fixation duration (or across multiple AOIs). It measures the relative amount of attention allocated to a specific area. Higher proportions indicate prioritized or deeper processing of that region.

Time frame: During the full 40 seconds video presentation.

The first fixation latency

The First Fixation Latency = time from TOI onset until the first fixation lands on a predefined object. It measures how fast attention is initially drawn to that object. Shorter latencies indicate higher salience or more efficient search.

Time frame: During the full 40 seconds video presentation.

Secondary Outcomes

The face fixation transition ratio

Number of gaze transitions from any non-face AOI to a face ÷ total number of gaze transitions. It measures how often attention shifts toward faces. Higher ratios indicate stronger social orienting or difficulty disengaging from faces.

Time frame: From second 13 to second 15 of the experimental stimulus.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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