Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes
Abstract Autism is characterised by core differences in social communication and interaction. The neurobiology underlying autism can be investigated using experimental designs that capture the dynamic nature of social perception, which activates the third visual pathway. Here, we investigated dynami...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12376-x |
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| author | Daniela Sousa Ana Ferreira Helena Catarina Pereira Joana Amaral Joana Crisóstomo Marco Simões Ricardo Martins Susana Mouga Frederico Duque Guiomar Oliveira Miguel Castelo-Branco |
| author_facet | Daniela Sousa Ana Ferreira Helena Catarina Pereira Joana Amaral Joana Crisóstomo Marco Simões Ricardo Martins Susana Mouga Frederico Duque Guiomar Oliveira Miguel Castelo-Branco |
| author_sort | Daniela Sousa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Autism is characterised by core differences in social communication and interaction. The neurobiology underlying autism can be investigated using experimental designs that capture the dynamic nature of social perception, which activates the third visual pathway. Here, we investigated dynamic specific facial emotion processing using a naturalistic facial expression paradigm, leading to a specific dynamic N170 (dN170) evoked by emotion expression trajectories. Participants engaged in an active task of an avatar with two temporal trajectories: morphing from neutral to happy or sad expressions and unmorphing back to neutral. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in autistic and non-autistic children and adolescents (n = 16 per group; ages between 8 and 17) matched for sex, handedness, and age. Results revealed that dN170 exhibited longer latencies during unmorphing for the autistic group. This specific timing effect, identified for the unmorphing versus morphing conditions in autism, suggests a stimulus trajectory-dependent effect (hysteresis). Dynamic P300 showed higher amplitudes in the autistic group during morphing, confirming the presence of an attentional compensatory mechanism. Correlations between ERP properties, GABA, and social communication abilities provided evidence of a dimensional continuum from non-autistic to autistic traits. These findings highlight the promising role of these ERPs as indicators of perceptual and attentional processing differences in autism. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b189805f2ea848acae6af92bb3f73367 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-b189805f2ea848acae6af92bb3f733672025-08-20T03:05:21ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-08-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-12376-xSpecific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypesDaniela Sousa0Ana Ferreira1Helena Catarina Pereira2Joana Amaral3Joana Crisóstomo4Marco Simões5Ricardo Martins6Susana Mouga7Frederico Duque8Guiomar Oliveira9Miguel Castelo-Branco10Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraCoimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of CoimbraCoimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of CoimbraCoimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of CoimbraCoimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of CoimbraCoimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research CIBIT, Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health ICNAS, University of CoimbraFaculty of Medicine, Institute for Physiology, University of CoimbraAbstract Autism is characterised by core differences in social communication and interaction. The neurobiology underlying autism can be investigated using experimental designs that capture the dynamic nature of social perception, which activates the third visual pathway. Here, we investigated dynamic specific facial emotion processing using a naturalistic facial expression paradigm, leading to a specific dynamic N170 (dN170) evoked by emotion expression trajectories. Participants engaged in an active task of an avatar with two temporal trajectories: morphing from neutral to happy or sad expressions and unmorphing back to neutral. We recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy in autistic and non-autistic children and adolescents (n = 16 per group; ages between 8 and 17) matched for sex, handedness, and age. Results revealed that dN170 exhibited longer latencies during unmorphing for the autistic group. This specific timing effect, identified for the unmorphing versus morphing conditions in autism, suggests a stimulus trajectory-dependent effect (hysteresis). Dynamic P300 showed higher amplitudes in the autistic group during morphing, confirming the presence of an attentional compensatory mechanism. Correlations between ERP properties, GABA, and social communication abilities provided evidence of a dimensional continuum from non-autistic to autistic traits. These findings highlight the promising role of these ERPs as indicators of perceptual and attentional processing differences in autism.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12376-xAutism spectrumSpectroscopyDynamic facial emotional processingN170P300Children and adolescents |
| spellingShingle | Daniela Sousa Ana Ferreira Helena Catarina Pereira Joana Amaral Joana Crisóstomo Marco Simões Ricardo Martins Susana Mouga Frederico Duque Guiomar Oliveira Miguel Castelo-Branco Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes Scientific Reports Autism spectrum Spectroscopy Dynamic facial emotional processing N170 P300 Children and adolescents |
| title | Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes |
| title_full | Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes |
| title_fullStr | Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes |
| title_short | Specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and GABA phenotypes |
| title_sort | specific dynamic facial expression evoked responses show distinct perceptual and attentional features in autism connected to social communication and gaba phenotypes |
| topic | Autism spectrum Spectroscopy Dynamic facial emotional processing N170 P300 Children and adolescents |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12376-x |
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