http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/201/4359/899.2.full.pdf

Phenomenology of perception.

We propose that the crucial difference between human cognition and that of other species is the ability to participate with others in collaborative activities with shared goals and intentions: shared intentionality. Participation in such activities requires not only especially powerful forms of intention reading and cultural learning, but also a unique motivation to share psychological states with oth- ers and unique forms of cognitive representation for doing so. The result of participating in these activities is species-unique forms of cultural cognition and evolution, enabling everything from the creation and use of linguistic symbols to the construction of social norms and individual beliefs to the establishment of social institutions. In support of this proposal we argue and present evidence that great apes (and some children with autism) understand the basics of intentional action, but they still do not participate in activities involving joint intentions and attention (shared intentionality). Human children's skills of shared intentionality develop gradually during the first 14 months of life as two ontogenetic pathways intertwine: (1) the general ape line of understanding others as animate, goal-directed, and intentional agents; and (2) a species-unique motivation to share emotions, experience, and activities with other persons. The develop- mental outcome is children's ability to construct dialogic cognitive representations, which enable them to participate in earnest in the collectivity that is human cognition.

/pdf/understanding-and-sharing-intentions-the-origins-of-cultural-4ndpnm3ov3.pdf

Understanding and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition

Autism is a severe neurobehavioral syndrome, arising largely as an inherited disorder, which can arise from several diseases. Despite recent advances in identifying some genes that can cause autism, its underlying neurological mechanisms are uncertain. Autism is best conceptualized by considering the neural systems that may be defective in autistic individuals. Recent advances in understanding neural systems that process sensory information, various types of memories and social and emotional behaviors are reviewed and compared with known abnormalities in autism. Then, specific genetic abnormalities that are linked with autism are examined. Synthesis of this information leads to a model that postulates that some forms of autism are caused by an increased ratio of excitation/inhibition in sensory, mnemonic, social and emotional systems. The model further postulates that the increased ratio of excitation/inhibition can be caused by combinatorial effects of genetic and environmental variables that impinge upon a given neural system. Furthermore, the model suggests potential therapeutic interventions.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1034/j.1601-183X.2003.00037.x

Model of autism: increased ratio of excitation/inhibition in key neural systems

Background: Manifestations of core social deficits in autism are more pronounced in everyday settings than in explicit experimental tasks. To bring experimental measures in line with clinical observation, we report a novel method of quantifying atypical strategies of social monitoring in a setting that simulates the demands of daily experience. Enhanced ecological validity was intended to maximize between-group effect sizes and assess the predictive utility of experimental variables relative to outcome measures of social competence. Methods: While viewing social scenes, eye-tracking technology measured visual fixations in 15 cognitively able males with autism and 15 age-, sex-, and verbal IQ– matched control subjects. We reliably coded fixations on 4 regions: mouth, eyes, body, and objects. Statistical analyses compared fixation time on regions of interest between groups and correlation of fixation time with outcome measures of social competence (ie, standardized measures of daily social adjustment and degree of autistic social symptoms). Results: Significant between-group differences were obtained for all 4 regions. The best predictor of autism was reduced eye region fixation time. Fixation on mouths and objects was significantly correlated with social functioning: increased focus on mouths predicted improved social adjustment and less autistic social impairment, whereas more time on objects predicted the opposite relationship. Conclusions: When viewing naturalistic social situations, individuals with autism demonstrate abnormal patterns of social visual pursuit consistent with reduced salience of eyes and increased salience of mouths, bodies, and objects. Fixation times on mouths and objects but not on eyes are strong predictors of degree of social competence. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002;59:809-816

/pdf/visual-fixation-patterns-during-viewing-of-naturalistic-2n2x2wenc5.pdf

Visual fixation patterns during viewing of naturalistic social situations as predictors of social competence in individuals with autism.

The brain is constantly bombarded by stimuli, and the relative salience of these inputs determines which are more likely to capture attention. A brain system known as the 'salience network', with key nodes in the insular cortices, has a central role in the detection of behaviourally relevant stimuli and the coordination of neural resources. Emerging evidence suggests that atypical engagement of specific subdivisions of the insula within the salience network is a feature of many neuropsychiatric disorders.

Salience processing and insular cortical function and dysfunction

Deficits in eye contact have been a hallmark of autism since the condition's initial description. They are cited widely as a diagnostic feature and figure prominently in clinical instruments; however, the early onset of these deficits has not been known. Here we show in a prospective longitudinal study that infants later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) exhibit mean decline in eye fixation from 2 to 6 months of age, a pattern not observed in infants who do not develop ASD. These observations mark the earliest known indicators of social disability in infancy, but also falsify a prior hypothesis: in the first months of life, this basic mechanism of social adaptive action--eye looking--is not immediately diminished in infants later diagnosed with ASD; instead, eye looking appears to begin at normative levels prior to decline. The timing of decline highlights a narrow developmental window and reveals the early derailment of processes that would otherwise have a key role in canalizing typical social development. Finally, the observation of this decline in eye fixation--rather than outright absence--offers a promising opportunity for early intervention that could build on the apparent preservation of mechanisms subserving reflexive initial orientation towards the eyes.

/pdf/attention-to-eyes-is-present-but-in-decline-in-2-6-month-old-1b6uh9uhd5.pdf

Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2–6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism

Typically developing human infants preferentially attend to biological motion within the first days of life 1 . This ability is highly conserved across species 2,3 and is believed to be critical for filial attachment and for detection of predators 4 . The neural underpinnings of biological motion perception are overlapping with brain regions involved in perception of basic social signals such as facial expression and gaze direction 5 , and preferential attention to biological motion is seen as a precursor to the capacity for attributing intentions to others 6 . However, in a serendipitous observation 7 , we recently found that an infant with autism failed to recognize point-light displays of biological motion, but was instead highly sensitive to the presence of a non-social, physical contingency that occurred within the stimuli by chance. This observation raised the possibility that perception of biological motion may be altered in children with autism from a very early age,withcascading consequencesforbothsocialdevelopment and the lifelong impairments in social interaction that are a hallmark of autism spectrum disorders 8 . Here we show that two-year-olds withautismfailtoorienttowardspoint-lightdisplaysofbiological motion, and their viewing behaviour when watching these pointlight displays can be explained instead as a response to non-social, physicalcontingencies—physicalcontingenciesthataredisregarded by control children. This observation has far-reaching implications for understanding the altered neurodevelopmental trajectory of brain specialization in autism 9 . Preferentialattentiontobiologicalmotionisafundamentalmechanism facilitating adaptive interaction with other living beings. It is present throughout a wide range of species, from humans 10,11 to monkeys 12 to birds 13 . Developmentally, it can be found in newly hatched chicks 14 and in human infants as young as 2days old 1 . Recognitionofbiologicalmotionremainsintactinavarietyofforms, from degraded presentations, through varying states of occlusion, and in cases when information-bearing components are reduced to

Two-year-olds with autism orient to non-social contingencies rather than biological motion

Normative-IQ individuals with autism are capable of solving explicit social cognitive problems at a level that is not matched by their ability to meet the demands of everyday social situations. The magnitude of this discrepancy is now being documented through newer techniques such as eye tracking, which allows us to see and measure how individuals with autism search for meaning when presented with naturalistic social scenes. This paper offers an approach to social cognitive development intended to address the above discrepancy, which is considered a key element for any understanding of the pathophysiology of autism. This approach, called the enactive mind (EM), originates from the emerging work on 'embodied cognitive science', a neuroscience framework that views cognition as bodily experiences accrued as a result of an organism's adaptive actions upon salient aspects of the surrounding environment. The EM approach offers a developmental hypothesis of autism in which the process of acquisition of embodied social cognition is derailed early on, as a result of reduced salience of social stimuli and concomitant enactment of socially irrelevant aspects of the environment.

/pdf/the-enactive-mind-or-from-actions-to-cognition-lessons-from-2fyjdlegfz.pdf

The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: lessons from autism

Context Within the first week of life, typical human newborns give preferential attention to the eyes of others. Similar findings in other species suggest that attention to the eyes is a highly conserved phylogenetic mechanism of social development. For children with autism, however, diminished and aberrant eye contact is a lifelong hallmark of disability. Objective To quantify preferential attention to the eyes of others at what is presently the earliest point of diagnosis in autism. Design We presented the children with 10 videos. Each video showed an actress looking directly into the camera, playing the role of caregiver, and engaging the viewer (playing pat-a-cake, peek-a-boo, etc). Children's visual fixation patterns were measured by eye tracking. Participants Fifteen 2-year-old children with autism were compared with 36 typically developing children and with 15 developmentally delayed but nonautistic children. Main Outcome Measure Preferential attention was measured as percentage of visual fixation time to 4 regions of interest: eyes, mouth, body, and object. Level of social disability was assessed by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Results Looking at the eyes of others was significantly decreased in 2-year-old children with autism (P  Conclusions Looking at the eyes of others is important in early social development and in social adaptation throughout one's life span. Our results indicate that in 2-year-old children with autism, this behavior is already derailed, suggesting critical consequences for development but also offering a potential biomarker for quantifying syndrome manifestation at this early age.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/articlepdf/210109/yoa80027_946_954.pdf

Absence of preferential looking to the eyes of approaching adults predicts level of social disability in 2-year-old toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.

Warren Jones

Papers

Visual fixation patterns during viewing of naturalistic social situations as predictors of social competence in individuals with autism.

Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2–6-month-old infants later diagnosed with autism

Two-year-olds with autism orient to non-social contingencies rather than biological motion

The enactive mind, or from actions to cognition: lessons from autism

Absence of preferential looking to the eyes of approaching adults predicts level of social disability in 2-year-old toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.