Diminished visual monitoring of faces and activities of others is an early feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is uncertain whether deficits in activity monitoring, identified using a homogeneous set of stimuli, persist throughout the lifespan in ASD, and thus, whether they could serve as a biological indicator (“biomarker”) of ASD. We investigated differences in visual attention during activity monitoring in children and adult participants with autism compared to a control group of participants without autism. Eye movements of participants with autism (n = 122; mean age [SD] = 14.5 [8.0] years) and typically developing (TD) controls (n = 40, age = 16.4 [13.3] years) were recorded while they viewed a series of videos depicting two female actors conversing while interacting with their hands over a shared task. Actors either continuously focused their gaze on each other’s face (mutual gaze) or on the shared activity area (shared focus). Mean percentage looking time was computed for the activity area, actors’ heads, and their bodies. Compared to TD participants, participants with ASD looked longer at the activity area (mean % looking time: 58.5% vs. 53.8%, p < 0.005) but less at the heads (15.2% vs. 23.7%, p < 0.0001). Additionally, within-group differences in looking time were observed between the mutual gaze and shared focus conditions in both participants without ASD (activity: Δ = − 6.4%, p < 0.004; heads: Δ = + 3.5%, p < 0.02) and participants with ASD (bodies: Δ = + 1.6%, p < 0.002). The TD participants were not as well characterized as the participants with ASD. Inclusion criteria regarding the cognitive ability [intelligence quotient (IQ) > 60] limited the ability to include individuals with substantial intellectual disability. Differences in attention to faces could constitute a feature discriminative between individuals with and without ASD across the lifespan, whereas between-group differences in looking at activities may shift with development. These findings may have applications in the search for underlying biological indicators specific to ASD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02668991.

中文翻译：

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社会对自闭症谱系障碍儿童和成人活动的关注：环境和年龄的影响

对他人面部和活动的视觉监测减弱是自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的早期特征。尚不确定使用一组同质刺激确定的活动监测缺陷是否会在 ASD 的整个生命周期中持续存在，因此，它们是否可以作为 ASD 的生物指标（“生物标志物”）。我们调查了自闭症儿童和成人参与者在活动监测过程中视觉注意力的差异，与对照组没有自闭症的参与者相比。自闭症参与者（n = 122；平均年龄 [SD] = 14.5 [8.0] 岁）和典型发育（TD）对照组（n = 40，年龄 = 16.4 [13.3] 岁）的眼球运动在他们观看一系列视频时被记录下来的视频描绘了两名女演员在通过共同任务进行互动时进行交谈。演员要么持续地将目光集中在彼此的脸上（相互凝视）或共同的活动区域（共享焦点）。计算活动区域、演员的头部和身体的平均观看时间百分比。与 TD 参与者相比，ASD 参与者注视活动区域的时间更长（平均注视时间百分比：58.5% 与 53.8%，p < 0.005），但较少注视头部（15.2% 与 23.7%，p < 0.0001）。此外，在没有 ASD 的两名参与者的相互凝视和共同关注条件之间观察到组内注视时间的差异（活动：Δ = - 6.4%，p < 0.004；头部：Δ = + 3.5%，p < 0.02）和患有 ASD 的参与者（身体：Δ = + 1.6%，p < 0.002）。TD 参与者的特征不如 ASD 参与者。关于认知能力的纳入标准 [智商 (IQ) > 60] 限制了将具有严重智力障碍的个体纳入的能力。对面孔的关注差异可能构成在整个生命周期中区分患有和不患有 ASD 的个体的特征，而组间观察活动的差异可能会随着发展而改变。这些发现可能适用于寻找 ASD 特有的潜在生物学指标。试验注册 ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符 NCT02668991。而在看待活动方面的组间差异可能会随着发展而改变。这些发现可能适用于寻找 ASD 特有的潜在生物学指标。试验注册 ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符 NCT02668991。而在看待活动方面的组间差异可能会随着发展而改变。这些发现可能适用于寻找 ASD 特有的潜在生物学指标。试验注册 ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符 NCT02668991。