Autism Spectrum Disorder F84.5
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: The study participant is shown photos from the database "The Amsterdam Dynamic Facial Expressions Set" on a screen using the Presentation® software. In the photos, the facial expressions of s
Sponsors
Allgemeine Psychiatrie Heidelberg
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Men and women between 18 and 65 years of age 2. Willingness to cooperate (written declaration of consent to participate in the study) 3. Ability to give consent 4. Either: ? already diagnosed autism spectrum disorder (target group) or: ? no previous psychiatric illnesses (control group) 5. German as mother tongue
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: - Age 65 years - Present disorders from the schizophrenic group, bipolar disorder or substance dependence as well as other acute psychiatric or neurological diseases - Serious internal diseases
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of wearing a face mask on emotion recognition in people with autism. For this purpose, the study participants are presented with photos with facial expressions in a randomized order in an emotion recognition task. The photos are shown in three different conditions: once with a face mask, once with sunglasses and once without both utensils. The measurement is carried out using the Presentation® software, which also shows the photos. Both the correctly answered items (in %) and the required reaction time (in ms) are measured. The respective data are generated by Presentation® at the end of the emotion recognition task. During the emotion recognition task, eye tracking measures the motion oft he eyes and the pupil size in response to the photos shown. This data is measured by a Tobii Eye Tracker and then sent to the Presentation® software. The eye tracking examines whether people with autism look more at the mouth than at the eyes in comparison to the control group when recognizing emotions. The pupil size serves as a measure of aversion. Following the emotion recognition task, the participants fill out a few more questionnaires: 26-point Toronto alexithymia scale (alexithymia is a common phenomenon in autism and has a strong influence on emotion recognition, which is why it should be controlled), autism quotient (as Markers for the severity of autism), multiple choice vocabulary intelligence test (as a performance test to measure the general intelligence level), Beck depression inventory (to exclude a depression as a possible influencing factor on emotion recognition) as well as a specially developed questionnaire for the subjective recording of emotion recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Differences in the pupil size in response to the photos shown as well as the eye tracking when recognizing the photos, each in a comparison of the three conditions to one another. | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactTim Schnitzler
Allgemeine Psychiatrie Heidelberg
Outcome results
None listed