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The Role of Alexithymia in Reduced Eye-Fixation in Autism Spectrum Conditions

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Abstract

Eye-tracking studies have demonstrated mixed support for reduced eye fixation when looking at social scenes in individuals with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). We present evidence that these mixed findings are due to a separate condition—alexithymia—that is frequently comorbid with ASC. We find that in adults with ASC, autism symptom severity correlated negatively with attention to faces when watching video clips. However, only the degree of alexithymia, and not autism symptom severity, predicted eye fixation. As well as potentially resolving the contradictory evidence in this area, these findings suggest that individuals with ASC and alexithymia may form a sub-group of individuals with ASC, with emotional impairments in addition to the social impairments characteristic of ASC.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the help of Jennifer Cook in administering the ADOS, conducting the IQ tests, and testing participants. We also wish to thank the volunteers who participated in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HX, UK

    Geoffrey Bird

  2. Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK

    Geoffrey Bird

  3. Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK

    Clare Press

  4. Cognitive, Perceptual, and Brain Sciences, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK

    Daniel C. Richardson

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Bird, G., Press, C. & Richardson, D.C. The Role of Alexithymia in Reduced Eye-Fixation in Autism Spectrum Conditions. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 1556–1564 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1183-3

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