Lisa Newell

Attention, Joint Attention, and Social Cognition

Before social cognition there is joint processing of information about the attention of self and others. This joint attention requires the integrated activation of a distributed cortical network involving the anterior and posterior attention systems. In infancy, practice with the integrated activation of this distributed attention network is a major contributor to the development of social cognition. Thus, the functional neuroanatomies of social cognition and the anterior–posterior attention systems have much in common. These propositions have implications for understanding joint attention, social cognition, and autism.

Developmental and Individual Differences on the P1 and N170 ERP Components in Children With and Without Autism

The P1 and N170 components, two event-related potentials sensitive to face processing, were examined in response to faces and vehicles for children with autism and typical development. P1 amplitude decreased, P1 latency decreased, and N170 amplitude became more negative with age. Children with typical development had larger P1 amplitudes for inverted faces than upright faces, but children with autism did not show this pattern. Children with autism had longer N170 latencies than children with typical development. Smaller P1 amplitudes and more negative N170 amplitudes for upright faces were associated with better social skills for children with typical development.

Brief Report: Reduced Temporal-Central EEG Alpha Coherence during Joint Attention Perception in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Although prior studies have demonstrated reduced resting state EEG coherence in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), no studies have explored the nature of EEG coherence during joint attention. We examined the EEG coherence of the joint attention network in adolescents with and without ASD during congruent and incongruent joint attention perception and an eyes-open resting condition. Across conditions, adolescents with ASD showed reduced right hemisphere temporal–central alpha coherence compared to typically developing adolescents. Greater right temporal–central alpha coherence during joint attention was positively associated with social cognitive performance in typical development but not in ASD. These results suggest that, in addition to a resting state, EEG coherence during joint attention perception is reduced in ASD.

Metacognitive Awareness of Facial Affect in Higher-Functioning Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Higher-functioning participants with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) viewed a series of face stimuli, made decisions regarding the affect of each face, and indicated their confidence in each decision. Confidence significantly predicted accuracy across all participants, but this relation was stronger for participants with typical development than participants with ASD. In the hierarchical linear modeling analysis, there were no differences in face processing accuracy between participants with and without ASD, but participants with ASD were more confident in their decisions. These results suggest that individuals with ASD have metacognitive impairments and are overconfident in face processing. Additionally, greater metacognitive awareness was predictive of better face processing accuracy, suggesting that metacognition may be a pivotal skill to teach in interventions.