Joint Attention Processing in Social Threat Scenarios

Population composition: TD and ASD. TD: 3-10 years old, with normal vision and corrected vision, hearing, and no social or behavioral problems. ASD: 3-10 years old, diagnosed by a doctor with ASD, normal vision and corrected vision, hearing, etc., but with social and behavioral problems.

Key demographic information: 3-10 years old. TD: 22 males and 6 females. ASD: 24 males and 4 females.

Source and final scale: TD recruited 36 children from Jinhua Primary School and First Kindergarten in Shehong City, Sichuan Province, and ultimately used 28 children. ASD: 52 children from special schools and rehabilitation institutions in some districts and counties of Chengdu were recruited, and 28 were ultimately used.

Inclusion Criteria:

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For ASD group:

1. 3 years ≤ age ≤ 10 years;
2. a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder based on clinical symptoms, confirmed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and other auxiliary diagnostic scales, including the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS);
3. further confirmation of ASD symptoms by experimenters with established research reliability using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), with severity scores reported;
4. absence of comorbid physical diseases or other psychiatric disorders, including normal vision (or corrected-to-normal vision) and normal hearing;
5. no receipt of medication, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) within the past three months.

For TD group:The inclusion criterion for the TD group was a score below the cutoff on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).

Exclusion Criteria:

-

For ASD group:

1. age < 3 years or > 10 years;
2. absence of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and other auxiliary diagnostic scales, including the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS);
3. failure to meet diagnostic criteria after confirmation of ASD symptoms by experimenters with established research reliability using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2);
4. presence of comorbid physical diseases or other psychiatric disorders, or problems with vision (or corrected-to-normal vision) and hearing;
5. receipt of medication, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) within the past three months.

For TD group:

children were excluded if their scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) exceeded the cutoff.