Improved social cognition in autism

Autism affects 1–2 percent of the population and is characterized by challenges in the abilities to communicate and socially interact. It is also associated with reduced self-rated quality of life and poorer health outcomes. Researchers in the project aim to develop a method to improve social cognition.

A central aspect of social-cognitive alterations in autism is difficulty in reconstructing other people’s attention, which is fundamental to our ability to perceive how others are thinking (known as “theory of mind”). A traditional explanation given by psychologists is that we follow the attention of others by following the direction of their gaze. 

A series of studies recently conducted by the project’s researchers demonstrated that the brain constructs a much more complex model: our brains generate a subtle, false motion signal flowing from our eyes to the focus of our attention, a signal that is even perceived to exert a slight mechanical force on the object.

The project aims to simulate the brain’s subconscious attention model by developing a new artificial sensory modality allowing the user to perceive, in a physical, tactile way, another person’s attention directed toward them. The method will then be evaluated to determine whether it improves “theory of mind” and social interaction in autistic individuals.

The first part of the study combines two advanced methods to follow bodily movements and eye movements to create an experimental model in which body position and eye movements can be followed in real time in 3D.

Later on in the study, the experiment will be combined with a “haptic feedback suit” – a programmable whole-body suit that can simulate touch. The aim is to create an experiment in which a subject can physically feel when another person’s gaze is directed at the subject’s body. In addition to the ability to perceive where on the body the gaze is directed, the intensity of touch will vary depending on the current mood of the other person. 

To test the hypothesis that this “new sense” stimulates the brain’s own attention model and aids social cognition in autism, 60 neurotypical and 60 autistic volunteers will be tested. They will be asked to perform various standardized tasks involving social interaction. The project will directly and indirectly quantify the effect on social cognitive ability of the “new sense” in a placebo-controlled experiment. 

The researchers believe the project’s results have the potential to translate new basic scientific findings into an innovative clinical intervention to facilitate social cognition in the autism.