The Connections Between Vision And Movement in Autism

A hand moves forward, but is it a friendly gesture or one meant to do harm? In an instant, we respond -- either extending our arm forward to shake hands or raising it higher to protect our face. But what are the subtle cues that allow us to interpret such movement so we can properly respond to others?

In research projects designed to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and to provide deeper insight into how autistic individuals perceive others, Maggie Shiffrar, professor of psychology at Rutgers University in Newark, is examining how our visual system helps us to interpret the intent conveyed in subtle body movements.

Almost all people possess some autistic tendencies, explains Shiffrar, but her research shows that those with the fewest autistic tendencies “are best at detecting the weak signals provided by body movement.” Thus, people with very few autistic tendencies are the best at interpreting emotion from body movement.

Working with test participants under a $750,000 grant from the Simons Foundation, Shiffrar has discovered that people with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to view other people and objects alike. It is as if they view the world through a lens devoid of emotion.

People with few autistic tendencies, on the other hand, have visual systems that analyze human movement and the movement of objects differently. As a result, when presented with limited information they find it easier to identify people over objects.

Previous research has revealed that the part of the brain – the amygdala – involved in emotion communicates with that part of the brain involved in the perception of human movement. This connection is impaired in people with autism and could be what makes it difficult for them to perceive other people’s emotional states from their actions. Should that be the case, it may become possible to develop training programs for people with ASD to help them perceive and understand the intentions and emotional states of people from their body movements.