loading page

Autistic traits impair attentional disengagement from threatening faces: An ERP study
  • +2
  • Zongping Chen,
  • Siyuan Zhou,
  • Lingfei Ma,
  • Gang Liu,
  • Ya Liu
Zongping Chen
Chongqing Normal University
Author Profile
Siyuan Zhou
Chongqing Normal University
Author Profile
Lingfei Ma
Chongqing Normal University
Author Profile
Gang Liu
Chongqing Normal University
Author Profile
Ya Liu
Chongqing Normal University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Author Profile

Abstract

The ability to prioritize threatening stimuli in attention has been well-documented, but its manifestation in individuals with high autistic traits remains debated. This study used a dot-probe task and event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine early (N2pc) and late (SPCN) stages of attentional processing in individuals with high (HAT) and low (LAT) autistic traits. The results revealed no significant group differences in early attentional orienting, as indicated by similar N2pc responses. However, a divergence was observed in the later stages, with the HAT group showing a sustained attention to threat, evidenced by a prominent SPCN. This suggests that individuals with high autistic traits have difficulty disengaging from threatening stimuli. These findings contribute to our understanding of social threat processing in autism spectrum disorder and underscore the importance of targeting attentional control in interventions for this population.