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Completed

NCT Number: NCT07583615

Social Attention in ASD and TD Children

To examine whether the spatiotemporal organization of gaze strategies differs between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) children during a staged joint attention interaction, and to identify at which phase differences emerge.

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Key information

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Autism Spectrum Disorder Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Joint Attention Impairment Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Age range

3 year–11 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Chengdu, Sichuan, 611731, China

About this study

This cross-sectional observational study involved children with ASD and their typically developing (TD) peers freely viewing dynamic social interaction videos. The videos were segmented into four theory-driven phases: Introduction (scene establishment), Joint Attention (mapping another's gaze to an object preference), Intentional Comprehension (inferring the model's intention), and Emotional Feedback (evaluating outcomes that were either congruent or incongruent with the established preference). Participants' eye movements were recorded throughout using a remote eye-tracker.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • For ASD group: confirmed clinical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. For TD group: Typically developing children without any developmental or neurological disorders.

Both groups: Normal or corrected-to-normal vision, no color vision deficiencies, and legal guardian provided written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

  • Failure to meet the study's group-specific screening cutoffs on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) Known genetic syndromes, significant hearing loss, or uncorrectable visual impairment

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Percentage of Total Fixation Duration on Human Faces during Entire Video

    Time frame: During the full 27-second video presentation

    Percentage of total fixation duration on human faces was calculated as (total fixation duration on all face areas of interest / total fixation duration on the entire video) × 100. Fixation was defined as gaze maintained within a 1° visual angle for a minimum of 100 ms. This measure was compared between the ASD and TD groups.

  2. Total Fixation Duration on Human Faces during Entire Video

    Time frame: During the full 27-second video presentation

    Total fixation duration (in milliseconds) on human faces, calculated as the sum of all fixation durations that fell within face areas of interest (AOIs). This measure was compared between the ASD and TD groups.

  3. Percentage of Total Fixation Duration on Human Faces During Phase 4 (Emotional Feedback) by Condition

    Time frame: During seconds 22-27 of the video

    Percentage of fixation duration on faces was calculated for the emotional feedback phase separately for Preference-congruent and Preference-incongruent trials. The interaction between Group (ASD vs. TD) and Condition (Congruent vs. Incongruent) was examined. Higher percentages indicate greater allocation of visual attention to faces during emotional feedback.

  4. Total Scanpath Length During Entire Video

    Time frame: During the full 27-second video presentation

  5. Number of Gaze Shifts Between Face and Object Areas of Interest

    Time frame: During the full 27-second video presentation

    The number of saccadic gaze shifts that cross between pre-defined face and object areas of interest (AOIs) was counted. This was taken as an index of attentional switching between social and non-social information.

  6. Mean Distance of Fixation Points from the Center of the Face Area of Interest

    Time frame: During the full 27-second video presentation

    For each fixation, the Euclidean distance (in degrees of visual angle) from its location to the centroid of the pre-defined face AOI was calculated. The mean of these distances across all fixations was then computed. Larger values indicate that gaze tended to fall farther from the faces, reflecting less attention to facial information.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Dynamic Gaze Strategies in ASD Children During Social Interactions: An Eye-Tracking Investigation Under Intention-Congruent and -Incongruent Conditions

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 13, 2026
Registry last updated
May 13, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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