Proposed Method

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The Influence of Human and Non-Human Character Adaptations on Fusiform Gyrus Activity

and Facial Recognition among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Xxxxx xxxxx

Saint Leo University

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Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder associated with social deficits, stereotypic

behaviors, and restricted special interests (Hodges et al, 2020). Individuals with ASD also tend to

show less activation of the fusiform gyrus (FG)— a particular area of the brain dedicated to

facial perception— in comparison to typically developing individuals (Bolt et al, 2006). This

literature review intends to investigate how character designs of cartoons influence facial

recognition and encourage activation of the FG among individuals with autism.

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Introduction

The fusiform gyrus is responsible for an individual’s processing of high-order visual

information— especially when processing faces, bodies, and other stimuli that are characterized

by high spatial frequencies (Palejwala et al., 2020). Neurotypical individuals appear to have

fusiform gyri that are observably more symmetric than individuals with autism spectrum disorder

(Palejwala et al., 2020). In the neuroscience realm, a very consistent finding has linked autism

with hypoactivation of the fusiform gyrus during facial processing (Bolt et al, 2006). Asymmetry

on the leftward fusiform gyrus has been commonly observed in research among individuals with

ASD, however, individuals with more severe symptoms also have demonstrated atypical

rightward asymmetry as well. These asymmetries are thought to negatively impact this region in

terms of facial perception and related functions (Palejwala et al, 2020). While human faces and

eye contact are typically not reinforcing among individuals with autism (Fonger, 2018),

stereotypic behaviors and fixations concerning nonhuman characters and inanimate objects can

be (Lewis & Kim, 2009). Specific reinforcement contingencies greatly influence the attention

and learning of autistic individuals, and research must consider that the adaptations of human

and non-human television characters that bear these variables in mind can increase fusiform

gyrus activity. Developing television shows with characters that have been engineered to be

more reinforcing to autistic populations can aid in providing greater accessibility to

educational— and potentially therapeutic— content to families that might not be able to afford

traditional behavioral therapies.

Perlman et al. (2011) dives into how fMRI imaging specifically shows the hypoactivation

of the left fusiform gyrus and amygdalae is observed through scan-paths of facial features among

individuals with autism when compared to typically developing individuals. Interestingly, when

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the participants with autism had to perform visual scan-paths that involved fixating on the eyes

of a fearful face, there was relatively normal activity observed in the right fusiform gyrus, but not

the amygdalae. The findings of this study hold important implications in the future development

of theories regarding the role of the fusiform gyrus in facial processing, as well as the ability to

understand the biochemical changes that can be observed through fMRI studies (Perlman et al.,

2011). Not only is interpretation of facial expression impaired in autism, but so is the ability for

the individual to accurately express emotions through facial expression. Manfredonia et al.

(2019) studied if encouraging facial expression in response to a verbal prompt could improve the

activation of expression. The ability and extent that a child with autism was able to use facial

expression was correlated to social communication skills reported by their parent (Manfredonia

et al., 2019).

Method

Search Strategy

In order to guarantee a quality and holistic review of the topic of study, several criteria

were implemented in the collection of research data. Six databases were used to obtain data for

this study—which included Pubmed, National Library of Medicine, PLOS One, Science Direct,

Taylor & Francis Online, and Springer Link. The inclusion criteria for the literature assessed

require articles to be peer reviewed, published between 2013 and 2023, written in the English

language, and include qualitative themes that can be quantified for the purpose of visual

representation— such as graphs. The studies must also pertain to fusiform gyrus activity or facial

recognition ability among children with autism spectrum disorder.

Population of Interest

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This study is interested in investigating a population of individuals under 60 that have a

previous diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Particularly, individuals who tend to have

difficulty in facial recognition skills and have observable lower baseline levels of fusiform gyrus

activity.

Data

The literature that has met the criteria above has been interpreted through a box score and

coded based upon similar trends in variables, relationships, and themes among the various

studies. The resulting data will then be formed into a graph to aid in visual representation of the

influence that non-human characters have on facial recognition in children with ASD as an aid

outside of therapeutic settings.

Table 1. Box Score of relevant literature

Researchers Participants Method/IVs DV’s Outcomes

Apicella, et al.,

(2013).

10 children with a

diagnosis of

“Autistic Disorder”

Participants viewed

neutral faces, happy

faces, fearful faces,

trees, and cartoon

characters while

connected to an

EEG cap

Fusiform gyrus activity While the FG

response activity

was relatively

similar in

neurotypical

children and

children with AD,

children with AD

showed

systematically

delayed latencies

and reduced

amplitudes of all the

early potentials

regardless of which

face was presented.

Berggren, et al.,

(2016).

35 adolescents with

ASD and 32

typically developing

individuals

ASD, ADHD, and

TD participants

were administered a

computer-based

FAR test that

involved presenting

basic facial

emotions.

Accuracy and response

times for general and

specific facial affect

alterations (FAR) based

on presentation of

whole face and eye-

region stimuli.

Individuals with

ASD had lower

FAR performance

than TD individuals

and those with

ADHD.

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Carter, et al.,

(2014).

12 children with

ASD between 4-8

years old

Children interacted

with a human

therapist, an

animated avatar

controlled by a

person, and regular

cartoon characters

who sought social

responses.

Quality of responses

and attention

Children responded

the best to the

therapist, had

adequate response to

the human-

controlled avatar,

and had poorest of

responses to the

cartoon character.

However, attention

was the same across

all three variables.

Chaminade, et

al.,(2015).

Autistic children

and TD children

Children were

prompted to choose

between a human

and cartoon

character that

appeared on a touch

screen that had

either biologically

accurate or artificial

motion

Anthropomorphic

bias— the perceived

naturalness of how

correct biological

motion decreases as

something appears

more cartoonish or

computer animated.

Only TD children

had a preference for

biological motion,

whereas children

with ASD were not

as sensitive to

changes in the

congruence and

form of a computer

animated character’s

motion

Kaliukhovich, et al.,

(2022)

Participants aged 6

and older with a

diagnosis of ASD

Eye tracking was

used while

observing

participants in

varied social scenes

Visual attention and

looking time at specific

variables within the

social scenes

Individuals with

ASD showed

qualitative

differences in visual

attention to context

specific social

scenes

Sato, et al., (2013) Participants with

ASD

Animations of the

facial expressions

of six emotions

morphed and

presented at four

different speeds.

The participants

Naturalness ratings of

facial expressions

Atypical visual

analysis of facial

expressions were

observed among

participants with

ASD

Yan, et al., (2019) 21 participants— 14

with ASD and 7 TD

Participants were

presented with an

emotional

recognition

intervention that

involved animated

vehicles with

emotional faces

Improvements in

emotional recognition

Children with ASD

showed significant

improvement in

their emotional

recognition skills

after intervention

Review of Literature

Facial Recognition Among Populations with ASD

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Historical research has targeted accuracy and response time among individuals with ASD

regarding appropriate facial scanning. A study conducted by Berggren et al. (2010) found that

children with ASD, when compared to a group of typically developing children, performed less

accurately on facial recognition tasks and had longer response times concerning neutral and

happy face identification. This is a great example of a study that would be greatly beneficial to

the research community if fMRI imaging were taken of the participant’s fusiform gyri.

Observing the biochemical changes in the fusiform gyrus that result from interpreting specific

facial expressions could unlock a plethora of routes in ASD treatment plans. A study conducted

by Snow et al. (2011) was able capture a glimpse into how individuals with ASD might scan and

encode memory of facial and object features. Recognition memory of facial features and the

mechanical features of fans was studied between a group of typically developing individuals and

individuals with ASD. Relative to the typically developing participants, individuals with ASD

had lower results for memory of faces, but not fans. The eye tracking that was implemented

during encoding revealed that typically developing individuals fixated on human faces more than

fans, whereas participants with ASD did not differ in the number of fixations made on the two

stimulus types. Participants with ASD were also less likely to scan regions of the face that were

outside of the primary facial features— such as the eyes, nose, and mouth. This study concluded

that individuals with ASD have abnormal scanning strategies during encoding that ultimately are

a result of having a domain-specific memory impairment for faces relative to mechanical objects

(Snow et al., 2011).

The Influence of Character Design on Facial Recognition and FG Activity

Anthropomorphic bias is the phenomenon of how humans perceive that the organic flow

of a biological motion decreases as the human-likeness of a computer-animated agent increases

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(Chaminade et al., 2015). A study conducted by Chaminade et al. (2015) investigated

anthropomorphic bias among autistic children by presenting human and cartoon characters side

by side on a touch screen that demonstrated biological and artificial motions. Only typically

developing children were able to illustrate the anticipated preference for the human characters

engaging in the biological motion. In contrast, while the autistic children completed the tasks of

reporting preferences, they did not depict normal or reversed anthropomorphic bias. This

outcome is suggestive that autistic children are not sensitive to informational congruences of

motion and form when observing computer-animate actions (Chaminade, 2015).

The ideas from the previously examined work can be tied into Sato et al’s (2013) study

that focused on a similar concept— although this study hones into how facial expression changes

are rated on “naturalness” based on the speed that the facial expressions change. Historical

studies suggest that processing dynamic facial expressions is impaired in ASD, so the purpose of

this examination was to determine which aspects of processing have deficits. This study found

that among typically developing (TD) individuals, naturalness ratings decreased as a function of

reduced speed. In contrast, the individuals with ASD tended to rate the levels of naturalness

higher when the six emotions presented in this study were cycled at high rates compared to TD

participants. This study further confirms that atypical analysis of visual input from facial

expressions is a variable of impairment for social interaction among individuals with ASD (Sato,

Uono, & Toichi, 2013).

Golan et al., (2010) sought to evaluate if an animated series called The Transporters— an

animated series that includes train characters with human faces— could aid in improving

emotional comprehension among children with autism spectrum disorder. Baseline emotional

vocabulary and emotional recognition of the participants were taken prior to intervention.

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Twenty participants with high-function ASD between 4-7 years of age watched The Transporters

daily for 4 weeks— where post-intervention results depicted a significant increase in emotional

recognition. Interestingly, the intervention group ultimately performed comparably to the control

group of typically developing children post-intervention (Golan et al., 2010). While further

research is needed among populations of lower-functioning ASD cases, this study serves as a

great baseline that highlights how different approaches to adaptations of character quality and

structure in television shows can positively influence children with ASD. Results from a study

such as this support a hypothesis that fusiform gyrus activity could potentially be influenced by

characters with similar features as in The Transporters.

Another study conducted by Yan et al., (2018) also focused on The Transporters and

aimed to encourage greater emotional recognition among Chinese children with ASD. Fourteen

children with diagnosed ASD and seven typically developing children participated in this study.

Baseline measurements were taken of emotional vocabulary and situation-facial expression

matching before intervention, and the same qualities were tested on post-intervention. Similar to

Golan et al., (2010), the results indicated that this intervention improved emotional recognition

among children with ASD considerably when compared to the pre-intervention data. This study

highlights that using animated vehicles is an effective early intervention for Chinese children

with ASD (Yan et al., 2018).

One of the most influential studies that specifically concerns fusiform gyrus activation

concerning particular cartoon character features is a case study that follows an autistic boy,

referred to as DD, who had a strong interest in the cartoon Digimon. DD was able to differentiate

specific Digimon faster than familiar faces and objects. In using fMRI, this study was able to

show that DD’s amygdala and fusiform gyrus were exceptionally active for perceptual

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discriminations that involved Digimon, however, not for those involving familiar or unfamiliar

faces. The results of this study have especially important implications for further understanding

the cortical face specialization, as well as the role of the amygdala in the development of

perceptual expertise among children with autism. (Grelotti et al., 2005).

Carter et al. (2014) sought to determine if responsiveness among a test group of autistic

children between the ages of 4-8 would increase when interacting with computer-generated non-

human avatars, human actors, animated characters, and human therapists. The avatar was human-

controlled and set in a theme park, the human actor spoke similarly to the avatar, and the cartoon

actors sought social responses. This study found greater verbal and gestural responses when the

child interacted with the therapist, adequate responses to the avatar and the actor, and the poorest

responses to the cartoon characters who pursued social responses. While these results suggested

that avatars can initiate responsive interactions, human therapists were still found to be the most

effective in eliciting verbal and non-verbal communication from autistic children within this age

range (Carter et al., 2014). In analyzing this study, it must be noted that while human therapeutic

intervention was the most effective, that the non-human avatar and actor were still effective in

eliciting desired responses. While no imaging on the fusiform gyrus was conducted in this study,

this still provides implications in the future development of therapeutic strategies for children

with ASD. Unfortunately, therapy is expensive and not all families can afford a behavioral

therapist to work with their child, so the development of programs and shows that cater to

effective acquisition strategies among autistic children can provide additional developmental

support.

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Discussion

Implications

There is absolute importance in aiding individuals with ASD in developing greater facial

scanning and recognition skills— not even just for daily life skills, but also to keep these

individuals out of correctional institutions. In a study conducted by Robinson et al. (2012), male

Scottish prisoners with varying convictions were tested upon their facial recognition skills. This

study found that male prisoners had significantly greater deficits when compared to age, sex, and

IQ-matched controls at recognizing emotions associated with facial expressions such as anger,

fear, sadness, and disgust (Robinson et al., 2012). While there is no implication or claim that the

prisoners had ASD, similar behavioral deficits are observed among some cases of ASD. Because

of the potential behavioral and functional complications associated with difficulty recognizing

the emotions of others, it is imperative that early childhood intervention strategies and

diagnostics are in place.

In general, ABA therapy has been notoriously difficult in terms of affordability— and

insurance can also be difficult to qualify for. There is also a shortage of qualified ABA

therapists, which further complicates the accessibility of therapy. Between the long waitlists and

high expenses, such treatment is not always the most accessible option— especially in lower

income areas. The goal of this literature review is to compile material that can potentially be

implemented into designing characters that engage autistic children’s facial processing skills.

The design of the characters would ultimately influence greater emotional recognition and

increase levels of participant engagement in order to bring out the therapeutic effects of such a

program. While such television programs would not necessarily hold the same therapeutic

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quality as traditional ABA therapy, they could serve as a more affordable and accessible

therapeutic alternative to those in need of assistance.

Limitations…

Conclusions…

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