Affective response to eye contact and face recognition ability in children with ASD.

This study tested the hypothesis that affective arousal in response to eye contact is negatively associated with face identification skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were 20 children and adolescents with ASD and 20 age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) children. Skin conductance response (SCR), a psychophysiological measure of autonomic arousal, was collected while participants viewed faces with gaze directed toward them and faces with gaze averted away from them.