Circumscribed interests in autism: Can animals potentially re-engage social attention?

Background: Circumscribed interests (CI) in autism are highly fixated and repetitive interests, generally centering on non-social and idiosyncratic topics. The increased salience of CI objects often results in decreased social attention, thus interfering with social interactions. Behavioural, biomarker and neuroimaging research points to enhanced social functioning in autistic children in the presence of animals.

Corrigendum: Do Animals Engage Greater Social Attention in Autism? An Eye Tracking Analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.

Do Animals Engage Greater Social Attention in Autism? An Eye Tracking Analysis.

Background: Visual atypicalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a well documented phenomenon, beginning as early as 2-6 months of age and manifesting in a significantly decreased attention to the eyes, direct gaze and socially salient information. Early emerging neurobiological deficits in perceiving social stimuli as rewarding or its active avoidance due to the anxiety it entails have been widely purported as potential reasons for this atypicality. Parallel research evidence also points to the significant benefits of animal presence for reducing social anxiety and enhancing social interaction in children with autism.