Differential mask effects on emotion recognition and eye movements in Psychotic-like experiences and autism: Insights from hidden Markov Modeling.

Researchers studied how face masks affect the ability to recognize emotions in people with autism and those with psychotic-like experiences. They found that masks made it harder for everyone to read emotions from faces. However, people with psychotic-like experiences had more trouble adjusting their eye movements when looking at masked faces. People with autism generally had more difficulty with emotion recognition and showed different eye movement patterns regardless of masks.

This study examined how facial masks affect emotion recognition and eye movement patterns in 180 ethnic Chinese participants, including individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) compared to matched controls. Using eye-tracking technology and advanced statistical modeling, researchers found that masks impaired facial emotion recognition across all groups. However, individuals with PLEs showed unique changes in eye movement patterns and visual scanning consistency when viewing masked faces, which correlated with subclinical psychotic symptoms. People with ASD demonstrated poorer accuracy, slower responses, and less consistent eye movements overall compared to other groups.

The findings suggest different underlying mechanisms affecting social cognition in these populations during mask-wearing scenarios.

Findings suggest that mask-wearing may create additional social cognitive challenges, particularly for individuals with psychotic-like experiences. This has implications for social skills interventions and environmental modifications during periods when mask-wearing is prevalent, such as during health emergencies.

Limited to ethnic Chinese participants, which may affect generalizability. Cross-sectional design prevents causal inferences. The study type is not specified, and sample size breakdown across conditions is incomplete, making it difficult to assess statistical power.

Facial mask wearing may disrupt facial emotion recognition (FER). The impact of masks on FER and associated eye movement patterns among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) remained unclear. 180 ethnic Chinese individuals completed the FER task with eye-tracking, including two separate samples: 37 PLEs with 53 matched controls, and 45 ASD with 45 matched controls. The eye movement data were analyzed using Eye Movement analysis with Hidden Markov Models (EMHMM). MANCOVA was used to examine the mask and group effects on the performances and eye movements of FER, while regression analyses explored associations with subclinical measures.

Facial masks impaired FER in all subjects. Differential effects of masks from matched controls on eye movement patterns and visual scanning consistency were only observed in the PLEs. The maladaptation of accuracy and visual scanning consistency due to masks were associated with subclinical psychotic symptoms and delusional ideations respectively. ASD presented poorer accuracy, slower reaction times, and less consistent eye movements compared to controls and PLEs.

Imaginative cognition was related to the maladaptation of accuracy and eye movement due to masks in ASD. Schizotypal traits showed differential associations with eye movements in PLEs and ASD. This study reveals maladaptation of eye movement behaviors during FER due to masks in PLEs, and distinct associations between FER with subclinical features in PLEs and ASD. It sheds light on the complex social cognitive processing and real-world social challenges faced by these populations in mask-prevalent environments.