High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates emotional face processing in individuals with high autistic traits: A sham-controlled study

Yuxi Qiao; Qian Hu; Rongrong Xuan; Qianhui Guo; Yuqi Ge; Han Chen; Chunyan Zhu; Gongjun Ji; Fengqiong Yu; Kai Wang; Lei Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135396

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates emotional face processing in individuals with high autistic traits: A sham-controlled study

Neurosci Lett. 2020 Nov 1:738:135396. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135396. Epub 2020 Sep 19.

Authors

Yuxi Qiao¹, Qian Hu¹, Rongrong Xuan¹, Qianhui Guo¹, Yuqi Ge², Han Chen², Chunyan Zhu¹, Gongjun Ji¹, Fengqiong Yu¹, Kai Wang³, Lei Zhang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei 230032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
² Department of First Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.
³ Department of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei 230032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. Electronic address: wangkai1964@126.com.
⁴ Department of Medical Psychology, Chaohu Clinical Medical College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Cognition and Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Hefei 230032, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Mental Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China. Electronic address: zhanglei17236@aliyun.com.

PMID: 32961273
DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135396

Abstract

The deficit in emotional face processing is a critical impairment for individuals with high autistic traits. The temporalparietal junction(TPJ) is considered to be closely related to emotional face processing. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of highdefinition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ) on facial emotion processing of individuals with high autistic traits using eye-tracking technology. Twenty-nine participants with high autistic traits completed an eyetracking task (including happy, fearful and neutral faces) before and after five consecutive days of stimulation (anodal or sham). Results showed that anodal HD-tDCS significantly increased fixation time and fixation count in the mouth area, but this effect was not found after the sham stimulation. Moreover, this increased effect of mouth recognition with anodal rTPJ HD-tDCS was shown in both happy and fearful faces, but no remarkable difference was found in neutral faces. These findings suggest that right TPJ anodal HD-tDCS can facilitate emotional face processing in individuals with high autistic traits.

Keywords: Autistic traits; Emotional face processing; Eye-tracking; High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation; Temporal-parietal junction(TPJ).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Autistic Disorder / physiopathology*
Emotions / physiology*
Facial Recognition / physiology*
Female
Functional Laterality / physiology*
Humans
Male
Recognition, Psychology / physiology
Social Perception / psychology
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation* / methods
Young Adult