Data_Sheet_1_Vigilance or avoidance: How do autistic traits and social anxiety modulate attention to the eyes?.docx

IntroductionSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly overlapping in symptoms and have a high rate of comorbidity, posing challenges in diagnosis and intervention for both disorders. Both disorders are linked to abnormal attention to the eyes, yet how they interactively modulate the attentional process to the eyes remains unclear.
MethodsIn this study, we explored how autistic traits and social anxiety in college students separately and together affected different temporal stages of attention to the eyes. Participants were instructed to view virtual faces for 10 s and make an emotional judgment, while their eye movements were recorded.
ResultsWe found that social anxiety and autistic traits affected different temporal stages of eye-looking. Social anxiety only affected the first fixation duration on the eyes, while autistic traits were associated with eye avoidance at several time points in the later stage. More importantly, we found an interactive effect of autistic traits and social anxiety on the initial attention to the eyes: Among people scoring high on autistic traits, social anxiety was related to an early avoidance of the eyes as well as attention maintenance once fixated on the eyes.
DiscussionOur study suggests the separate and interactive roles of social anxiety and autistic traits in attention to the eyes. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of social attention in both SAD and ASD and highlights the application of psychiatric diagnoses using eye-tracking techniques.

## 引言
社交焦虑障碍（Social Anxiety Disorder, SAD）与孤独症谱系障碍（Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD）在症状表现上高度重叠，且共病率较高，为两类疾病的诊断与干预均带来了挑战。两类障碍均与眼部异常注意相关，但二者如何交互调节眼部注意加工过程仍不明晰。

## 方法
本研究探讨了大学生群体的孤独症特质与社交焦虑分别及共同如何影响眼部注意的不同时间阶段。实验要求被试观看虚拟面孔10秒并完成情绪判断，同时记录其眼动轨迹。

## 结果
本研究发现，社交焦虑与孤独症特质分别影响眼部注视的不同时间阶段：社交焦虑仅会影响个体对眼部的首次注视时长，而孤独症特质则与后期多个时间点的眼部回避行为相关。更重要的是，我们发现孤独症特质与社交焦虑在眼部初始注意上存在交互效应：在孤独症特质得分较高的群体中，社交焦虑与早期眼部回避行为以及注视眼部后的注意维持均存在关联。

## 讨论
本研究揭示了社交焦虑与孤独症特质在眼部注意中的独立作用与交互作用，有助于更深入地理解社交焦虑障碍与孤独症谱系障碍的社会注意机制，同时凸显了眼动技术在精神疾病诊断中的应用价值。