Recognition of emotional expressions through moving faces and bodies in people with autism

Autism is a life-long developmental condition that affects how a person communicates and interacts with other people. Much research has investigated whether individuals with autism have problems recognising facial expressions of emotion. Here some research has reported no difference in expression recognition between neuro-typical and autistic participants. Other research has proposed a selective deficit for one or more of the six basic emotions (happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, disgust, anger); for example, surprise or fear. Research on expression processing in individuals with autism, as with neuro-typical individuals, is usually based on static face images, ignoring the temporal dynamics and subtleties of expression changes found in face and body movements. Shah et al. (2016) suggested that individuals with autism may be less able to integrate information from disparate facial regions and this may contribute to difficulties in recognizing static faces. Thus, viewing a face in motion may help individuals with autism integrate information across the face and aid accurate expression recognition.

This PhD will investigate the recognition of emotional expression by adults with autism and examine the role of facial and body motion. Specifically we will test whether dynamic information helps integrate information important for expression processing and will explore motion perception more generally. Previous work has suggested that although motion perception (computer generated motion here) may be intact in participants with autism, the perception of emotional expressions may be still impaired (Han et al., 2015). Methods will include behavioural experiments, questionnaires, motion tracking and eye tracking. The work will have implications for communication with and by people with autism.

The successful student will join a vibrant multidisciplinary research team (see http://beamlab.lab.ls.manchester.ac.uk/). They will also benefit from the research network “autism@manchester” (http://www.autism.manchester.ac.uk/) that Dr Emma Gowen chairs and can provide links for participant recruitment and input from the autism community.

The successful candidate will be trained in a wide range of research skills including designing behavioural experiments, measuring eye movements, motion tracking, reaction times, questionnaires and physiological responses, as well as public engagement.

Candidates are expected to hold, or about to obtain, a minimum upper second class undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neuroscience or another related subject. A Masters degree in a relevant subject would be an advantage.