SynthesisAutism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research2022
Gaze and social functioning associations in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Diagnostic Potential of Eye Tracking to Detect Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Pooled it
- Eye Tracking as a Treatment Monitoring Tool for Autism: A Multilevel Meta-Analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Pooled it
- Correlation Between Gaze Behaviors and Social Communication Skills of Young Autistic Children: A Meta-Analysis of Eye-Tracking Studies.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of different exercise interventions on executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and vision problems. A systematic review and meta-analysis.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Pooled it
- Gaze and social functioning associations in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2022Pooled it
- Infant Attention to Eyes Versus Mouth Varies With Mouth Movement Speed, Family History of Autism and Language Development.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Automatic measurement of social gaze during naturalistic conversations in autism.Journal of psychiatric research · 2026Article
- Patterns of Gaze Behavior During Live Interactions in Adults and Adolescents with Autism or High Autistic Traits: A Systematic Review.Autism in adulthood · 2026Article
- Protocol for gaze estimation using facial orientation in marmosets during a social preference test.STAR protocols · 2026Article
- Visual function and autism spectrum disorder.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2026Review
- A Multi-Method Approach for the Identification of Social Functioning Profiles in Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults Without Intellectual Disability.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Callous-Unemotional Traits and Their Association with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Insights from Gaze Behaviour During Emotion Recognition.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Infant sensory gating and a developmental cascade to autistic traits and anxiety.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Effects of Rope Therapy on Social Attention and Temperament Traits in Autistic Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Differential lateralization to faces in infants at risk of autism spectrum disorder with expressive language delay.PCN reports : psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2025Article
- Altered interactive dynamics of gaze behavior during face-to-face interaction in autistic individuals: a dual eye-tracking study.Molecular autism · 2025Article
- Article
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy characteristics in children with autism spectrum disorder under animated video modeling therapy.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Age- and Sex-Based Developmental Biomarkers in Eye Movements.Brain sciences · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by significant social functioning impairments, including (but not limited to) emotion recognition, mentalizing, and joint attention. Despite extensive investigation into the correlates of social functioning in ASD, only recently has there been focus on the role of low-level sensory input, particularly visual processing. Extensive gaze deficits have been described in ASD, from basic saccadic function through to social attention and the processing of complex biological motion. Given that social functioning often relies on accurately processing visual information, inefficient visual processing may contribute to the emergence and sustainment of social functioning difficulties in ASD. To explore the association between measures of gaze and social functioning in ASD, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. A total of 95 studies were identified from a search of CINAHL Plus, Embase, OVID Medline, and psycINFO databases in July 2021. Findings support associations between increased gaze to the face/head and eye regions with improved social functioning and reduced autism symptom severity. However, gaze allocation to the mouth appears dependent on social and emotional content of scenes and the cognitive profile of participants. This review supports the investigation of gaze variables as potential biomarkers of ASD, although future longitudinal studies are required to investigate the developmental progression of this relationship and to explore the influence of heterogeneity in ASD clinical characteristics. LAY SUMMARY: This review explored how eye gaze (e.g., where a person looks when watching a movie) is associated with social functioning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We found evidence that better social functioning in ASD was associated with increased eye gaze toward faces/head and eye regions. Individual characteristics (e.g., intelligence) and the complexity of the social scene also influenced eye gaze. Future research including large longitudinal studies and studies investigating the influence of differing presentations of ASD are recommended.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.