Investigation of visual perception by electroencephalogram (EEG) using face pareidolia paradigm in children with autism spectrum disorder

The aim of study is to investigatıon ofvisual perceptıon by electroencephalogram (EEG) using face pareidolia paradigm ın chıldren wıth autısm spectrum dısorder. As a participant; 5 children between the ages of 6-17 and 5 children with normal development, who were diagnosed with ASD, and didn't have any additional disability, took the command of the trainer and fulfilled the task, participated in the study. Demographic information form, Edinburgh hand preference questionnaire and EEG measurement were used as data collection tools in the study. During EEG recording, visual stimuli of facial pareidolia are shown on screen. From the participants; when they see a face in these images shown, they were asked to press the button in their hands and were recorded. The 2.0.The Brain Products Analyzer was used for data analysis. Among the participants; when the P8, P7, TP7 and TP8 electrodes and EEG data recorded between 140 and 190 milliseconds were compared, it was found that the ASD group had lower amplitude and later latency than the control group, according to pareidolia results. Consequence, of the comparison of event-related EEG brain oscillations; although it's seen that the latency is later and the amplitude is lower in the pareidolia images of children with ASD, earlier latency and larger amplitude are observed for the facial images. It was also observed that was more prominent in the temporal-parietal regions. When beta power was examined in wavebands, it was seen that there was no significant difference between them and the control group in facial images. Revealing the level of visual perception impairment in children with ASD and its relationship with other general perception problems in these children and questioning the electrical activity variability in the brain may provide new possibilities for the evaluation of prospective cognitive processes.