Universität zu Köln

Georgescu, Alexandra Livia ORCID: 0000-0003-1929-5673, Kuzmanovic, Bojana, Roth, Daniel, Bente, Gary and Vogeley, Kai (2014). The use of virtual characters to assess and train non-verbal communication in high-functioning autism. Front. Hum. Neurosci., 8. LAUSANNE: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. ISSN 1662-5161

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Abstract

High-functioning autism (HFA) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, which is characterized by life-long socio-communicative impairments on the one hand and preserved verbal and general learning and memory abilities on the other. One of the areas where particular difficulties are observable is the understanding of non-verbal communication cues. Thus, investigating the underlying psychological processes and neural mechanisms of non-verbal communication in HFA allows a better understanding of this disorder, and potentially enables the development of more efficient forms of psychotherapy and trainings. However, the research on non-verbal information processing in H FA faces several methodological challenges. The use of virtual characters (VCs) helps to overcome such challenges by enabling an ecologically valid experience of social presence, and by providing an experimental platform that can be systematically and fully controlled. To make this field of research accessible to a broader audience, we elaborate in the first part of the review the validity of using VCs in non-verbal behavior research on HFA, and we review current relevant paradigms and findings from social-cognitive neuroscience. In the second part, we argue for the use of VCs as either agents or avatars in the context of transformed social interactions. This allows for the implementation of real-time social interaction in virtual experimental settings, which represents a more sensitive measure of socio-communicative impairments in HFA. Finally, we argue that VCs and environments are a valuable assistive, educational and therapeutic tool for HFA.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Georgescu, Alexandra Livia UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-1929-5673 UNSPECIFIED Kuzmanovic, Bojana UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Roth, Daniel UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Bente, Gary UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Vogeley, Kai UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-425755
DOI:	10.3389/fnhum.2014.00807
Journal or Publication Title:	Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Volume:	8
Date:	2014
Publisher:	FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
Place of Publication:	LAUSANNE
ISSN:	1662-5161
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language FACIAL EXPRESSIONS; SOCIAL-INTERACTION; TOP-DOWN; AUTOMATIC IMITATION; ASPERGER-SYNDROME; BRAIN MECHANISMS; 1ST IMPRESSIONS; GAZE DIRECTION; FRONTAL-CORTEX; MENTAL STATES Multiple languages Neurosciences; Psychology Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/42575