This Optical Illusion Could Help to Diagnose Autism

[Miss Chief]

I stumbled across this article on my travels and I thought is was interesting...

LINK TO ARTICLE: This Optical Illusion Could Help to Diagnose Autism​

I've pasted the article here for those who would rather not follow the link...

This Optical Illusion Could Help to Diagnose Autism

You probably see a cylinder when you look at the illusion above. But how our brains translate two intersecting sheets of moving dots into a 3D image reveals telling differences in visual perception that could perhaps help diagnose autism spectrum disorder.

It’s been shown that people with autism are better at picking out the detailsof complex images, at the cost of understanding what all those details mean when put together. This can mean seeing the trees, but not the forest, or the strokes of a paintbrush but not the subject of a painting. It’s a trait that’s supported by years of research, but it can be difficult to assess exactly how an individual perceives an image just by asking them questions. The cylinder illusion, applied here by a group of researchers from Italy and Australia, offers a more reliable way of telling what a subject is seeing.

Grow and Shrink
It comes down to the pupils. Our pupils are responsive to light, but they also widen and constrict in response to the notion of brightness or darkness, even if light levels remains the same. Here, the white dots are perceived as brighter, and the black dots as darker, and our pupils respond accordingly. It’s a way for the researchers to tell what parts of the illusion study participants are focusing on. They published their findings in March in the journal eLife.

The illusion itself relies on our brain’s assumptions of how a rotating cylinder behaves. The dots cross over each other just as marks on a transparent cylinder would, they even slow down at the edges to give the impression of curvature. The two colors give imply depth, though a closer look reveals that neither actually seems to be in front — some white dots cross over black dots, and some black over white. It allows us to reverse the cylinder’s apparent direction by focusing on one color over the other. Importantly for the researchers, the illusion is composed of both discrete details in the form of the dots, and a holistic image, in the form of the cylinder. Having both allows them to see which component their study participants favor.

They asked 50 adults, none of whom had autism, to watch the illusion, and while they were doing so, the researchers were watching them — their pupils at least. They wanted to see whether their pupils changed size rapidly throughout the experiment or stayed the same. If they changed size, it indicated that the participants were switching focus back and forth between the white and the black dots — i.e. they were focused on the details of the images. If their pupils stayed about the same, they were likely focused on both at once, meaning they saw the image as a whole. Crucially, both methods of perception produce the same cylinder illusion. But how they do so differs.

Detail-oriented
Before taking the test, the subjects all took the autism spectrum quotient, a self-reported questionnaire that measures various behaviors associated with autism. Higher scores indicate more correlation with autistic traits. When they paired scores on the test with measurements of pupil dilation and contraction, they saw that they were clearly related. Those whose pupils changed with greater frequency also reported more autistic traits. It was another validation of the theory that those with autism tend to focus on specific details as opposed to entire images.

Remember, none of the subjects had been formally diagnosed with autism, and none of their scores on the test indicated that they should be. In fact, the mean value of the test scores was about average. But, autism is a spectrum, and we all lie on it somewhere. Even in nominally average individuals, a tendency toward autistic traits was associated with a propensity to focus on details over holistic images. It adds further evidence that autism alters how we process visual information, and hints that it extends beyond those diagnosed with the disorder. The researchers say measuring changes in pupil size could potentially serve as another means of diagnosing autism.

The results are still a bit preliminary, so it’s too soon to draw definite conclusions based on their work. The surveys were all self-reported, for one thing, which can skew results a bit. And the study involved participants without autism, meaning that we’d need to see similar work in those with autism spectrum disorder to back up their findings.

But, with more research, the authors think their research could be used to perform assessments of those with autism who are non-verbal, which can happen in children. It would give doctors and teachers a way to get information from those who may not be able to communicate it themselves.

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I thought this was really interesting

Sorry if this has already been posted... I haven't been to active here so I may have missed it.

 

[Pats]

First - why is there a red dot in the middle?
Second - he says everyone lies somewhere on the spectrum.
I know I look at details and not the whole picture with anything. That's why when I look at someone, I see their eyes and couldn't tell you what their face looks like and so on. I've tried to make myself look at a larger area and just can't.

 

[Miss Chief]

First - why is there a red dot in the middle?

No idea, while I noticed it, there isn't any mention of it. I had thought it moved around or came and went but now I have paid attention just to it I see it is static.

Second - he says everyone lies somewhere on the spectrum.

Yeah, I don't really agree with that either, although this is certainly not the first time I've heard it.

I know I look at details and not the whole picture with anything. That's why when I look at someone, I see their eyes and couldn't tell you what their face looks like and so on. I've tried to make myself look at a larger area and just can't.

I definitely looked at different parts of this image rather than focusing on one part or the whole image (maybe that is the purpose of the red dot... perhaps it is a focal point to those not on the spectrum).

 

[Progster]

I could see the cylinder, but also looked at individual dots or parts of it, tracking their movement. I have to have something to focus on, and the movement of the dots means that I keep looking at them.

I don't think that it could ever be used as a diagnostic tool for autism - I suspect that people both on and off the spectrum will see both the cylinder as a whole object, and the dots at different times. More revealing might be how people describe it... a cylinder that is composed of dots, as opposed to dots that make up a cylinder. In other words, whole picture first, then details, or details first, then whole picture? I suspect that autistic people might see details before whole picture, as I tend to do.

 

[tlc]

I see a hollow transparent cylinder rotating clockwise if viewed from top. But I can force myself to see it rotating the other direction too.

Being an engineer, this is how I have to see things. Where most people say they see a bunch of lines on paper, I have to make out the lines and see features and depth in the drawing. And visualize parts in 3D when they're drawn in 2D, and reorient them in my head.

I do tend to concentrate more on the details than the overall project. My boss usually has to help me get started on something because it is overwhelming to see the whole picture. I'm good at getting into detail and making sure things work right. When drawing something I sometimes have to be stopped and reminded that it's just a early sketch, because I tend to make sure things are drawn complete and correct from the beginning.

 

[Miss Chief]

@Progster that is kind of the point of it, you can see the cylinder as a whole whether you focus on a specific part or not, but according to the study autistic people (or at least people who have autistic tendencies) tend to move their focal point (this is measured by pupil dilation changes) where as people who aren't autistic tend to have a fixed point that they focus on or they focus on the image as a whole rather than the parts that make up the image. Whichever you do you still see the cylinder... it was why this image was chosen.

I certainly moved my focal point around when I first saw the image (before I read the article) and when I asked someone who isn't autistic to look at it they said they didn't switch focal points... I didn't send them the article, just the image so they wouldn't know why I was asking.

 

[tlc]

I could see the cylinder, but also looked at individual dots or parts of it, tracking their movement. I have to have something to focus on, and the movement of the dots means that I keep looking at them.

I don't think that it could ever be used as a diagnostic tool for autism - I suspect that people both on and off the spectrum will see both the cylinder as a whole object, and the dots at different times. More revealing might be how people describe it... a cylinder that is composed of dots, as opposed to dots that make up a cylinder. In other words, whole picture first, then details, or details first, then whole picture? I suspect that autistic people might see details before whole picture, as I tend to do.

I agree, it could be taken a couple different ways.

Seeing a cylinder as the whole picture, vs the dots as the detail.

Or seeing a sea of dots as the whole picture, vs the detail of the dots which your brain uses to determine that it is a rotating cylinder. This is how I see it.

 

[Progster]

I certainly moved my focal point around when I first saw the image (before I read the article) and when I asked someone who isn't autistic to look at it they said they didn't switch focal points... I didn't send them the article, just the image so they wouldn't know why I was asking.

I found it impossible not to change focus, as the moving dots were a constant distraction, I kept looking at different ones to see how they were moving. Perhaps NTs are better at tuning out the distracting movement. That would explain why many people seem not to be so bothered by things like ads and moving gifs on webpages as I am, and can ignore them where I can't.

 

[Pats]

@Progster that is kind of the point of it, you can see the cylinder as a whole whether you focus on a specific part or not, but according to the study autistic people (or at least people who have autistic tendencies) tend to move their focal point (this is measured by pupil dilation changes) where as people who aren't autistic tend to have a fixed point that they focus on or they focus on the image as a whole rather than the parts that make up the image. Whichever you do you still see the cylinder... it was why this image was chosen.

I certainly moved my focal point around when I first saw the image (before I read the article) and when I asked someone who isn't autistic to look at it they said they didn't switch focal points... I didn't send them the article, just the image so they wouldn't know why I was asking.

You can't have a fixed point if the objects are moving.

 

[Pats]

I found it impossible not to change focus, as the moving dots were a constant distraction, I kept looking at different ones to see how they were moving. Perhaps NTs are better at tuning out the distracting movement. That would explain why many people seem not to be so bothered by things like ads and moving gifs on webpages as I am, and can ignore them where I can't.

Totally agree and it drives me crazy when there's a moving ad at the side of what I'm trying to read.

 

[Pats]

Maybe if it were bigger.

 

[Progster]

Totally agree and it drives me crazy when there's a moving ad at the side of what I'm trying to read.

I have a gif freezer for firefox, works really well In fact, I had to switch to Chrome to view the image.

 

[Pats]

And pupils dilate according to the amount of light entering it, not according to what you are looking at. That's why to assess for a concussion they shine a light into your eye with you looking at something else instead of telling you to look into the light. You can look at an object and as the light becomes brighter or dimmer will affect the dilation.

 

[Tom]

I saw the cylinder shape rotating right away, but don't know how my pupils were behaving. It is interesting it it proves out with further study. Also a little frightening for some reason. The idea evokes images of various Sci-Fi films where they detect the alien or robot with eye scans. I don't want to be blown out the airlock...

 

[RosaViolet]

I think the most pertinent part is the comment underneath the article:

"Oh, neurotypicals. They managed to draw conclusions about autistic people and managed to include exactly zero autistic people in their study."

The conclusion seem to be that all humans have a variation in visual perception and some have a preference for going from detail, from part to the whole, while others have the preference to go from the whole to the part.... researchers comment that both methods are equally valid in constructing the whole image, both groups see the cylinder.

So the comment from the journalist that autistic people don't see the wood behind the trees is a pure generalisation, completely unfounded. The researchers that discovered difference between local and global processing styles (Happe et all) never asserted that autistic people don't see the wood. Nor was it ever suggested in any of the linked research papers in the article. It was the spin added by lay people.

But the conclusion seem quite encouraging.
"supporting the dimensional view of autistic disorders, where people with and without ASD diagnosis lay along a continuum and differ only quantitatively, not qualitatively ."

It shows that all people are on the spectrum to some extent, and by extension autistic people are integral part of normal humanity, not some sort of mutants. It shows that cognitive processes of autistic people are common and integral to humanity, are part of diversity.

It really demonstrates that autism is an equally valid, different way to process information, rather than a defective, inferior way. I think this is important in the argument of equality.

 

[RosaViolet]

I saw the cylinder shape rotating right away, but don't know how my pupils were behaving. It is interesting it it proves out with further study. Also a little frightening for some reason. The idea evokes images of various Sci-Fi films where they detect the alien or robot with eye scans. I don't want to be blown out the airlock...

Yes, the Blade runner.

To hunt down and exterminate... kidding

Seriously though, there are human rights implications for such research.

 

[Clueless in Canada]

I get motion sick easily and I can't look at moving images like that, especially spinning ones, without becoming very irritated and distracted. It is difficult for me to say what I saw first as I'd scanned the whole page so I knew I was going to see an image that would look like a cylinder. I did find that I wanted to focus on the individual dots and pick out shapes in them rather like constellations.

 

[Sarah S]

For me my eyes goes straight towards the red dot in the middle of the rotating cylinder

 

[righan]

Okay ... so how can you look at that and NOT move your focal point around ... I can force myself to do it using a technique I call 'soft sight' .... but then I'm not actually looking at it ... i'm looking past it and letting my peripheral vision collect the data which doesn't let me focus on specific details ... I just kind of know its there.

However, if I actually LOOK at it ... the only way for me to see it is for me to keep moving my eyes up and down and around the cylinder .... I can't see the whole thing at once ... and I can't even imagine another way to look at it ... it astounds me that your saying there are people who can actually look directly at that without moving their eyes and still SEE it. That's craziness.

 

[risootser]

I would have never noticed the red spot if didn't read it about here.

It is a cylinder clear as a day. My techniques regarding reading are very chaotic. I look at something and then get an aha moment. I tend to make lots of typing errors and need a spellchecker for it as I can not readily recognize individual letters. My reading comprehension is very good when I try.