Objective: To investigate the features of intelligence development, facial expression recognition ability, and the association between them in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Methods: A total of 27 ASD children aged 6-16 years (ASD group, full intelligence quotient >70) and age- and gender-matched normally developed children (control group) were enrolled. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition and Chinese Static Facial Expression Photos were used for intelligence evaluation and facial expression recognition test.
Results: Compared with the control group, the ASD group had significantly lower scores of full intelligence quotient, verbal comprehension index, perceptual reasoning index (PRI), processing speed index（PSI), and working memory index (WMI) (P<0.05). The ASD group also had a significantly lower overall accuracy rate of facial expression recognition and significantly lower accuracy rates of the recognition of happy, angry, sad, and frightened expressions than the control group (P<0.05). In the ASD group, the overall accuracy rate of facial expression recognition and the accuracy rates of the recognition of happy and frightened expressions were positively correlated with PRI (r=0.415, 0.455, and 0.393 respectively; P<0.05). The accuracy rate of the recognition of angry expression was positively correlated with WMI (r=0.397; P<0.05).
Conclusions: ASD children have delayed intelligence development compared with normally developed children and impaired expression recognition ability. Perceptual reasoning and working memory abilities are positively correlated with expression recognition ability, which suggests that insufficient perceptual reasoning and working memory abilities may be important factors affecting facial expression recognition ability in ASD children.
目的: 探讨孤独症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的智力发育特点、表情识别能力及两者之间的关系。
方法: 招募6~16岁的ASD儿童（ASD组，总智商均大于70）和年龄、性别匹配的正常发育儿童（对照组）各27例，使用韦氏儿童智力量表（第四版）和中国人物静态面部表情图片对两组儿童进行智力评估和表情识别测试。
结果: ASD组总智商、言语理解、知觉推理、加工速度以及工作记忆指数得分均低于对照组（P < 0.05）。ASD组儿童的表情识别总正确率及高兴、生气、伤心、害怕表情识别的正确率均低于对照组儿童（P < 0.05）。ASD组表情识别总正确率、高兴及害怕表情识别的正确率与知觉推理呈正相关（r分别为0.415、0.455、0.393，P < 0.05），生气表情识别的正确率与工作记忆指数呈正相关（r=0.397，P < 0.05）。
结论: ASD儿童在智力发育的多个领域落后于正常儿童，其表情识别能力受损。患儿智力中的知觉推理能力和工作记忆能力与表情识别能力存在正相关关系，推测知觉推理和工作记忆能力不足可能是影响ASD儿童表情认知的重要因素。