Is a Negative Attentional Bias in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Explained by Comorbid Depression? An Eye-Tracking Study.

The autism-only group was small, with 15 participants, so its lack of a negative picture preference should be read cautiously. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that depression caused the attentional bias or that the bias would change with treatment. The paper states that eye-tracking data from nine participants in the autism and depression group, nine in the current depression group, and one healthy control were discarded, but it also states that 116 participants with autism or depression and 64 healthy controls were analysed. Many participants had other diagnoses, such as ADHD, anxiety disorders, or substance use disorders, so the findings may not isolate autism or depression. The depressed groups had lower education levels than the autism, autism and depression, and healthy control groups, which may have affected attentional processing. Social and non-social pictures were blocked, not mixed, so the study could not directly test whether people prefer negative social over non-social stimuli. The split of autism with current versus remitted depression was a post hoc analysis, not the main planned comparison.

The only funding statement provided is that the funder was the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

Do not conclude that autism itself creates a negative attentional bias. The bias was linked to current depression, and the autism-only group did not show it. The study also did not test treatment, so it does not show that attention bias modification would help autistic adults.