facial 3D imaging to detect autism

**DaveC426913** · Apr23-09, 11:31 PM

I (the Royal I, that is to say: my wife) have heard about this new technique wherein they are using 3D imaging of facial planes to detect and diagnose autism. [i] am particularly interested in what features they are examining and what identifying differences they are interested in.

I've been looking around, but keep finding red herrings (imaging of cortex convolutions as opposed to facial, or imaging to diagnose other diseases such as Down's). I also find articles that don't go into details.

Anyone got any leads?

**Cincinnatus** · Apr24-09, 06:34 PM

There are no autism endophenotypes that can be detected that way. Even if there were, and you could be convinced that your child has autism before the age at which it would normally manifest... Then what could you do about it? All the treatment programs that exist are targeted to older children.

You certainly cannot diagnose autism in this way. The diagnostic criteria are listed in the DSM-IV. These are all behavioral criteria.

**DaveC426913** · Apr24-09, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Cincinnatus

There are no autism endophenotypes that can be detected that way.

You certainly cannot diagnose autism in this way. The diagnostic criteria are listed in the DSM-IV. These are all behavioral criteria.

I am not making this up. It is a current area of research, I just want details.

**Moonbear** · Apr24-09, 09:36 PM

I'm wondering if it's imaging of the autistic person's face, or more likely that they are using 3D images of other faces to determine how someone responds to/interprets facial expression to help diagnose them, or to teach them to emulate appropriate facial expressions as part of their treatment/therapy?

**DaveC426913** · Apr24-09, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by Moonbear

I'm wondering if it's imaging of the autistic person's face, or more likely that they are using 3D images of other faces to determine how someone responds to/interprets facial expression to help diagnose them, or to teach them to emulate appropriate facial expressions as part of their treatment/therapy?

No, but this is one of the red herrings I keep encountering.

My wife is specific that they are examining the planes of the face - the asymmetries - as a precursive indicator for autism.

(She is currently researching with her boss about body dismorphology in relation to fertility.)

"The researchers are using 3D imaging to reveal correlations in the facial features and brain structures of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)."

"... doctors use tape measurements to check for facial and brain dissimilarities. We are developing a quantitative method that will accurately measure these differences..."

"... performing a quick, non-invasive scan of each child's face and brain..."

http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/health/researchers-work-on-early-autism-detection-formula-$1237049.htm

**Moonbear** · Apr24-09, 09:49 PM

Using the keywords facial asymmetry autism in PubMed gets one result that might be what you mean:

Mol Psychiatry. 2008 Jun;13(6):614-23. Epub 2008 Mar 4. Face-brain asymmetry in autism spectrum disorders.

Hammond P, Forster-Gibson C, Chudley AE, Allanson JE, Hutton TJ, Farrell SA, McKenzie J, Holden JJ, Lewis ME.

The heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) confounds attempts to identify causes and pathogenesis. Identifiable endophenotypes and reliable biomarkers within ASDs would help to focus molecular research and uncover genetic causes and developmental mechanisms. We used dense surface-modelling techniques to compare the facial morphology of 72 boys with ASD and 128 first-degree relatives to that of 254 unrelated controls. Pattern-matching algorithms were able to discriminate between the faces of ASD boys and those of matched controls (AUC=0.82) and also discriminate between the faces of unaffected mothers of ASD children and matched female controls (AUC=0.76). We detected significant facial asymmetry in boys with ASD (P<0.01), notably depth-wise in the supra- and periorbital regions anterior to the frontal pole of the right hemisphere of the brain. Unaffected mothers of children with ASD display similar significant facial asymmetry, more exaggerated than that in matched controls (P<0.03) and, in particular, show vertical asymmetry of the periorbital region. Unaffected fathers of children with ASD did not show facial asymmetry to a significant degree compared to controls. Two thirds of unaffected male siblings tested were classified unseen as more facially similar to unrelated boys with ASD than to unrelated controls. These unaffected male siblings and two small groups of girls with ASD and female siblings, all show overall directional asymmetry, but without achieving statistical significance in two-tailed t-tests of individual asymmetry of ASD family and matched control groups. We conclude that previously identified right dominant asymmetry of the frontal poles of boys with ASD could explain their facial asymmetry through the direct effect of brain growth. The atypical facial asymmetry of unaffected mothers of children with ASD requires further brain studies before the same explanation can be proposed. An alternative explanation, not mutually exclusive, is a simultaneous and parallel action on face and brain growth by genetic factors. Both possibilities suggest the need for coordinated face and brain studies on ASD probands and their first-degree relatives, especially on unaffected mothers, given that their unusual facial asymmetry suggests an ASD susceptibility arising from maternal genes.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

**DaveC426913** · Apr24-09, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by Moonbear

Using the keywords facial asymmetry autism in PubMed gets one result that might be what you mean:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...ubmed_RVDocSum

Awesome Awesome. My wife is highly-accomplished at medical database searching such as PubMed, why would she send useless ol' me out looking??

**Moonbear** · Apr24-09, 10:00 PM

She might have just picked the wrong keywords. My first attempt used "symmetry" instead of "asymmetry" because I had to think twice how to spell "asymmetry."

That came up with zero results.

Or, you're annoying her for some reason today and she thought she needed to keep you occupied.

If it's the latter, don't tell her I helped.

**DaveC426913** · Apr24-09, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by Moonbear

Or, you're annoying her for some reason today and she thought she needed to keep you occupied. If it's the latter, don't tell her I helped.

I really must discourage you two from spending so much time together...