Facial Asymmetry May Be Linked To Autism
September 17, 2021Researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia have found a correlation between facial symmetry and autism. The team used machine learning techniques to analyze 5000 points on faces in order to measure the facial symmetry in parents of children with autism.
The team from ECU, UWA and Telethon Kids Institute had previously found that children on the autism spectrum are more likely to have greater facial asymmetry than non-autistic children. They believe that facial characteristics of autistic people can help with early diagnosis and help us identify the genetic causal links.
Though genetic factors play a major role in autism, the researchers say that other factors such as environmental ones like hormones and maternal health could influence the development of autism.
In the team’s current study, they compared the facial asymmetry of 192 parents of autistic children to 163 adults with no known history of autism. They found that parents of autistic children had more systematic faces than other adults that weren’t in the group.
ECU School of Science Research Fellow Dr. Syed Zulqarnian Gilani believes that this information can help us better understand the role genetics plays in causing the condition.
He went on to say, “These findings suggest there could be a link between the genes which affect the likelihood of an individual having greater facial asymmetry and autism.”
Dr. Diana Tan, the project’s lead author said, “Autism is not traditionally known to be a condition with distinctive facial features, but our research has challenged this notion.”
Facial masculinity was previously examined as another facial marker of the condition. Dr. Tan and her team say the next step of the project is to evaluate the need to “combine facial asymmetry and masculinity in determining the likelihood of an autism diagnosis.”
**‘Facial asymmetry in parents of children on the autism spectrum’ was published in Autism Research.
Photo Credit: Edith Cowan University
DOI: 10.1002/aur.2612
