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The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test in Autism-Spectrum Disorders Comparison with Healthy Controls: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

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Abstract

We conducted a meta-analysis of 18 studies to establish whether a relation exists between Reading the Mind in the Eye Test (RMET) performance and intelligence quotient (IQ) in individuals diagnosed with autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) and controls, taking into account relevant characteristics such as age, gender, and autism quotient. Our findings indicate that RMET performance was better in controls compared with those diagnosed with ASD. We found that RMET performance is dependent on full and verbal IQ and age in controls. However, RMET performance is negatively correlated with performance IQ in individuals diagnosed with ASD. These results suggest that the methodology applied by ASD when taking the RMET is different from control individuals and might depend less on verbal abilities.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy (PSI2012-37490) and the Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia, Spain (SEJ-07325).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit, Department of Psychiatry, IIS-Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Avda. Reyes Católicos, 2, 28040, Madrid, Spain

    Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo

  2. Psychiatry Research Department, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY, USA

    Aditya Sareen

  3. Psychiatry and Mental Health Institute, Research Institute (IdISSC), Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain

    Julia Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones

  4. Psychology Department, Malaga University, Campus de Teatinos, 29010, Malaga, Spain

    Pablo Fernández-Berrocal

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  1. Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo
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  4. Pablo Fernández-Berrocal
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Contributions

IP-C and AS contributed equally to this meta-analysis. IP-C and AS conceptualized and designed the study, conducted the literature search, identified and abstracted data, carried out the analyses, drafted the initial manuscript, and approved the final manuscript. JS-L-J conducted the literature search and critically reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the final manuscript. PF-B, coordinated and supervised the data collection, critically reviewed and supervised the data collection, critically reviewed the manuscript, and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Inmaculada Peñuelas-Calvo.

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Peñuelas-Calvo, I., Sareen, A., Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones, J. et al. The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test in Autism-Spectrum Disorders Comparison with Healthy Controls: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 1048–1061 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3814-4

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