Understanding emotions through biological motion in autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

Research in Autism. 2026. Vol. 132. Article 202833.

Gavrilova E., Novoselova K., Myachykov A., Shtyrov Y.

Background

Body movements convey crucial insights into emotions. Although autistic individuals may process these cues differently, the specific factors influencing emotion-from-motion perception in autism remain poorly understood. This systematic review synthesizes current research and highlights key findings in this area of study.

Objectives

This systematic review aimed to assess autistic individuals’ ability to recognize emotions through biological motion (operationalized via point-light displays or avatars) and to detect task- and stimulus-related factors that may affect emotion recognition quality.

Design

Relevant studies were selected from PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. Sixteen publications were eligible for the final review following strict selection criteria. The results were assessed specifically with respect to the experimental paradigms, stimulus characteristics, and control tasks (a range of non-emotion-from-motion tasks included in the reviewed studies).

Results

Methodological synthesis reveals that empirical heterogeneity is systematically linked to experimental design. Paradigm choice critically shapes outcomes, with consistent group differences in verbal naming tasks but not in perceptual rating or matching tasks. Over a third of studies omitted specific emotion analysis, and stimulus parameter investigations were scarce and inconsistent. Control task data vary widely across studies. Although some research suggests emotion-specific deficits, the inconsistent findings and absence of standardized, well-matched control paradigms make it impossible to draw firm conclusions.

Conclusion

While difficulties in emotion-from-motion perception in autism are widely reported, they represent a profile highly sensitive to methodological context, not a uniform deficit. The field is hampered by methodological fragmentation and insufficient replication. Future research must prioritize cross-paradigm comparisons, open science, and systematic stimulus exploration to clarify the specific conditions underlying perceptual differences.

Keywords: social cognition, research methodology, emotion recognition, biological motion, motion processing