Gaze laterality bias for faces in Williams Syndrome

Although faces are more or less symmetrical, we frequently show a left gaze bias (LGB) to faces implicating right hemisphere processing and a Right Hemisphere Dominance model for face/emotion processing. Interestingly, individuals with Autism, whose behaviour is characterised by social withdrawal, have previously been reported to show a lack of right hemisphere face dominance. We report data from eye tracking studies exploring face gaze bias in the developmental disorder Williams syndrome (WS). Preliminary gaze analyses indicate that WS individuals show an atypically extreme LGB when evaluating emotional expressions. This is particularly interesting given the hypersociable and emotionally sensitive profile associated with the disorder and the implications of these data will be discussed.