Face recognition and emotion perception in boys with fragile-X syndrome

Two independent and complementary studies were conducted to assess the abil ity of boys with fragile-X syndrome to recognize facial and emotional expre ssions. Both studies failed to find any specific deficits associated with f ragile-X syndrome. The performance of the test group was comparable to the level of subjects with intellectual disability and subjects of average cogn itive development matched for intellectual ability. This suggests that chro nological age and intellectual level are unlikely to explain the findings. The results are discussed in the context of the controversy surrounding the relationship between autism and fragile-X syndrome. The findings are consi stent with fragile-X individuals having a profile of social, communicatory and ritualistic disturbances, which in some ways may differ from those foun d in individuals who have more typical autistic spectrum disorders.