Typical pain experience but underestimation of others’ pain: Emotion perception in self and others in autism spectrum disorder

However, it is unclear whether these difficulties can be attributed to a general problem of relating to emotional states, or whether they specifically concern the perception of others’ expressions. This study addressed this question in the context of pain, a sensory and emotional state with strong social relevance.

We investigated pain evaluation in self and others in 16 male individuals with autism spectrum disorder and 16 age- and gender-matched individuals without autism spectrum disorder. Both groups had at least average intelligence and comparable levels of alexithymia and pain catastrophizing. We assessed pain reactivity by administering suprathreshold electrical pain stimulation at four intensity levels.