this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
33 points (100.0% liked)

Today I Learned

37 readers
3 users here now

Post direct links to interesting facts that you just learned about today

founded 1 year ago
33
TIL why those with autism avoid eye contact; an overactive subcortical system, combined with an imbalance in the excitatory and inhibitory systems, can make eye contact feel like 'burning' (www.sciencedaily.com)
submitted 1 year ago by 58008@lemmy.world to c/TodayILearned@kbin.social
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Direct gaze - that is, eye contact with another person - causes the subcortical system to overload, and the parts of the brain that deal with arousal and calming are failing to strike a balance. The end result is that direct eye contact triggers a physiological response which makes it physically uncomfortable to maintain eye contact.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] bloopernova@programming.dev 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I had to work hard from an early age to make eye contact because I'd get disciplined if I didn't.

Funny that now I work remotely, I don't have to make eye contact at all.

[–] hariette@artemis.camp 3 points 1 year ago

It’s the best ✨