Longer description: Can visual art be a way for people to communicate with and connect to other people? Can it be a way for autistic and non-autistic people to understand the emotions of each other better? And would the brains of the artist and the viewer be able to connect through artworks? This FWF funded project will try to answer these questions through a series of studies where autistic and non-autistic people express and perceive emotions through abstract drawings, in comparison to facial expressions and language. The project will investigate whether interpersonal neurophysiological synchrony arises between the artist and the viewer using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in combination with electrodermal activity (EDA) and facial electromyography (fEMG), and how this is related to how people communicate emotions through different modalities. Further, the project will explore the real-world impact of whether art could be used as a method to reduce negative stigma and increase prosocial attitude towards autistic people, and to foster empathy and communication between people of different neurotypes. FWF project page link: https://www.fwf.ac.at/en/research-radar/10.55776/PAT5368123 OSF preregistration link: https://osf.io/vj3pw