[A preliminary fMRI study of moral judgment task in high functioning autistic children]

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Context:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by social cognitive deficits.
• Moral judgment relies on social intelligence linked to brain networks including the amygdala and orbito-frontal cortex.
• Previous fMRI studies have not investigated moral judgment in autistic individuals.

Purpose:

• To investigate brain activity differences during moral judgment tasks in autistic versus neurotypical children using fMRI.
• To identify specific brain regions associated with moral judgment in ASD.

Summary:

• This fMRI study compared moral judgment in high-functioning autistic/Asperger's children and neurotypical controls.
• Normal children showed orbito-frontal cortex activation during moral judgment, while autistic children did not.
• Brain areas BA11, BA22, and BA38, associated with sociality and "theory of mind," were activated in controls but not in autistic participants.

Impact:

• Findings suggest functional disorders in the orbito-frontal cortex in individuals with autism.
• Highlights the link between "theory of mind," social cognition, and moral judgment.
• Provides novel fMRI evidence on the neural underpinnings of moral reasoning in autism.