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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 30, 2026

An Electrophysiology Protocol to Measure Reward Anticipation and Processing in Children

An Electrophysiology Protocol to Measure Reward Anticipation and Processing in Children

Published on: October 4, 2018

Functional Connectivity During Social Reward Processing in Autistic and Neurotypical Adolescents.

Hua Xie^1,2,3,4, Dustin Moraczewski⁵, Kathryn A McNaughton^1,2

¹Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.

Brain and Behavior

|April 29, 2026

Summary

Autistic youth show greater neural connectivity in social reward circuits during interaction. This heightened connectivity, contrary to theories, may indicate increased neural effort and confer risk for poor social outcomes.

Keywords:

adolescence autism spectrum disorders functional MRI (fMRI)social neuroscience

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Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Published on: September 12, 2011

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Social Neuroscience

Background:

Autism is characterized by atypical social interaction, potentially linked to reduced social motivation.
Previous neuroimaging studies offer mixed support and struggle to capture real-world social processes in autism.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate neural mechanisms underlying social reward processing in autism.
To examine functional connectivity (FC) in social reward circuitry during real-time social interaction.

Main Methods:

Acquired functional MRI (fMRI) data from neurotypical and autistic youth (n=86) during a live chat task.
Analyzed task-evoked FC in reward and mentalizing regions within the social reward circuitry.

Main Results:

Social interaction and reward modulated task-evoked FC in social reward regions.
Autistic youth exhibited greater FC between posterior temporal regions (mentalizing) and the amygdala (reward network) compared to neurotypicals.
Across groups, stronger connectivity correlated with lower self-reported social motivation and reward.

Conclusions:

Findings emphasize the role of FC in the social reward circuitry for processing social-interactive reward.
Greater context-dependent FC may reflect increased neural effort or hypersensitivity to social feedback, linked to reduced social reward.
Elevated neural connectivity during adolescent social reward may paradoxically confer risk for adverse social outcomes.