Youth Autistic Traits and Brain Activation States During Socioemotional Processing

Different aspects of social-emotional processing are linked to unique whole-brain patterns of neural activity termed "activation states." Autistic traits in youths include impairments in socioemotional processing that vary depending on age and comorbidity. Characterizing differences in activation states associated with these impairments may explain why youths with high autistic traits process socioemotional information differently than peers.

This study examined the frequency of three previously identified activation states in 545 youths (ages 5-15 years, 39% female, 54% White, 68% non-Hispanic) from the Healthy Brain Network study as they watched a socially engaging movie. Regressions examined associations between autistic traits (measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd ed.) and overall time spent in activation states, and whether these associations varied with age or co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety symptoms (measured by the Strengths and Weaknesses Assessment of ADHD and Normal Behavior and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders).

At younger ages (<9 years), children with more autistic traits spent more time in an activation state associated with increased activation in somatomotor and visual networks. At older ages (>14 years), children with more autistic traits spent more time in an activation state characterized by greater default mode and ventral attention network activation. Across all ages, children with more ADHD symptoms spent less time in an activation state associated with greater cingulo-opercular network activation.

Autistic traits are associated with differences in brain activation during socioemotional processing that vary with age and co-occurring mental health symptoms. Youths with more autistic traits may experience an altered developmental trajectory of social-emotional processing compared to peers with fewer autistic traits. Results inform personalized interventions and progress monitoring for youths with social impairments.