Diminished social reward anticipation in the broad autism phenotype as revealed by event-related brain potentials

Diminished responsivity to reward incentives is a key contributor to the social-communication problems seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Social motivation theories suggest that individuals with ASD do not experience social interactions as rewarding, leading to negative consequences for the d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 2015-10, Vol.10 (10), p.1357-1364
Main Authors: Cox, Anthony, Kohls, Gregor, Naples, Adam J, Mukerji, Cora E, Coffman, Marika C, Rutherford, Helena J V, Mayes, Linda C, McPartland, James C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attention
Autistic Disorder - physiopathology
Brain - physiopathology
Electroencephalography
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Motivation
Original
Phenotype
Reward
Self Report
Social Behavior
Task Performance and Analysis
Theory of Mind
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Summary:Diminished responsivity to reward incentives is a key contributor to the social-communication problems seen in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Social motivation theories suggest that individuals with ASD do not experience social interactions as rewarding, leading to negative consequences for the development of brain circuitry subserving social information. In this study, we examined neural responses to social and non-social reward anticipation in 35 typically developing young adults, examining modulation of reward sensitivity by level of autistic traits. Using an Event-related potential incentive-delay task incorporating novel, more ecologically valid forms of reward, higher expression of autistic traits was associated with an attenuated P3 response to the anticipation of social (simulated real-time video feedback from an observer), but not non-social (candy), rewards. Exploratory analyses revealed that this was unrelated to mentalizing ability. The P3 component reflects motivated attention to reward signals, suggesting attenuated motivation allocation specific to social incentives. The study extends prior findings of atypical reward anticipation in ASD, demonstrating that attenuated social reward responsiveness extends to autistic traits in the range of typical functioning. Results support the development of innovative paradigms for investigating social and non-social reward responsiveness. Insight into vulnerabilities in reward processing is critical for understanding social function in ASD.
ISSN:1749-5016
1749-5024
DOI:10.1093/scan/nsv024