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Altered Patterns of Dynamic Functional Connectivity Underpin Reduced Expressions of Social–Emotional Reciprocity in Autistic Adults

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  • Kristína Czekóová
  • Radek Mareček
  • Rostislav Staněk
  • Calum Hartley
  • Klaus Kessler
  • Pavlina Hlavatá
  • Hana Ošlejšková
  • Milan Brázdi
  • Daniel Shaw
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>30/04/2025
<mark>Journal</mark>Autism Research
Issue number4
Volume18
Number of pages16
Pages (from-to)725-740
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date25/02/25
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

To identify the neurocognitive mechanisms underpinning the social difficulties that characterize autism, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging on pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults simultaneously whilst they interacted with one another on the iterated Ultimatum Game (iUG)—an interactive task that emulates the reciprocal characteristic of naturalistic interpersonal exchanges. Two age-matched sets of male–male dyads were investigated: 16 comprised an autistic Responder and a non-autistic Proposer, and 19 comprised non-autistic pairs of Responder and Proposer. Players' round-by-round behavior on the
iUG was modeled as reciprocal choices, and dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) was measured to identify the neural mechanisms underpinning reciprocal behaviors. Behavioral expressions of reciprocity were significantly reduced in autistic compared with non-autistic Responders, yet no such differences were observed between the non-autistic Proposers in either set of dyads.
Furthermore, we identified latent dFC states with temporal properties associated with reciprocity. Autistic interactants spent less time in brain states characterized by dynamic inter-network integration and segregation among the Default Mode Network and cognitive control networks, suggesting that their reduced expressions of social–emotional reciprocity reflect less efficient reconfigurations among brain networks supporting flexible cognition and behavior. These findings advance our mechanistic understanding of the social difficulties characterizing autism.