Differential Fairness Decisions and Brain Responses After Expressed Emotions of Others in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders
J Autism Dev Disord
Differential Fairness Decisions and Brain Responses After Expressed Emotions of Others in Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Eduard T. Klapwijk 0 1 2 4 5 6
Moji Aghajani 0 1 2 4 5 6
Gert‑Jan Lelieveld 0 1 2 4 5 6
Natasja D. J. van Lang 0 1 2 4 5 6
Arne Popma 0 1 2 4 5 6
Nic J. A. van der Wee 0 1 2 4 5 6
Olivier F. Colins 0 1 2 4 5 6
Robert R. J. M. Vermeiren 0 1 2 4 5 6
0 Institute of Psychology, Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands
1 Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
2 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Curium - Leiden University Medical Center , Postbus 15, 2300 AA Leiden , The Netherlands
3 Eduard T. Klapwijk
4 Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center , Leiden , The Netherlands
5 Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology, Faculty of Law, Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands
6 Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center , Amsterdam , The Netherlands
Little is known about how emotions expressed by others influence social decisions and associated brain responses in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We investigated the neural mechanisms underlying fairness decisions in response to explicitly expressed emotions of others in boys with ASD and typically developing (TD) boys. Participants with ASD adjusted their allocation behavior in response to the emotions but reacted less unfair than TD controls in response to happiness. We also found reduced brain responses in the precental gyrus in the ASD versus TD group when receiving happy versus angry reactions and autistic traits were positively associated with activity in the postcentral gyrus. These results provide indications for a role of precentral and postcentral gyrus in social-affective difficulties in ASD.
Social decision-making; Autism spectrum disorders; Interpersonal effects of emotions; Dictator game; fMRI
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Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden,
The Netherlands
Introduction
Difficulties in reciprocal social interactions and
communication are among the core features of autism spectrum
disorders (ASD), along with a restricted repertoire of
activities and interests
(American Psychiatric Association 2013)
.
These social deficits have been documented in numerous
studies showing that individuals with ASD have
impairments in the ability to represent other people’s mental states
(i.e., mentalizing; Baron-Cohen et al. 1985; Kaland et al.
2008)
and in processing emotions of others
(Adolphs et al.
2001; Hobson 1986; Uljarevic and Hamilton 2013)
.
Neuroimaging studies have also revealed differences between
individuals with ASD compared to typically developing
(TD) individuals in brain areas relevant for
social-affective functioning
(Di Martino et al. 2009; Fishman et al.
2014; Frith 2001; Pelphrey et al. 2011; Philip et al. 2012;
White et al. 2014)
. These studies suggest that social
deficits in ASD are associated with atypical activation in brain
areas involved in mentalizing, such as hypoactivation in
the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and temporoparietal
junction (TPJ)
(e.g., Castelli et al. 2002; Wang et al. 2007;
Watanabe et al. 2012)
, as well as in brain areas relevant for
processing and resonating with others’ emotions such as
hypoactivation in the inferior frontal gyrus and both
underand overactivation in the amygdala
(e.g., Greimel et al.
2010; Klapwijk et al. 2016a; Monk et al. 2010; Pelphrey
et al. 2007; Swartz et al. 2013)
.
In most of the neuroimaging studies on social processing
in ASD, participants are merely required to observe
others or to think about their mental states
(e.g., Kana et al.
2015; Schulte-Ruther et al. 2011; Vander Wyk et al. 2014)
.
Although these studies have greatly advanced the
understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms associated
with social deficits in ASD, most do not take more
interactive elements of social exchange into account. Studying
such elements, however, is essential, as responding towards
others involves different cognitive processes than merely
observing others’ behavior
(Schilbach et al. 2013)
. This
is especially important because a discrepancy has been
reported between potentially normative performance on
explicit social tasks in ASD versus difficulties in applying
social abilities during social interactions
(Klin et al. 2003)
.
For example, although adults with ASD do not
spontaneously attribute mental states to others, they are able to
understand mental states of others when they are explicitly
encouraged to mentalize
(Moran et al. 2011; Senju et al.
2009)
.
Paradigms inspired by behavioral economics are
increasingly used to investigate social cognitive processes
underlying social interactions in psychiatric populations
(Hasler
2012; Sharp et al. 2012)
including ASD
(Chiu et al. 2008;
Sally and Hill 2006; Yoshida et al. 2010)
. These paradigms
not only offer simplicity and experimental control, but (...truncated)