Atypical brain responses to reward cues in autism as revealed by event-related potentials
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Social motivation deficit theories suggest that children with autism do not properly anticipate and appreciate the pleasure of social stimuli. In this study, we investigated event-related brain potentials evoked by cues that triggered social versus monetary reward anticipation in children with autism. Children with autism showed attenuated P3 activity in response to cues associated with a timely reaction to obtain a reward, irrespective of reward type. We attribute this atypical P3 activity in response to reward cues as reflective of diminished motivated attention to reward signals, a possible contributor to reduced social motivation in autism. Thus, our findings suggest a general reward processing deficit rather than a specific social reward dysfunction in autism.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1523-33 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of autism and developmental disorders |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 11 |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2011 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
Scopus | 82955251000 |
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Keywords
Keywords
- Adolescent, Autistic Disorder/psychology, Brain/physiopathology, Case-Control Studies, Child, Cues, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Humans, Male, Motivation, Neuropsychological Tests, Reaction Time, Reward, Social Perception