Disentangling the autism - Anxiety overlap: FMRI of reward processing in a community-based longitudinal study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • N. Mikita - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • E. Simonoff - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • D. S. Pine - , National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (Author)
  • R. Goodman - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • E. Artiges - , Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, Hospital Group Nord-Essonne (Author)
  • T. Banaschewski - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • A. L. Bokde - , Trinity College Dublin (Author)
  • U. Bromberg - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • C. Büchel - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • A. Cattrell - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • P. J. Conrod - , University of Montreal, King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • S. Desrivières - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • H. Flor - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • V. Frouin - , French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (Author)
  • J. Gallinat - , University of Hamburg (Author)
  • H. Garavan - , University of Vermont (Author)
  • A. Heinz - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • B. Ittermann - , Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (Author)
  • S. Jurk - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • J. L. Martinot - , Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité (Author)
  • M. L. Paillère Martinot - , Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité (Author)
  • F. Nees - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • D. Papadopoulos Orfanos - , French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) (Author)
  • T. Paus - , University of Toronto, Child Mind Institute, Inc. (Author)
  • L. Poustka - , Heidelberg University , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • M. N. Smolka - , Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Neuroimaging Center (Author)
  • H. Walter - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • R. Whelan - , University College Dublin (Author)
  • G. Schumann - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)
  • A. Stringaris - , King's College London (KCL) (Author)

Abstract

Up to 40% of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also suffer from anxiety, and this comorbidity is linked with significant functional impairment. However, the mechanisms of this overlap are poorly understood. We investigated the interplay between ASD traits and anxiety during reward processing, known to be affected in ASD, in a community sample of 1472 adolescents (mean age = 14.4 years) who performed a modified monetary incentive delay task as part of the Imagen project. Blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) responses to reward anticipation and feedback were compared using a 2×2 analysis of variance test (ASD traits: low/high; anxiety symptoms: low/high), controlling for plausible covariates. In addition, we used a longitudinal design to assess whether neural responses during reward processing predicted anxiety at 2-year follow-up. High ASD traits were associated with reduced BOLD responses in dorsal prefrontal regions during reward anticipation and negative feedback. Participants with high anxiety symptoms showed increased lateral prefrontal responses during anticipation, but decreased responses following feedback. Interaction effects revealed that youth with combined ASD traits and anxiety, relative to other youth, showed high right insula activation when anticipating reward, and low right-sided caudate, putamen, medial and lateral prefrontal activations during negative feedback (all clusters PFWE<0.05). BOLD activation patterns in the right dorsal cingulate and right medial frontal gyrus predicted new-onset anxiety in participants with high but not low ASD traits. Our results reveal both quantitatively enhanced and qualitatively distinct neural correlates underlying the comorbidity between ASD traits and anxiety. Specific neural responses during reward processing may represent a risk factor for developing anxiety in ASD youth.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere845
JournalTranslational psychiatry
Volume6
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 27351599
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890787