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Despite substantial clinical and anecdotal evidence for emotion dysregulation in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), little is known about the neural substrates underlying this phenomenon. We sought to explore neural mechanisms for cognitive reappraisal in children and adolescents with ASD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We studied 16 youth with ASD and 15 age- and IQ-matched typically developing (TD) comparison youth. Participants were instructed in the use of cognitive reappraisal strategies to increase and decrease their emotional responses to disgusting images. Participants in both groups displayed distinct patterns of brain activity for increasing versus decreasing their emotions. TD participants showed downregulation of bilateral insula and left amygdala on decrease trials, whereas ASD participants showed no modulation of insula and upregulation of left amygdala. Furthermore, TD youth exhibited increased functional connectivity between amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex compared to ASD participants when downregulating disgust, as well as decreased functional connectivity between amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. These findings have important implications for our understanding of emotion dysregulation and its treatment in ASD. In particular, the relative lack of prefrontal-amygdala connectivity provides a potential target for treatment-related outcome measurements.

Pivotal response treatment (PRT) is an empirically validated behavioral treatment that has widespread positive effects on communication, behavior, and social skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For the first time, functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to identify the neural correlates of successful response to PRT in two young children with ASD. Baseline measures of social communication, adaptive behavior, eye tracking and neural response to social stimuli were taken prior to treatment and after 4 months of PRT. Both children showed striking gains on behavioral measures and also showed increased activation to social stimuli in brain regions utilized by typically developing children. These results suggest that neural systems supporting social perception are malleable through implementation of PRT.

Human peer relations provide tangible benefits, including food and protection, as well as emotional benefits. While social exclusion poses a threat to all of these benefits, the psychological threat is particularly susceptible to modulation by the relation of the excluders to the excluded person. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the effects of manipulating the gender relation of participants to their excluders during an interactive ball-toss game. Ventral anterior cingulate cortex activation was higher during exclusion by same-gender peers, while right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex activation negatively correlated with self-reported distress in other-gender exclusion. Results imply that exclusion by one's own gender is fundamentally different from exclusion by the opposite gender, and suggest a regulatory role for ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in response to out-group exclusion. Individual differences in implicit gender attitudes modulated neural responses to exclusion. The importance of these findings to investigations of social cognition is discussed.

Despite the crucial role of touch in social development, there is very little functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research on brain mechanisms underlying social touch processing. The “skin as a social organ” hypothesis is supported by the discovery of C‐tactile (CT) nerves that are present in hairy skin and project to the insular cortex. CT‐fibers respond specifically well to slow, gentle touch such as that which occurs during close social interactions. Given the social significance of such touch researchers have proposed that the CT‐system represents an evolutionarily conserved mechanism important for normative social development. However, it is currently unknown whether brain regions other than the insula are involved in processing CT‐targeted touch. In the current fMRI study, we sought to characterize the brain regions involved in the perception of CT‐supported affective touch. Twenty‐two healthy adults received manual brush strokes to either the arm or palm. A direct contrast of the blood‐oxygenation‐level‐dependent (BOLD) response to gentle brushing of the arm and palm revealed the involvement of a network of brain regions, in addition to the posterior insula, during CT‐targeted affective touch to the arm. This network included areas known to be involved in social perception and social cognition, including the right posterior superior temporal sulcus and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)/dorso anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Connectivity analyses with an mPFC/dACC seed revealed coactivation with the left insula and amygdala during arm touch. These findings characterize a network of brain regions beyond the insula involved in coding CT‐targeted affective touch. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adolescence is a period of development in which peer relationships become especially important. A computer-based game (Cyberball) has been used to explore the effects of social exclusion in adolescents and adults. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used Cyberball to extend prior work to the cross-sectional study of younger children and adolescents (7 to 17 years), identifying age-related changes in the neural correlates of social exclusion across the important transition from middle childhood into adolescence. Additionally, a control task illustrated the specificity of these age-related changes for social exclusion as distinct from expectancy violation more generally. During exclusion, activation in and functional connectivity between ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior cingulate cortex increased with age. These effects were specific to social exclusion and did not exist for expectancy violation. Our results illustrate developmental changes from middle childhood through adolescence in both affective and regulatory brain regions during social exclusion.

The ability to regulate one's emotions is critical to mental health and well-being, and is impaired in a wide range of psychopathologies, some of which initially manifest in childhood or adolescence. Cognitive reappraisal is a particular approach to emotion regulation frequently utilized in behavioral psychotherapies. Despite a wealth of research on cognitive reappraisal in adults, little is known about the developmental trajectory of brain mechanisms subserving this form of emotion regulation in children. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we asked children and adolescents to up- and down-regulate their response to disgusting images, as the experience of disgust has been linked to anxiety disorders. We demonstrate distinct patterns of brain activation during successful up- and down-regulation of emotion, as well as an inverse correlation between activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and limbic structures during down-regulation, suggestive of a potential regulatory role for vmPFC. Further, we show age-related effects on activity in PFC and amygdala. These findings have important clinical implications for the understanding of cognitive-based therapies in anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence.

Prior studies have indicated brain abnormalities underlying social processing in autism, but no fMRI study has specifically addressed the differential processing of direct and averted gaze, a critical social cue. Fifteen adolescents and adults with autism and 14 typically developing comparison participants viewed dynamic virtual-reality videos depicting a simple but realistic social scenario, in which an approaching male figure maintained either direct or averted gaze. Significant group by condition interactions reflecting differential responses to direct versus averted gaze in people with autism relative to typically developing individuals were identified in the right temporoparietal junction, right anterior insula, left lateral occipital cortex, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our results provide initial evidence regarding brain mechanisms underlying the processing of gaze direction during simple social encounters, providing new insight into the social deficits in individuals with autism.

Friendships play a major role in cognitive, emotional and social development in middle childhood. We employed the online Cyberball social exclusion paradigm to understand the neural correlates of dyadic social exclusion among best friends assessed simultaneously. Each child played with their friend and an unfamiliar player. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were assessed via electroencephalogram during exclusion by friend and unfamiliar peer. Data were analyzed with hierarchical linear modeling to account for nesting of children within friendship dyads. Results showed that stranger rejection was associated with larger P2 and positive slow wave ERP responses compared to exclusion by a friend. Psychological distress differentially moderated the effects of friend and stranger exclusion such that children with greater psychological distress were observed to have larger neural responses (larger P2 and slow wave) to exclusion by a stranger compared to exclusion by a friend. Conversely, children with lower levels of psychological distress had larger neural responses for exclusion by a friend than by a stranger. Psychological distress within the dyad differentially predicted the P2 and slow wave response. Findings highlight the prominent, but differential role of individual and dyadic psychological distress levels in moderating responses to social exclusion in middle childhood.

The effects of group membership on brain responses to social exclusion have been investigated in adults, revealing greater anterior cingulate responses to exclusion by members of one's in-group (e.g., same-gender). However, social exclusion is a critical aspect of peer relations in youth and reaches heightened salience during adolescence, a time when social anxiety disorders are also emergent. While the behavioral and neural correlates of social exclusion in adolescence have been extensively explored, the effects of group membership on peer rejection are less clear. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the differential neural correlates of being excluded by peers of one's same- versus opposite-gender during an online ball-toss game. Participants were a group of typically developing children and adolescents (7-17 years). As predicted, anterior cingulate cortex showed a main effect of social exclusion versus fair play. However, unlike a previous adult study, this region did not show increased activation to same-gender exclusion. Instead, several regions differentiating same- versus opposite-gender exclusion were exclusively more sensitive to exclusion by one's opposite gender. These results are discussed in the context of adolescent socio-emotional development.

This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined experiencing and imagining gentle arm and palm touch to determine whether these processes activate overlapping or distinct brain regions. Although past research shows brain responses to experiencing and viewing touch, this study investigates neural processing of touch absent of visual stimulation. C-tactile (CT) nerves, present in hairy skin, respond specifically to caress-like touch. CT-targeted touch activates "social brain" regions including insula, right posterior superior temporal sulcus, amygdala, temporal poles, and orbitofrontal cortex ( McGlone et al. 2012). We addressed whether activations reflect sensory input-driven mechanisms, cognitive-based mechanisms, or both. We identified a functional dissociation between insula regions. Posterior insula responded during experienced touch. Anterior insula responded during both experienced and imagined touch. To isolate stimulus-independent mechanisms recruited during physical experience of CT-targeted touch, we identified regions active to experiencing and imagining such touch. These included amygdala and temporal pole. We posit that the dissociation of insula function suggests posterior and anterior insula involvement in distinct yet interacting processes: coding physical stimulation and affective interpretation of touch. Regions active during experiencing and imagining CT-targeted touch are associated with social processes indicating that imagining touch conjures affective aspects of experiencing such touch.

Disorders related to social functioning including autism and schizophrenia differ drastically in incidence and severity between males and females. Little is known about the neural systems underlying these sex-linked differences in risk and resiliency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task involving the visual perception of point-light displays of coherent and scrambled biological motion, we discovered sex differences in the development of neural systems for basic social perception. In adults, we identified enhanced activity during coherent biological motion perception in females relative to males in a network of brain regions previously implicated in social perception including amygdala, medial temporal gyrus, and temporal pole. These sex differences were less pronounced in our sample of school-age youth. We hypothesize that the robust neural circuitry supporting social perception in females, which diverges from males beginning in childhood, may underlie sex differences in disorders related to social processing.

Touch plays a crucial role in social–emotional development. Slow, gentle touch applied to hairy skin is processed by C-tactile (CT) nerve fibers. Furthermore, ‘social brain’ regions, such as the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) have been shown to process CT-targeted touch. Research on the development of these neural mechanisms is scant, yet such knowledge may inform our understanding of the critical role of touch in development and its dysfunction in disorders involving sensory issues, such as autism. The aim of this study was to validate the ability of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), an imaging technique well-suited for use with infants, to measure temporal lobe responses to CT-targeted touch. Healthy adults received brushing to the right forearm (CT) and palm (non-CT) separately, in a block design procedure. We found significant activation in right pSTS and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to arm > palm touch. In addition, individual differences in autistic traits were related to the magnitude of peak activation within pSTS. These findings demonstrate that fNIRS can detect brain responses to CT-targeted touch and lay the foundation for future work with infant populations that will characterize the development of brain mechanisms for processing CT-targeted touch in typical and atypical populations.

Humans are especially tuned to the movements of other people. Neural correlates of this social attunement have been proposed to lie in and around the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) region, which robustly responds to biological motion in contrast to a variety of non-biological motions. This response persists even when no form information is provided, as in point-light displays (PLDs). The aim of the current study was to assess the ability of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to reliably measure brain responses to PLDs of biological motion, and determine the sensitivity of these responses to interpersonal contextual factors. To establish reliability, we measured brain activation to biological motion with fNIRS and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during two separate sessions in an identical group of 12 participants. To establish sensitivity, brain responses to biological motion measured with fNIRS were subjected to an additional social manipulation where participants were either socially included or excluded before viewing PLDs of biological motion. Results revealed comparable brain responses to biological motion using fMRI and fNIRS in the right supramarginal gyrus. Further, social inclusion increased brain responses to biological motion in right supramarginal gyrus and posterior STS. Thus, fNIRS can reliably measure brain responses to biological motion and can detect social experience-dependent modulations of these brain responses.

Adolescence is a period of development in which peer relationships become especially important. A computer-based game (Cyberball) has been used to explore the effects of social exclusion in adolescents and adults. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study used Cyberball to extend prior work to the cross-sectional study of younger children and adolescents (7 to 17 years), identifying age-related changes in the neural correlates of social exclusion across the important transition from middle childhood into adolescence. Additionally, a control task illustrated the specificity of these age-related changes for social exclusion as distinct from expectancy violation more generally. During exclusion, activation in and functional connectivity between ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and ventral anterior cingulate cortex increased with age. These effects were specific to social exclusion and did not exist for expectancy violation. Our results illustrate developmental changes from middle childhood through adolescence in both affective and regulatory brain regions during social exclusion.

Despite significant social difficulties, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are vulnerable to the effects of social exclusion. We recorded EEG while children with ASD and typical peers played a computerized game involving peer rejection. Children with ASD reported ostracism-related distress comparable to typically developing children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) indicated a distinct pattern of temporal processing of rejection events in children with ASD. While typically developing children showed enhanced response to rejection at a late slow wave indexing emotional arousal and regulation, those with autism showed attenuation at an early component, suggesting reduced engagement of attentional resources in the aversive social context. Results emphasize the importance of studying the time course of social information processing in ASD; they suggest distinct mechanisms subserving similar overt behavior and yield insights relevant to development and implementation of targeted treatment approaches and objective measures of response to treatment.

The present study aimed to explore the neural correlates of two characteristic deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs): social impairment and restricted, repetitive behavior patterns. To this end, we used comparable experiences of social exclusion and rule violation to probe potentially atypical neural networks in ASD. In children and adolescents with and without ASD, we used the interactive ball-toss game (Cyberball) to elicit social exclusion and a comparable game (Cybershape) to elicit a non-exclusive rule violation. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we identified group differences in brain responses to social exclusion and rule violation. Though both groups reported equal distress following exclusion, the right insula and ventral anterior cingulate cortex were hypoactive during exclusion in children with ASD. In rule violation, right insula and dorsal prefrontal cortex were hyperactive in ASD. Right insula showed a dissociation in activation; it was hypoactive to social exclusion and hyperactive to rule violation in the ASD group. Further probed, different regions of right insula were modulated in each game, highlighting differences in regional specificity for which subsequent analyses revealed differences in patterns of functional connectivity. These results demonstrate neurobiological differences in processing social exclusion and rule violation in children with ASD.