Oscillatory rhythm of reward: anticipation and processing of rewards in children with and without autism.
Katherine Kuhl-Meltzoff Stavropoulos, Leslie J Carver
PMID 29423131WHAT IT FOUND
No clear difference appeared between children with ASD and typically developing children while they waited for social feedback.
After feedback, children with ASD showed more brain activity thought to reflect engagement and less activity thought to reflect reward than typically developing children.
Key findings
01The main analysis of alpha asymmetry while children waited for feedback did not show a clear group difference.
02After feedback, children with ASD had more alpha suppression than typically developing children regardless of condition or feedback type.
03After feedback, typically developing children had more theta activity than children with ASD.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The children with ASD had cognitive abilities in the average range, so the results may not apply to children with greater impairment. The main anticipation analysis did not show clear group effects, and the temporal follow-up results were marginal and exploratory. The groups differed in chronological age, even though full-scale IQ scores did not differ significantly. The study did not ask children about their subjective experience of feedback, so alpha findings after feedback are exploratory. The analysis cannot rule out contributions of large-amplitude attentional activity, such as P300, to post-stimulus alpha and theta results. Feedback was pre-programmed, so correct and incorrect outcomes did not depend on the child's response. The study was not designed to directly parse the relative contribution of attention, reward, and sensory processing.
Declared interests
The supplied metadata lists research support from a non-U.S. government source, but no author conflict-of-interest declaration is included.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these brain activity differences as proof that children with ASD find social interaction less rewarding or that any therapy will change this. The study did not test treatment, and the main anticipation finding was not a clear group difference.