Reduced inter-subject functional connectivity during movies in autism: replicability across cross-national fMRI datasets.

The study analysed 47 German participants and 37 Finnish participants, so the samples were modest. It tested 37,128 possible brain region pairs and used p < .05 without additional correction for multiple comparisons. The German clips were silent and the Finnish clips had sound, so the condition may affect temporal results. The Finnish dataset included only males, so sex differences could not be compared across countries. The datasets came from separate studies with different scanning and behavioral measures. The analysis focused on stimulus-driven connectivity, not intrinsic connectivity. The study measured brain connectivity during movies, not speech, sensory, motor, or therapy outcomes.

Do not use these connectivity patterns as a diagnostic test or as a basis for changing therapy. The study measured brain similarity during movie watching in adults, not speech, sensory, motor, or therapy outcomes, and only 16% of the German differences replicated in the Finnish dataset.