Brain Network Dynamics Contributing to Atypical Social Interaction in Autism

非典型互惠社会互动是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的核心诊断特征，但 导致社交困难的大脑网络动力学仍然不清楚。主导理论 暗示了社会动机和社会认知大脑网络的作用。然而，这些理论一直 在脱离社会互动的神经成像环境中测试（即，陌生人的照片）。因为 这些分离的离线测量无法捕捉现实世界中的社交互动所面临的挑战， ASD患者，什么样的神经机制是非典型社会互动的基础这一关键问题 仍然没有答案。目前的建议采取了一种创新的互动方法， 功能磁共振成像数据采集过程中的社会互动，以表征动机的发展和相互作用 (i.e.,奖励）和社会认知的大脑网络在童年中期。童年中期呈现出 这是解决这个问题的适当时机，因为这个年龄的特点是社会能力的提高， 神经型（NT）儿童，但在ASD中的社会能力趋于稳定。在神经层面上，童年中期是一个 NT的社会脑网络发生了显著变化，但相对较少的数据表明ASD的这些变化。我们 中心假设是，在真实的- 时间社会互动预测自闭症的社会互动困难。我们将测试这个假设与 NT和ASD儿童的以下具体目标：1）确定是否得到实时社交伙伴的批准 调节动机系统和2）确定是否实时社会互动调节社会- 认知系统，以及3）确定动机和社会认知网络之间的相互作用 在实时社交互动过程中，与现实社会行为的测量有关。为了实现这些目标，70 NT和54名ASD儿童（7-12岁）将参加社会奖励和社会认知任务， 他们在功能性MRI数据采集期间与实验者在真实的时间内进行。图论 措施将被用来检查网络组织和互动内的动机和社会- 在社会互动任务和休息时的认知大脑网络。圆满完成拟议的 研究将促进我们对奖励和社会认知网络是如何被真实的调节的理解。 ASD儿童的时间社会互动以及这些网络的非典型调节是否与 现实世界中的社交障碍这些贡献将对科学领域具有重大意义，并与 NIMH的战略使命，因为它们将1）提供有关发展的关键缺失信息， 社会互动背后的大脑机制，2）决定了这些大脑回路中的个体差异 映射到直接观察到的行为，和3）检查过程中的差异和机制的功能 神经型和ASD儿童之间的大脑发育，这将解决如何，何时， 在哪里干预。

Atypical reciprocal social interaction is a core diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the brain network dynamics contributing to difficulties with social interactions remain unclear. Dominant theories suggest a role for social-motivational and social-cognitive brain networks. However, these theories have been tested in neuroimaging contexts divorced from social interaction (i.e., viewing photos of strangers). Because these detached, offline measures fail to capture the real-world social-interactive challenges faced by individuals with ASD, the critical question of what neural mechanisms underlie atypical social interaction remains unanswered. The current proposal takes an innovative, interactive approach by examining real-time social interaction during fMRI data acquisition to characterize the development and interaction of motivational (i.e., reward) and social-cognitive brain networks during middle childhood. Middle childhood presents an opportune time to address this question because this age is marked by increased social competence in neurotypical (NT) children but plateauing social abilities in ASD. At the neural level, middle childhood is a time of significant change in social brain networks in NT but relatively little data speak to these changes in ASD. Our central hypothesis is that atypical organization of social-motivational and social-cognitive networks during real- time social interactions predict social-interactive difficulties in autism. We will test this hypothesis with the following specific aims in NT and ASD children: 1) determine whether approval from a real-time social partner modulates motivational systems and 2) determine whether real-time social interaction modulates social- cognitive systems, and 3) determine how interactions between motivational and social-cognitive networks during real-time social interaction relate to measures of real-world social behaviors. To achieve these aims, 70 NT and 54 ASD children (7-12 years of age) will participate in a social reward and a social cognitive task in which they engage with an experimenter in real time during functional MRI data acquisition. Graph theoretic measures will be used to examine network organization and interactions within motivational and social- cognitive brain networks during the social interaction task and at rest. Successful completion of the proposed research will advance our understanding of how reward and social-cognitive networks are modulated by real- time social interaction in children with ASD and whether atypical modulation of these networks is related to real-world social impairments. These contributions will be significant to the scientific field and relevant to the strategic mission of NIMH because they will 1) provide critical missing information about the development of brain mechanisms underlying social interaction, 2) determine how individual differences in these brain circuits map onto directly observable behavior, and 3) examine differences in the course and mechanism of functional brain development between neurotypical and ASD children, which will address questions of how, when, and where to intervene.