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. 2012 Feb;7(2):160-72.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsq095. Epub 2010 Dec 8.

Reward circuitry function in autism spectrum disorders

Gabriel S Dichter  1 , Jennifer N Felder, Steven R Green, Alison M Rittenberg, Noah J Sasson, James W Bodfish
Affiliations

Reward circuitry function in autism spectrum disorders

Gabriel S Dichter et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Social interaction deficits and restricted repetitive behaviors and interests that characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) may both reflect aberrant functioning of brain reward circuits. However, no neuroimaging study to date has investigated the integrity of reward circuits using an incentive delay paradigm in individuals with ASDs. In the present study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess blood-oxygen level-dependent activation during reward anticipation and outcomes in 15 participants with an ASD and 16 matched control participants. Brain activation was assessed during anticipation of and in response to monetary incentives and object image incentives previously shown to be visually salient for individuals with ASDs (e.g., trains, electronics). Participants with ASDs showed decreased nucleus accumbens activation during monetary anticipation and outcomes, but not during object anticipation or outcomes. Group × reward-type-interaction tests revealed robust interaction effects in bilateral nucleus accumbens during reward anticipation and in ventromedial prefrontal cortex during reward outcomes, indicating differential responses contingent on reward type in these regions. Results suggest that ASDs are characterized by reward-circuitry hypoactivation in response to monetary incentives but not in response to autism-relevant object images. The clinical implications of the double dissociation of reward type and temporal phase in reward circuitry function in ASD are discussed.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Modified MID task. ‘Money’ and ‘Object’ runs were presented in alternating order. Each trial consisted of a cue (i.e. a triangle indicated an incentive trial, a circle indicated a non-incentive trial), an anticipatory delay, a target and feedback.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Brain areas showing significant group differences in response to monetary incentives. Anticipatory responses are on the left and outcome responses are on the right; clusters with relatively greater activation in the control group are in the top panels, clusters with relatively greater activation in the ASD group are in the bottom panels. SFG: superior frontal gyrus; PCG: precentral gyrus.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Brain areas showing significant group differences in response to object incentives. Anticipatory responses are on the left and outcome responses are on the right; clusters with relatively greater activation in the control group are in the top panels, clusters with relatively greater activation in the ASD group are in the bottom panels. ACC: anterior cingulate cortex; PCG: posterior cingulate gyrus.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Brain areas showing significant Group × Reward Type interactions during anticipation and bar graphs depicting Z-score intensity values in the right and left NAc clusters identified by significant interaction effects. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Brain areas showing significant Group × Reward Type interaction effects during outcomes and a bar graph depicting Z-score intensity values in the VMPFC cluster identified by significant interaction effects. Error bars represent standard errors of the mean.
Fig. A1
Fig. A1
Object images.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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