Researchers from the University of North Carolina used functional MRI (fMRI) to detect differences in how autistic people regulate their emotions.
Their study, published online January 25 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, suggests that the difficulties in regulating emotion seen in people with autism have a biological basis that can be visualized with fMRI. Improving prefrontal cortex activity could perhaps help curtail such symptoms, according to the researchers.
Lead author John Anthony Richey, PhD, and colleagues recruited 15 control subjects and 15 young adults with autism for they study. They spent 45 minutes with each participant to teach them how to change their perception of an emotional stimulus.
During the scan, each subject viewed a series of pictures of human faces with no expression. Partway through viewing each picture, participants were asked to generate positive thoughts about the picture, to generate negative thoughts, or to leave their emotional response unchanged.
In the control group, the prefrontal cortex worked hard to modulate the emotional response that originated in the limbic system, which is associated with basic emotions and needs. In contrast, the fMRI scans of those with autism showed limited activation of the prefrontal cortex, resulting in less modulation of the limbic regions.
Future research could use cognitive behavior techniques to improve emotion regulation for autistic people or brain stimulation techniques to improve activity in the prefrontal cortex during emotion regulation, according to the researchers.
