Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention
The reward system has been implicated as a potential neural mechanism underlying social-communication deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear whether the neural reward system in ASD is sensitive to behavioral interventions. The current study measured...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Brain Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/6/402 |
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| author | Elizabeth Baker Elina Veytsman Ann Marie Martin Jan Blacher Katherine K. M. Stavropoulos |
| author_facet | Elizabeth Baker Elina Veytsman Ann Marie Martin Jan Blacher Katherine K. M. Stavropoulos |
| author_sort | Elizabeth Baker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The reward system has been implicated as a potential neural mechanism underlying social-communication deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear whether the neural reward system in ASD is sensitive to behavioral interventions. The current study measured the reward positivity (RewP) in response to social and nonsocial stimuli in seven adolescents with ASD before and after participation in the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS<sup>®</sup>) intervention. This study also included seven neurotypical adolescents who were tested at two time points but did not receive intervention. We examined the RewP across the course of a task by comparing brain activity during the first versus second half of trials to understand patterns of responsivity over time. Improvements in social skills and decreased social-communication impairments for teens with ASD were observed after PEERS<sup>®</sup>. Event-related potential (ERP) results suggested increased reward sensitivity during the first half of trials in the ASD group after intervention. Adolescents with ASD who exhibited less reward-related brain activity before intervention demonstrated the greatest behavioral benefits from the intervention. These findings have implications for how neuroscience can be used as an objective outcome measure before and after intervention in ASD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:55:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-44b1d575eb8f4f9495b7c86ce02411ef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3425 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:55:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Brain Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-44b1d575eb8f4f9495b7c86ce02411ef2023-11-20T04:51:08ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252020-06-0110640210.3390/brainsci10060402Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills InterventionElizabeth Baker0Elina Veytsman1Ann Marie Martin2Jan Blacher3Katherine K. M. Stavropoulos4Graduate School of Education, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USAGraduate School of Education, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USAGraduate School of Education, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USAGraduate School of Education, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USAGraduate School of Education, UC Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USAThe reward system has been implicated as a potential neural mechanism underlying social-communication deficits in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, it remains unclear whether the neural reward system in ASD is sensitive to behavioral interventions. The current study measured the reward positivity (RewP) in response to social and nonsocial stimuli in seven adolescents with ASD before and after participation in the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS<sup>®</sup>) intervention. This study also included seven neurotypical adolescents who were tested at two time points but did not receive intervention. We examined the RewP across the course of a task by comparing brain activity during the first versus second half of trials to understand patterns of responsivity over time. Improvements in social skills and decreased social-communication impairments for teens with ASD were observed after PEERS<sup>®</sup>. Event-related potential (ERP) results suggested increased reward sensitivity during the first half of trials in the ASD group after intervention. Adolescents with ASD who exhibited less reward-related brain activity before intervention demonstrated the greatest behavioral benefits from the intervention. These findings have implications for how neuroscience can be used as an objective outcome measure before and after intervention in ASD.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/6/402autism spectrum disorderEEGERPreward responseRewPsensitization |
| spellingShingle | Elizabeth Baker Elina Veytsman Ann Marie Martin Jan Blacher Katherine K. M. Stavropoulos Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention Brain Sciences autism spectrum disorder EEG ERP reward response RewP sensitization |
| title | Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention |
| title_full | Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention |
| title_fullStr | Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention |
| title_short | Increased Neural Reward Responsivity in Adolescents with ASD after Social Skills Intervention |
| title_sort | increased neural reward responsivity in adolescents with asd after social skills intervention |
| topic | autism spectrum disorder EEG ERP reward response RewP sensitization |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/10/6/402 |
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