Reward responsiveness in autism and autistic traits - Evidence from neuronal, autonomic, and behavioural levels.

Researchers studied how autistic and non-autistic people respond to rewards, including social rewards that were personally meaningful. They found that autistic people responded similarly to rewards as non-autistic people in their behavior, but their brains worked harder to process the same information. This suggests that when rewards are personally relevant, autistic people can process them normally, though their brains may need to use more effort.

This study examined reward processing in autism using personally relevant social rewards, comparing 26 autistic and 53 non-autistic individuals. Researchers measured behavioral responses (reaction times), brain activity (event-related potentials), and autonomic responses (pupil size) to social rewards, money, and neutral outcomes. Contrary to some previous research, the study found no differences between groups in behavioral responses to different reward types. However, autistic individuals showed enhanced early brain responses during reward anticipation and larger pupil constrictions when receiving rewards, suggesting preserved but less neurally efficient reward processing when stimuli are personally meaningful.

Results suggest that using personally meaningful rewards in therapy and interventions may be more effective for autistic individuals. Challenges the view that autistic people have fundamental difficulties with social reward processing, instead suggesting neural inefficiency that may be addressable through targeted approaches.

Moderate sample size (26 autistic participants). Study type not specified, limiting assessment of methodology. Unclear how personal relevance of stimuli was determined or validated. Limited generalizability beyond the specific reward types tested.

Autism has been linked to atypicalities in reward processing, especially in the social domain. However, results are heterogeneous, and their interpretation is hindered by the use of personally non-relevant social rewards. In this study we investigated behavioural (reaction times), neuronal (event-related potentials), and autonomic (pupil sizes) responses to personally relevant social rewards, money, and neutral outcomes in 26 autistic and 53 non-autistic subjects varying in levels of autistic traits. As hypothesised and preregistered, autism and autistic traits did not differently influence responses to social, monetary, or neutral outcomes on either response level.

While groups did not differ in behaviour (reaction times), autism was linked to generally enhanced brain responses in early anticipation and larger pupil constrictions in reward reception. Together, these results suggest that when using personally relevant stimuli, autism is linked to generally preserved, although less neuronally efficient processing of rewards. Considering the role of social relevance in reward processing, we propose an interpretation of contradictory evidence from clinical practice and empirical research.