Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits
Perception of biological motion is an important social cognitive ability that has been mapped to specialized brain regions. Perceptual deficits and neural differences during biological motion perception have previously been associated with autism, a disorder classified by social and communication di...
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doaj-7150a379cb7b4b2eaa6f033ab6a55bed2020-11-24T23:06:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2017-07-011110.3389/fnins.2017.00404250029Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like TraitsMeghan H. PugliaJames P. MorrisPerception of biological motion is an important social cognitive ability that has been mapped to specialized brain regions. Perceptual deficits and neural differences during biological motion perception have previously been associated with autism, a disorder classified by social and communication difficulties and repetitive and restricted interests and behaviors. However, the traits associated with autism are not limited to diagnostic categories, but are normally distributed within the general population and show the same patterns of heritability across the continuum. In the current study, we investigate whether self-reported autistic-like traits in healthy adults are associated with variable neural response during passive viewing of biological motion displays. Results show that more autistic-like traits, particularly those associated with the communication domain, are associated with increased neural response in key regions involved in social cognitive processes, including prefrontal and left temporal cortices. This distinct pattern of activation might reflect differential neurodevelopmental processes for individuals with varying autistic-like traits, and highlights the importance of considering the full trait continuum in future work.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2017.00404/fullsocial perceptionfMRIindividual differencesautism quotientbiological motion |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Meghan H. Puglia James P. Morris |
spellingShingle |
Meghan H. Puglia James P. Morris Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits Frontiers in Neuroscience social perception fMRI individual differences autism quotient biological motion |
author_facet |
Meghan H. Puglia James P. Morris |
author_sort |
Meghan H. Puglia |
title |
Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits |
title_short |
Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits |
title_full |
Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits |
title_fullStr |
Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits |
title_full_unstemmed |
Neural Response to Biological Motion in Healthy Adults Varies as a Function of Autistic-Like Traits |
title_sort |
neural response to biological motion in healthy adults varies as a function of autistic-like traits |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-453X |
publishDate |
2017-07-01 |
description |
Perception of biological motion is an important social cognitive ability that has been mapped to specialized brain regions. Perceptual deficits and neural differences during biological motion perception have previously been associated with autism, a disorder classified by social and communication difficulties and repetitive and restricted interests and behaviors. However, the traits associated with autism are not limited to diagnostic categories, but are normally distributed within the general population and show the same patterns of heritability across the continuum. In the current study, we investigate whether self-reported autistic-like traits in healthy adults are associated with variable neural response during passive viewing of biological motion displays. Results show that more autistic-like traits, particularly those associated with the communication domain, are associated with increased neural response in key regions involved in social cognitive processes, including prefrontal and left temporal cortices. This distinct pattern of activation might reflect differential neurodevelopmental processes for individuals with varying autistic-like traits, and highlights the importance of considering the full trait continuum in future work. |
topic |
social perception fMRI individual differences autism quotient biological motion |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2017.00404/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT meghanhpuglia neuralresponsetobiologicalmotioninhealthyadultsvariesasafunctionofautisticliketraits AT jamespmorris neuralresponsetobiologicalmotioninhealthyadultsvariesasafunctionofautisticliketraits |
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