title: Reward system dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: Although it has been suggested that social deficits of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are related to reward circuitry dysfunction, very little is known about the neural reward mechanisms in ASD. In the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we investigated brain activations in response to both social and monetary reward in a group of children with ASD, relative to matched controls. Participants with ASD showed the expected hypoactivation in the mesocorticolimbic circuitry in response to both reward types. In particular, diminished activation in the nucleus accumbens was observed when money, but not when social reward, was at stake, whereas the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex were hypoactivated within the ASD group in response to both rewards. These data indicate that the reward circuitry is compromised in ASD in social as well as in non-social, i.e. monetary conditions, which likely contributes to atypical motivated behaviour. Taken together, with incentives used in this study sample, there is evidence for a general reward dysfunction in ASD. However, more ecologically valid social reward paradigms are needed to fully understand, whether there is any domain specificity to the reward deficit that appears evident in ASD, which would be most consistent with the ASD social phenotype.
authors.affiliation: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Autism Research, 3535 Market Street, 8th floor, Suite 860, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. kohlsg@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kohls
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schulte-Rüther
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nehrkorn
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Gereon R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kamp-Becker
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herpertz-Dahlmann
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konrad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012201:Reward; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen