title: Reduced Responsiveness to Social Provocation in Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: Deficits in emotion processing and social interaction are prominent symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ASD has also been associated with aggressive tendencies towards self and others. The prevalence of aggressive behavior in this disorder, its etiology and its impact on social life are still unclear. This study investigated behavioral and physiological effects of social provocation in patients with ASD and healthy controls. We used a modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm in 24 high-functioning patients with ASD and 24 healthy controls. Participants were instructed to play against a fictitious human opponent. Money withdrawals toward the participant represented provocation and money deduction by the participant denoted aggressive behavior. Throughout the measurement, electrodermal activity (EDA) was recorded. Healthy controls showed higher aggressive responses to high provocation compared to low provocation, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the used procedure in eliciting aggression. Patients' responses were not influenced by the level of social provocation, although in both groups aggression was higher after lost compared to won trials. Physiologically, controls showed fewer but higher EDA amplitudes when responding aggressively, whereas patients displayed the opposite pattern of more but lower EDA amplitudes. The modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm successfully elicited aggression and revealed different behavioral and neurophysiological responses in patients and healthy controls. Patients' aggressive behavior as well as their physiological responses were less modulated by level of provocation compared to controls. Therapeutic attempts for patients might concentrate on improving empathic abilities and the understanding of social situations, including provocation and aggressive behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Regenbogen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.affiliation: JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Paediatrics and Child Health & School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.|Specialised Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Department of Health in Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
authors.forename: Florian D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Zepf
authors.affiliation: JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bubenzer-Busch
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Ruben C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.|JARA Translational Brain Medicine, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Habel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: aggression; autism spectrum disorder; electrodermal activity; provocation