title: Neural Correlates of Set-Shifting in Children With Autism.
abstract: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often associated with high levels of inflexible thinking and rigid behavior. The neural correlates of these behaviors have been investigated in adults and older adolescents, but not children. Prior studies utilized set-shifting tasks that engaged multiple levels of shifting, and depended on learning abstract rules and establishing a strong prepotent bias. These additional demands complicate simple interpretations of the results. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of set-shifting in 20 children (ages 7-14) with ASD and 19 typically developing, matched, control children. Participants completed a set-shifting task that minimized nonshifting task demands through the use of concrete instructions that provide spatial mapping of stimuli-responses. The shift/stay sets were given an equal number of trials to limit the prepotent bias. Both groups showed an equivalent "switch cost," responding less accurately and slower to Switch stimuli than Stay stimuli, although the ASD group was less accurate overall. Both groups showed activation in prefrontal, striatal, parietal, and cerebellum regions known to govern effective set-shifts. Compared to controls, children with ASD demonstrated decreased activation of the right middle temporal gyrus across all trials, but increased activation in the mid-dorsal cingulate cortex/superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal, and right inferior frontal gyri during the Switch vs. Stay contrast. The successful behavioral switching performance of children with ASD comes at the cost of requiring greater engagement of frontal regions, suggesting less efficiency at this lowest level of shifting.
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.
authors.forename: Benjamin E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Yerys
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Ligia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Antezana
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weinblatt
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.|Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Kathryn F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Jankowski
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Strang
authors.affiliation: Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Chandan J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Vaidya
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Research, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Neurology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC.|Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.affiliation: Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Children's Research Institute, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC.|Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon.|Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.|Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.|Pediatrics, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kenworthy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012718:Set, Psychology
keywords: autism; cingulate; cognitive control; functional magnetic resonance imaging; prefrontal cortex; set-shifting