title: Disrupted prediction errors index social deficits in autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Social deficits are a core symptom of autism spectrum disorder; however, the perturbed neural mechanisms underpinning these deficits remain unclear. It has been suggested that social prediction errors-coding discrepancies between the predicted and actual outcome of another's decisions-might play a crucial role in processing social information. While the gyral surface of the anterior cingulate cortex signalled social prediction errors in typically developing individuals, this crucial social signal was altered in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Importantly, the degree to which social prediction error signalling was aberrant correlated with diagnostic measures of social deficits. Effective connectivity analyses further revealed that, in typically developing individuals but not in autism spectrum disorder, the magnitude of social prediction errors was driven by input from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These data provide a novel insight into the neural substrates underlying autism spectrum disorder social symptom severity, and further research into the gyral surface of the anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex could provide more targeted therapies to help ameliorate social deficits in autism spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: 1 Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland Joshua.balsters@hest.ethz.ch.|2 Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK.
authors.forename: Joshua H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Balsters
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew A J
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Apps
authors.affiliation: 1 Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bolis
authors.affiliation: 1 Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Rea
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lehner
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychiatric Genetics Research Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.affiliation: 1 Neural Control of Movement Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.|5 Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wenderoth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D059031:Anticipation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anterior cingulate cortex; autism spectrum disorder; social cognition; social prediction errors