Preserved reward outcome processing in ASD as revealed by event-related potentials

Twenty-six children with autism spectrum disorder and 28 typically developing peers matched on age and full-scale IQ played a guessing game resulting in monetary gain (“win”) or neutral outcome (“draw”). ERP components marking early visual processing (N1, P2) and feedback appraisal (FRN) were contrasted between groups in each condition, and their relationships to behavioral measures of social function and dysfunction, social anxiety, and autism symptomatology were explored.FRN was observed on draw trials relative to win trials. Consistent with prior research, children with ASD exhibited a FRN to suboptimal outcomes that was comparable to typical peers. ERP parameters were unrelated to behavioral measures.Results of the current study indicate typical patterns of feedback monitoring in the context of monetary reward in ASD. The study extends prior findings of normative feedback monitoring to a sample composed exclusively of children and demonstrates that, as in typical development, individuals with autism exhibit a FRN to suboptimal outcomes, irrespective of neutral or negative valence. Results do not support a pervasive problem with reward system function in ASD, instead suggesting any dysfunction lies in more specific domains, such as social perception, or in response to particular feedback-monitoring contexts, such as self-evaluation of one’s errors.Difficulty with social interaction is a unifying feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and reduced attention to social stimuli is evident early in development. Children with ASD demonstrate reduced sensitivity to biological motion [1] and orient less frequently to naturally occurring social stimuli relative to typically developing (TD) peers [2]. This primary reduction in attention to social stimuli has been hypothesized to stem from disruption of brain systems for assigning reward to social stimuli [3-7]. According to the social motivation model, atypical social attention reflects dysregulation of motivational mec