Youth Autistic Traits and Brain Activation States During Socioemotional Processing

This study investigates how autistic traits in youths influence brain activation states during socioemotional processing, with a focus on age and co-occurring mental health symptoms like ADHD and anxiety. The authors found that younger children with more autistic traits exhibited increased activation in somatomotor and visual networks, while older children showed greater activation in the default mode and ventral attention networks. These findings suggest that autistic traits are linked to distinct patterns of brain activation that evolve with age, potentially impacting the developmental trajectory of social-emotional processing.