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Poster D in Poster Session D: Wednesday, August 5, 2:00 – 3:45 pm, Kimmel Center, Shorin & Rosenthal Rooms

Slow Update of Motor Plans in Autism is Associated with Reduced ACC Activation

Keren Kasten¹, Adi Glebotzki¹, Merav Ahissar¹; ¹Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Presenter: Keren Kasten

Adaptive behavior requires rapid updating of ongoing actions when the environment changes. The slow update hypothesis (Lieder et al., 2019) proposes that autistic individuals can update internal representations, but do so more slowly, which is particularly limiting in dynamic environments. We tested this prediction in a reaching task that dissociated direct movement execution from online correction after an unexpected jump in target position. In a behavioral study, 42 autistic adults and 42 matched neurotypical controls (NTs) performed touchscreen reaches to stationary or displaced targets. Autistic participants showed slower movement updating, indexed by delayed trajectory deviation toward the new target, despite similar movement duration after the change. We then examined the neural basis of this effect in an fMRI study (16 autistic adults, 16 NTs) performing an adapted version of the same task. Whole-brain analyses of Update > No-Update trials revealed greater Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) activation in NTs than in ASD. These findings suggest that slowed updating in ASD is associated with reduced engagement of Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) control systems supporting rapid adaptive correction.

Topic Area: Development, Individual Differences & Clinical Populations