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Little is known about executive functions (EFs) associated with advanced theory of mind (ToM) abilities. We aimed to determine if advanced ToM abilities were reduced in individuals with subclinical traits of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), known as the “Broader Autism Phenotype” (BAP), and identify the EFs that predicted unimpaired performance on an advanced ToM task, the faux pas test. We assessed 29 participants (13 males) with the BAP who were relatives of children with ASD. Thirteen participants showed reduced ability to understand a faux pas. A discriminant function analysis correctly classified 79% of cases as impaired or unimpaired, with high sensitivity (80%) and specificity (77%), which was best predicted by language‐mediated EFs, including verbal generativity, working memory, cognitive inhibition, and flexibility. Autism Res 2020, 13: 921‐934. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary Little is known about the complex cognitive processes that enable accurate interpretation of another person's thoughts and emotions, known as “theory of mind.” In relatives of individuals with autism, who had mild traits of autism themselves, approximately half had difficulty interpreting situations involving a social faux pas. Cognitive inhibition and flexibility, working memory, and verbal generativity were related to, and appeared to be protective for, unimpaired understanding of a faux pas.

The present study examined whether the ability to recognize vocal emotional expressions is negatively related to features of the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP) in the general population. We assessed 61 typically developing adults on a BAP self-report measure (Broader Autism Phenotype Questionnaire) and a purpose-developed online emotion recognition task for efficient delivery of non-linguistic vocal stimuli corresponding to the six basic emotions. Contrary to expectations, we found that higher self-ratings of rigid BAP traits correlated with better recognition accuracy and higher intensity ratings for angry voices. We interpret this anger-specific association as an advantage for enhanced threat detection in the BAP and discuss this finding in the broader context of personality research and interpersonal theory.

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Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S) U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel CommandFort Detrick, Maryland 21702-5012 SPONSOR/MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S)12. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ABSTRACTOur highly innovative project is designed to identify more precise, performance-based measures of the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP). In particular, we are focusing on the social communication difficulties commonly experienced by people with the BAP using sophisticated techniques that we developed to capture the acoustic properties of speech important for emotional expression. We are investigating this issue in detail in individuals with and without the BAP using a range of tasks measuring skills important in emotional and social interactions. This project also maps the brain systems that underpin social communication in the BAP by using state-of-the-art brain imaging techniques that measure brain structure and function. We aim to link these behavioural and brain findings to gain a more complete understanding of the BAP.In terms of our progress to date, we have fully developed and piloted our research protocols and trained our Research Assistant in all skills relevant to the study (as described under our initial Statement of Work). We spent an additional 6-months in piloting our protocols and training our Research Assistant to ensure that all protocols were working optimally to provide the most robust and cutting-edge scientific techniques. This was particularly relevant for the development of our novel neuroimaging protocol and an interactive, web-based computer program designed for efficient collection of behavioural data. Using the behavioural and neuroimaging protocols (Experiments 1 and 2), we are now in the data collection phase of the study and plan to recruit the remaining participants over the next 6 months, in accordance with our Statement of Work. The increased time period required to develop our neuroimaging and behavioural protocols means that we require a 6-month extension for the final report of the study