Neural Mechanisms of Emotion Regulation in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by high rates of comorbid internalizing and externalizing disorders. One mechanistic account of these comorbidities is that ASD is characterized by impaired emotion regulation (ER) that results in deficits modulating emotional responses. We assessed neural activation during cognitive reappraisal of faces in high functioning adults with ASD. Groups did not differ in looking time, pupilometry, or subjective ratings of faces during reappraisal. However, instructions to increase positive and negative emotional responses resulted in less increase in nucleus accumbens and amygdala activations (respectively) in the ASD group, and both regulation instructions resulted in less change in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation in the ASD group. Results suggest a potential mechanistic account of impaired ER in ASD.

Hypersensitivity to low intensity fearful faces in autism when fixation is constrained to the eyes

“…We also aimed at assessing emotion regulation capabilities in people with and without ASD by measuring the strength of the relationship between the key region for emotional regulation (i.e., vmPFC) and the key region for emotional reactivity (i.e., amygdala). In accordance with previous findings, we hypothesized that emotion regulation capabilities could be decreased in ASD [Mazefsky et al, ; Richey et al, ], especially for emotions signaling an environmental threat (i.e., fear).…”

What our eyes tell us about feelings: Tracking pupillary responses during emotion regulation processes

“…In the present study, we therefore aimed to investigate the psychophysiological correlates of two different cognitive emotion regulation strategies, reappraisal (increase and decrease) and distraction, via the assessment of pupillary responses, SCRs, and subjective ratings during an emotional picture viewing task. In line with previous studies showing pupil size enlargements in response to cognitive control processes in general (see Beatty, 1982;Sirois & Brisson, 2014, for reviews) and emotion regulation demand in particular Richey et al, 2015;Urry et al, 2006;van Reekum et al, 2007), we expected early pupil dilation (within the first 2 s of regulation) to be potentiated in all regulation conditions as compared to a viewing-only control condition, thus reflecting emotion regulation effort. Hypothesizing that late pupillary responses (from 2 s of regulation), in contrast, vary as a function of emotional arousal, we predicted larger pupil diameter when participants were required to increase negative emotional responses but smaller pupil sizes in the downregulation conditions (decrease, distract).…”

“…For instance, Bebko et al () found diminished pupil sizes during emotion regulation, whereas other studies indicate that both increasing and decreasing negative emotions through reappraisal amplifies pupil dilation, most likely as a result of increased cognitive effort to regulate emotional responses (Johnstone, van Reekum, Urry, Kalin, & Davidson, ; Richey et al, ; Urry et al, ; van Reekum et al, ). Correspondingly, pupil size has been repeatedly found to increase in response to enhanced processing demands within a number of different tasks (Beatty, ; Beatty & Kahneman, ; Hess & Polt, ; Kuchinke, Vo, Hofmann, & Jacobs, ; Moresi et al, ; Prehn et al, ; Prehn, Heekeren, & van der Meer, ).…”

Emotion regulation in autism spectrum disorder: Where we are and where we need to go

“…More than half of these studies included participants with ASD who had average cognitive capacity overall, whilst other studies either included individuals with lower cognitive capacity or did not provide information regarding participants' cognitive function. Poor ER may be inherent in ASD [Mazefsky et al, ; Mazefsky & White, ], and recent evidence supports this view [e.g., Konstantareas & Stewart, ; Nader‐Grosbois & Mazzone, ; Pitskel, Bolling, Kaiser, Pelphrey, & Crowley, ; Richey et al, ; Samson et al, ; Samson et al, ]. All ASD core symptoms have been shown to be linked to emotion dysregulation [Berkovits, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2017], with restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities being the strongest predictor [Samson et al, ].…”