Developmental Aspects of Reward Processing in Individuals with and without ASD (2015)

Undergraduates: Sean McWeeny, Jasmine Shah, Jeremiah Hartsock, Nadia Peyravian Maya Mosner, Julia Katz Jessica Kinard

Faculty Advisor: Gabriel Dichter
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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The purpose of this investigation is to examine developmental trajectories of social motivational processes in individuals with and without autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is well established that ASD are characterized by deficits in social cognition, social perception, and social communication. However, there has been recent emphasis on addressing motivational aspects of social deficits in ASD (Chevallier, Kohls, Troiani, Brodkin, & Schultz, 2012). Although current conceptualizations of reward processing deficits in ASD have focused specifically on processing of social rewards, there is evidence that processing of non-social rewards is impaired in ASD as well (Dichter & Adolphs, 2012). Specifically, our research group recently reported that adults with ASD are characterized by impaired effort-based decision-making in the context of monetary rewards (Damiano, Aloi, Treadway, Bodfish, & Dichter, 2012). The present study is a downward extension of this finding and seeks to explore developmental trajectories of social motivation in children, adolescents, and adults with ASD.