In one sentence
During a live chat inside an MRI scanner, autistic adolescents showed stronger task-related connectivity between mentalizing-related temporal regions and the amygdala than neurotypical peers — and stronger coupling tracked lower social motivation and reward ratings.
What the researchers did
Researchers collected fMRI from autistic and neurotypical youth (n = 86; 15 female) during a “live” chat designed to elicit social reward. They examined task-evoked functional connectivity among regions involved in reward and mentalizing within broader social-reward circuitry. This is a neuroimaging experiment, not a treatment study.
What they found
- Social interaction and social-interactive reward modulated connectivity among social-reward regions across participants.
- Autistic youth showed greater task-evoked connectivity between posterior temporal mentalizing regions and the amygdala than neurotypical peers.
- Across groups, stronger connectivity between these regions correlated with lower self-reported social motivation and reward during the scanner task.
- Authors frame results as nuance for “reduced social motivation” accounts — brain patterns during real-time social reward may differ rather than simply “missing reward.”
What this means for families and therapists
- Lower expressed social drive is not proof that social connection is unwanted; processing social reward can look different neurobiologically.
- Prefer supportive, low-pressure social practice over assuming teens “don’t care.”
- Context: social skills groups, VR social skills review, and anxiety guide.
Limitations and what we don't know yet
- Scanner chat ≠ everyday friendships; sample sex imbalance.
- Connectivity differences are not diagnostic biomarkers for clinics.
- Does not prescribe a specific therapy.
This is a plain-language summary of Functional Connectivity During Social Reward Processing in Autistic and Neurotypical Adolescents by Xie H., Moraczewski D., McNaughton K.A. et al., Brain and Behavior (2026). Source license: CC-BY-4.0. It is not medical advice — talk to a qualified clinician before changing therapy.