Understanding cognitive flexibility in emotional evaluation in autistic males and females: the social context matters.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Autistic individuals often have difficulty flexibly adjusting their behavior. However, laboratory experiments have yielded inconsistent results, potentially due to various influencing factors, which need to be examined in detail. This study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that the social content of stimuli could play a specific role in some of the flexibility challenges faced by autistic individuals. The second aim was to explore sex differences in this context.

Methods

We analyzed data from 256 adult participants (124 with autism), matched on age, gender, and sex, who performed an emotional shifting task involving unpredictable shifts between positive and negative stimuli. Additionally, the task included both social and non-social conditions.

Results

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SUBMITTER: Lacroix A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11583749 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature