Cortical activation during cooperative joint actions and competition in children with and without an autism spectrum condition (ASC): an fNIRS study

Abstract

Children with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) have social communication and perceptuomotor difficulties that affect their ability to engage in dyadic play. In this study, we compared spatio-temporal errors and fNIRS-related cortical activation between children with and without an ASC during a Lincoln Log dyadic game requiring them to play leader or follower roles, move in synchrony or while taking turns, and move cooperatively or competitively with an adult partner. Children with an ASC had greater motor, planning, and spatial errors and took longer to complete the building tasks compared to typically developing (TD) children. Children with an ASC had lower superior temporal sulcus (STS) activation during Turn-take and Compete, and greater Inferior Parietal Lobe (IPL) activation during Lead and Turn-take compared to TD children. As dyadic play demands increased, TD children showed greater STS activation during Turn-take (vs. Synchrony) and Compete (vs. Cooperate) whereas children with an ASC showed greater IPL activation during Lead and Compete (vs. Cooperate). Our findings suggest that children with an ASC rely on self-generated action plans (i.e., increased IPL activation) more than relying on their partner's action cues (i.e., reduced STS activation) when engaging in dyadic play including joint actions and competition.

Figure 1

Behavioral errors (A), Time to completion (B), and Hand preference (C) in children with an ASC and TD children. *Indicates significant differences (p < 0.05 and survived FDR correction) between ASC and TD groups.

Figure 2

A visual representation of averaged HbO₂ concentration during Lead, Follow, Turn-take, and Compete conditions in children with an ASC and TD children. HbO₂ values on Y-axis range from − 0.05 indicated by blue to 0.176 indicated by red. TD children showed greater STS-related channel activation during Compete and Turn-take conditions compared to that of children with an ASC. In contrast, children with an ASC had greater activation in IPL channels during the Lead, Turn-Take, and Compete. This figure was made in MATLAB (version 2021b, https://www.mathworks.com).

Figure 3

Group differences in cortical activation for Lead (A), Follow (B), Turn-Take (C), and Compete (D). *Indicates significant differences (p < 0.05 and survived FDR correction) between the ASC and TD groups.

Figure 4

Hemispheric differences between TD children (A) and children with an ASC (B). *Indicates significant differences between the ASC and TD groups.

Figure 5

Condition-related differences in cortical activation for TD children and children with an ASC for: (Q1) Lead vs. Follow in TD children (A) and children with an ASC (B); (Q2) Synchrony (Lead and Follow) vs. Turn-take i.e., Lead vs. Turn-take in TD children (C) and children with an ASC (D), Follow vs. Turn-take in TD children (E) and children with an ASC (F); (Q3) Cooperative (Lead, Follow, Turn-take) vs. Compete, i.e., Lead vs. Compete in TD children (G) and children with an ASC (H), Follow vs. Compete in TD children (I) and children with an ASC (J), Turn-take vs. Compete in TD children (K) and children with an ASC (L). *Indicates significant differences (p < 0.05 and survived FDR correction) between the ASC and TD groups.

Figure 6

Experimental conditions of Lead, Follow, Turn-take, and Compete (A), and the randomized blocked design protocol for the dyadic task (B).