Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (대한소아청소년정신의학회)
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The Relationship Between Brain Activation for Taking Others' Perspective and Interoceptive Abilities in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An fMRI Study

  • Huiyeong Jeon (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Ahjeong Hur (Department of Psychology, Chungbuk National University) ;
  • Hoyeon Lee (Autism and Developmental Disorders Treatment Center, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Yong-Wook Shin (Department of Psychiatry, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine) ;
  • Sang-Ick Lee (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Chul-Jin Shin (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Siekyeong Kim (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Gawon Ju (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Jeonghwan Lee (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Joon Hyung Jung (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Seungwon Chung (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital) ;
  • Jung-Woo Son (Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital)
  • Received : 2024.03.11
  • Accepted : 2024.05.07
  • Published : 2024.07.01
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Abstract

Objectives: In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we aimed to investigate the differences in brain activation between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) individuals during perspective taking. We also examined the association between brain activation and empathic and interoceptive abilities. Methods: During scanning, participants from the ASD (n=17) and TD (n=22) groups were shown pain stimuli and asked to rate the level of the observed pain from both self- and other-perspectives. Empathic abilities, including perspective taking, were measured using an empathic questionnaire, and three dimensions of interoception were assessed: interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and interoceptive trait prediction errors. Results: During self-perspective taking, the ASD group exhibited greater activation in the left precuneus than the TD group. During other-perspective taking, relative hyperactivation extended to areas including the right precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, and left amygdala. Brain activation levels in the right superior frontal gyrus while taking other-perspective were negatively correlated with interoceptive accuracy, and those in the left caudate were negatively correlated with perspective taking ability in the ASD group. Conclusion: Individuals with ASD show atypical brain activation during perspective taking. Notably, their brain regions associated with stress reactions and escape responses are overactivated when taking other-perspective. This overactivity is related to poor interoceptive accuracy, suggesting that individuals with ASD may experience difficulties with the self-other distinction or atypical embodiment when considering another person's perspective.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank all the participants and their parents who participated in this study for their commitment. The authors are also grateful to the staff at Autism and Developmental Treatment Center in Chungbuk National University Hospital.

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