| Reference code: | PT/FB/BL-2018-306.07 |
| Location: | BF-GMS
|
Title:
| A link between error monitoring and basal ganglia-dependent learning in autism
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| Publication year: | 2025
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URL:
| Visitante: / https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/article/7/6/fcaf414/8369254
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| Abstract/Results: | ABSTRACT:
Altered error monitoring mechanisms may contribute to the neurobehavioral manifestations of autism, particularly those affecting trial-and-error learning. In this study, we examined how error-related neural responses relate to learning processes in autistic individuals. To address this, we employed a paradigm designed to assess both error monitoring and the learning of socioemotional orienting cues. Fifteen autistic and fifteen non-autistic adult males performed a challenging functional MRI task that required the integration of facial expression and gaze cues to extract the correct social-orienting direction. We evaluated how error-related neural responses evolved with learning and compared these dynamics across groups. We hypothesized differences in key error monitoring regions—the anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula—and in the putamen, which is implicated in trial-and-error learning. Behaviourally, both groups exhibited similar learning rates, but the autistic group showed significantly lower accuracy (P = 9.60 × 10-5). At the neural level, although the progression of error-related activity throughout learning was similar across both groups, autistic individuals demonstrated attenuated differentiation between correct responses and errors in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (F(2, 53.23) = 9.68, P = 0.001) and anterior insula (F(2, 54.21) = 25.48, P = 6.32 × 10-8). Reduced neural responses to errors were predictive of higher error rates (P = 0.02) and elevated Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule scores (P = 0.02). Importantly, autistic individuals also showed a diminished increase in putamen activity as learning progressed (F(6, 7808.01) = 6.84, P = 1.20 × 10-6). Finally, attenuated changes in error-related functional connectivity during learning were found in the autistic group and correlated with Autism Quotient scores (r(22) = -0.58, P = 0.04). Our findings suggest diminished error-related neural responses and weakened neural progress with learning in autism, associated with increased error rates and autistic traits. These results highlight a potential link between disrupted error monitoring mechanisms and basal ganglia-dependent learning in autism.
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| Accessibility: | Document exists in file
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Language:
| eng
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Author:
| Dias, C.
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Secondary author(s):
| Sousa, T., Mouga, S., Castelo-Branco, M.
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Document type:
| Article
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Number of reproductions:
| 1
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Percentiles:
| N/Y
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Reference:
| Dias, C., Sousa, T., Mouga, S., & Castelo-Branco, M. (2025). A link between error monitoring and basal ganglia-dependent learning in autism. Brain Communications, 7(6), fcaf414. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf414 |
| Impact Factor: | 4.5|2025
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| Impact factor notes: | Impact factor not available yet for 2025
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| Times cited: | 0|2026-07-23
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| Indexed document: | Yes
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| Quartile: | Q1
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| Keywords: | Autism / Error monitoring / Learning / Salience network / Putamen
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A link between error monitoring and basal ganglia-dependent learning in autism |