Investigating the Specificity of Neural Correlates for Emotion Processing Deficits in Conduct Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Investigating the Specificity of Neural Correlates for Emotion Processing Deficits in Conduct Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study is

1. to investigate the differential and shared neural underpinnings of facial emotion processing within Conduct disorder (CD) and Autism-Spectrum disorder (ASD) and
2. to investigate the interaction between deficits in emotion processing and dysfunctional cognitive control processes.

Differences in emotion processing and the underlying neural underpinnings of such differences will be assessed by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) without any contrast agent, combined with adapted emotion processing paradigms and eye tracking techniques.

Inclusion Criteria:

• For all participants: age between 10 and 18 years and an intelligence quotient score of 70 or higher.
• For patient groups: confirmed clinical diagnoses according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-5 of CD or ASD (depending on the group), without comorbid depression or anxiety psychological disorders.

Exclusion Criteria:

• For all participants: low intelligence (IQ<70, as they might otherwise not fully understand what they are expected to do inside the scanner), insufficient German language skills or any contraindications for MRI (e.g. pregnancy, any non-removable metal within the subjects' body, claustrophobia).
• For patient groups: severe developmental disorders, comorbid depressive and/or anxiety disorders will also be excluded from the study since it was shown that these patients might have problems in attention allocation under emotional stimulation.
• For typically developing participants: suspicion of an undiagnosed clinical disorder