The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Plasticity of Social Brain Network in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder

"Social brain" refers to brain regions dedicated to processing social information and enabling us to recognize and evaluate others' mental states. The social brain hypothesis suggests that our brains evolve to navigate complex social systems. The social brain is hypothesized to consist of a distributed network including the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), the dorsal and ventral medial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC and vmPFC), ACC and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), the amygdala, the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and the fusiform gyrus (FG), TPJ, inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), and the insula. Each region serves distinct role while works together to support social processing, including perceiving, interpreting, and generating responses to the intentions, dispositions, and behaviors of others.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age between 18 and 50
• diagnosed with ASD from licensed mental health or medical professional based on DSM5
• have social problems
• motivated to participate in the treatment
• fluent in chinese
• caregiver also fluent in chinese and motivated to participate
• had a full-scale IQ > 70 on WAIS-IV
• scored ≧ 26 on the caregiver-reported Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), indicating clinical impairment associated with ASD.

Exclusion Criteria:

• history of major mental illness, such as bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, psychosis, or neurological diseases
• visual impairment and/or hearing impairment
• any metal, electronic part that cannot be removed from the body, or being pregnant, which may not be able to use fMRI scan.