Jeon Huiyeong, Hur Ahjeong, Lee Hoyeon, Shin Yong-Wook, Lee Sang-Ick, Shin Chul-Jin, Kim Siekyeong, Ju Gawon, Lee Jeonghwan, Jung Joon Hyung, Chung Seungwon, Son Jung-Woo
Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Korea.
Department of Psychology, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Korea.
J Korean Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024 Jul 1;35(3):197-209. doi: 10.5765/jkacap.240008.
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.
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.
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.
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.
在这项功能磁共振成像研究中，我们旨在调查自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）个体与发育正常（TD）个体在换位思考过程中大脑激活的差异。我们还研究了大脑激活与共情能力和内感受能力之间的关联。
在扫描过程中，向自闭症谱系障碍组（n = 17）和发育正常组（n = 22）的参与者展示疼痛刺激，并要求他们从自我和他人的角度对观察到的疼痛程度进行评分。使用共情问卷测量包括换位思考在内的共情能力，并评估内感受的三个维度：内感受准确性、内感受敏感性和内感受特质预测误差。
在自我换位思考过程中，自闭症谱系障碍组左侧楔前叶的激活程度高于发育正常组。在他人换位思考过程中，相对过度激活扩展到包括右侧楔前叶、右侧额上回、左侧尾状核和左侧杏仁核在内的区域。在自闭症谱系障碍组中，他人换位思考时右侧额上回的大脑激活水平与内感受准确性呈负相关，左侧尾状核的激活水平与换位思考能力呈负相关。
自闭症谱系障碍个体在换位思考过程中表现出非典型的大脑激活。值得注意的是，他们在他人换位思考时与应激反应和逃避反应相关的脑区过度激活。这种过度活动与内感受准确性差有关，这表明自闭症谱系障碍个体在考虑他人观点时可能在自我与他人区分或非典型具身化方面存在困难。
