Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39927786›Full record

ArticleCerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)2025

EEG during dynamic facial emotion processing reveals neural activity patterns associated with autistic traits in children.

Aron T Hill, Talitha C Ford, Neil W Bailey, Jarrad A G Lum, Felicity J Bigelow, Lindsay M Oberman, Peter G Enticott

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Task-Related Aperiodic EEG (1/f) Activity in Autism.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Aron T HillCognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
Talitha C FordCognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5400-2659
Neil W BaileySchool of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.
Jarrad A G LumCognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2098-2403
Felicity J BigelowCognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
Lindsay M ObermanNoninvasive Neuromodulation Unit, Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States.
Peter G EnticottCognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.

Funding

Non-invasive Neuromodulation Unit (NNU)ZIAMH002955 · NIMH · NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH · PI ZARATE, CARLOS · 2016 to 2025
$40.3M
Australian Research Council Future Fellowship FT160100077Intramural NIH HHS ZIA MH002955NIMH Intramural Research Program ZIAMH002955
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Altered brain connectivity and atypical neural oscillations have been observed in autism, yet their relationship with autistic traits in nonclinical populations remains underexplored. Here, we employ electroencephalography to examine functional connectivity, oscillatory power, and broadband aperiodic activity during a dynamic facial emotion processing task in 101 typically developing children aged 4 to 12 years. We investigate associations between these electrophysiological measures of brain dynamics and autistic traits as assessed by the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition (SRS-2). Our results revealed that increased facial emotion processing-related connectivity across theta (4 to 7 Hz) and beta (13 to 30 Hz) frequencies correlated positively with higher SRS-2 scores, predominantly in right-lateralized (theta) and bilateral (beta) cortical networks. Additionally, a steeper 1/f-like aperiodic slope (spectral exponent) across fronto-central electrodes was associated with higher SRS-2 scores. Greater aperiodic-adjusted theta and alpha oscillatory power further correlated with both higher SRS-2 scores and steeper aperiodic slopes. These findings underscore important links between facial emotion processing-related brain dynamics and autistic traits in typically developing children. Future work could extend these findings to assess these electroencephalography-derived markers as potential mechanisms underlying behavioral difficulties in autism.

Indexed as

Autistic DisorderBrainEmotionsFacial ExpressionFacial RecognitionChildChild, PreschoolElectroencephalographyFemaleHumansMaleaperiodic activityautismconnectivityelectroencephalographyoscillations

Identifiers

PMID39927786
PMCPMC11808805

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.