Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41882534›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurodevelopmental disorders2026

Brain idiosyncrasy during biological-motion perception is amplified in autistic individuals with intellectual impairment.

Michael Cheng, Colin Hawco, Daniel Yang, Hsing-Chang Ni, Chun-Hung Yeh, Jung-Chi Chang, En-Nien Tu, Mei-Yun Hsu, Yu-Yu Wu, Tai-Li Chou and 2 more

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Article in Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Michael ChengInstitute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Colin HawcoInstitute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Daniel YangIndependent Scholar (with George Washington University, USA While This Study Was Being Conducted), Washington D.C., USA.
Hsing-Chang NiDepartment of Psychiatry, Chang, Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Chun-Hung YehDepartment of Psychiatry, Chang, Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Jung-Chi ChangDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
En-Nien TuDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Mei-Yun HsuYuNing Clinic, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yu-Yu WuYuNing Clinic, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tai-Li ChouDepartment of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Susan Shur-Fen GauDepartment of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hsiang-Yuan LinInstitute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Hsiang-Yuan.Lin@camh.ca.

Funding

Branch Out Neurological Foundation Undergraduate AwardDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Toronto Academic Scholar AwardMinistry of Science and Technology, Taiwan 105-2628-B-002-035-MY3Victoria College, University of Toronto Dr Lorus J. Milne and Dr Margery J. Milne Award
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNeuroimaging research in autism spectrum condition (ASC) often overlooks brain idiosyncrasy by focusing on group averages and frequently excludes individuals with co-occurring intellectual impairment (II).

methodsWe investigated functional MRI correlates of passive biological motion (BM) perception, comparing typically developing controls (TDC; n = 33), autistic individuals without II (intellectually able; ASC-IA; n = 28), and autistic individuals with II (ASC-II; n = 19; defined by IQ or adaptive function < 85).

resultsWhile standard group-average analyses revealed the expected BM-sensitive regions (e.g., bilateral posterior superior temporal sulci, cuneus) in the TDC and ASC-IA groups, the ASC-II group showed no consistent group-level activation pattern and exhibited greater activation in the right intraparietal sulcus compared to the ASC-IA group. Using a correlational distance-based metric, we quantified brain idiosyncrasy (“whole-sample brain variability”, VariabilityWhole), representing the deviance of an individual's activation pattern from others. Brain activity in the ASC-II group was significantly more idiosyncratic than the ASC-IA and TDC groups. Furthermore, VariabilityWhole showed significant transdiagnostic correlations with multiple cognitive and behavioural domains relevant to autism, including social difficulties, repetitive behaviours, non-verbal IQ, executive function, sensory hyper/hyposensitivity, ADHD symptoms, and adaptive function.

conclusionsKey limitations include the cross-sectional design and the use of a passive viewing task without a concurrent behavioral measure to directly link brain findings to task performance. These findings highlight substantial brain heterogeneity within the autism spectrum, particularly in the understudied ASC-II subgroup, and suggest that individual differences in brain processing patterns, rather than solely group-average differences, are critically linked to clinical and cognitive phenotypes.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderAutistic DisorderBrainIntellectual DisabilityMotion PerceptionAdolescentAdultBrain MappingFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleYoung AdultAutism spectrum conditionBiological motionBrain idiosyncrasyFMRIHeterogeneityIntellectual impairmentSocial cognition

Identifiers

PMID41882534
PMCPMC13217712

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