AUTHOR=Watson Karli K. , Miller Stephanie , Hannah Eleanor , Kovac Megan , Damiano Cara R. , Sabatino-DiCrisco Antoinette , Turner-Brown Lauren , Sasson Noah J. , Platt Michael L. , Dichter Gabriel S. 

TITLE=Increased reward value of non-social stimuli in children and adolescents with autism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 6 - 2015

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01026

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01026

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=We used an econometric choice task to estimate the implicit reward value of social and nonsocial stimuli related to restricted interests in children and adolescents with (n=12) and without (n=22) ASD.  Mixed effects logistic regression analyses revealed that children and adolescents with ASD were willing to receive less cash payout to view restricted interest stimuli, whereas children and adolescents without ASD were indifferent to cash payouts to view these images. Groups did not differ in valuation of social images or nonsocial images unrelated to restricted interests.  Our findings reveal that individuals with ASD assign enhanced reward value of nonsocial stimuli related to restricted interests in ASD. These results suggest that motivational accounts of ASD should also consider the reward value of restricted interests in addition to that of social stimuli (Dichter & Adolphs, 2012).