News Finding: The children with ASD showed significantly reduced activation compared to the neurotypical children in the brain regions considered to be part of the ToM network, such as the medial frontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction.
Paper Finding: Another finding was the reduced activation in the cerebellum, specifically in Crus I, in the ASD group.
News Context: Without ToM, it tended to look like geometric shapes moving around. The children with ASD showed significantly reduced activation compared to the neurotypical children in the brain regions considered to be part of the ToM network, such as the medial frontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction. Furthermore, the synchronization between such pairs of regions was lower in the autism group.
Paper Context: We suggest that the task used in the present study is sensitive to more implicit processes that are relatively automatic in TD individuals but absent or limited in those with ASD. Another finding was the reduced activation in the cerebellum, specifically in Crus I, in the ASD group. Mostofsky and colleagues found weaker functional connectivity between the cerebellum and motor areas during motor task performance, while Khan and colleagues found weaker functional connectivity between cerebellum and areas associated with higher cognitive functioning (prefrontal, parietal, and temporal) in ASD compared to TD participants.