Gastrointestinal dysfunction is one of the most prevalent physiological symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A growing body of largely preclinical research suggests that dysbiotic gut microbiota may modulate brain function and social behavior, yet little is known about the mechanisms that underlie these relationships and how they may influence the pathogenesis or severity of ASD. While various genetic and environmental risk factors have been implicated in ASD, this review aims to provide an overview of studies elucidating the mechanisms by which gut microbiota, associated metabolites, and the brain interact to influence behavior and ASD development, in at least a subgroup of individuals with gastrointestinal problems. Specifically, we review the brain-gut-microbiome system and discuss findings from current animal and human studies as they relate to social-behavioral and neurological impairments in ASD, microbiota-targeted therapies (i.e., probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation) in ASD, and how microbiota may influence the brain at molecular, structural, and functional levels, with a particular interest in social and emotion-related brain networks. A deeper understanding of microbiome-brain-behavior interactions has the potential to inform new therapies aimed at modulating this system and alleviating both behavioral and physiological symptomatology in individuals with ASD.

Some studies suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have reduced emotional empathy while others do not. The presence of co-occurring alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder and differences in interoception have been associated with reductions in empathic ability. To fully explore the relationships between interoception, alexithymia, and emotional empathy, we collected self-report and interview data in 35 youth with autism spectrum disorder and 40 typically developing controls (ages 8–17 years). The autism spectrum disorder sample had increased alexithymia and physiological hyperarousal compared to typically developing controls, but there were no group differences in interoception or emotional empathy. Alexithymia severity correlated with higher personal distress in both groups and with lower empathic concern in the autism spectrum disorder group. Within the autism spectrum disorder group, higher incidence of reports of bodily sensation when describing emotional experience correlated with lower personal distress and lower alexithymia. In addition, although empathic concern was negatively correlated with alexithymia in the autism spectrum disorder group, across groups, the alexithymia hypothesis was supported in only the personal distress domain of emotional empathy. These results suggest emotional empathy; personal distress, in particular, is not intrinsically impaired in autism spectrum disorder. Lay Empathy, the ability to understand and share the emotions of others, is a necessary skill for social functioning and can be categorized into cognitive and emotional empathy. There is evidence to suggest that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties with cognitive empathy, the ability to imagine how another person is thinking or feeling. However, it is unclear if individuals with autism spectrum disorder struggle with emotional empathy, the ability to share and feel emotions others are experiencing. Self-report and interview data were collected to explore the relationships between interoception (individuals’ self-reported awareness of sensation from their body such as thirst, heartbeat, etc.), alexithymia (an individual’s ability to describe and distinguish between their own emotions), and emotional empathy in 35 youth with autism spectrum disorder and 40 typically developing youth. Greater personal distress to others’ emotions and greater difficulty describing and recognizing self-emotions were associated with reporting fewer physical sensations in the body when experiencing emotion in the autism spectrum disorder group. The results of this study suggest that while autism spectrum disorder youth with concomitant alexithymia may experience emotional empathy differently, it should not be characterized as an absence of a capacity for emotional empathy.

Youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) are at heightened risk for co‐occurring mental health diagnoses, especially anxiety and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, caregiver‐child agreement on presence of related symptoms in populations with neurodevelopmental conditions is not well understood. Here, we examine the extent to which 37 ASD, 26 DCD, and 40 typically developing children and their caregivers agree on the degree of the child's symptoms of anxiety and ADHD. All caregiver‐child dyads completed the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders and Conners 3 ADHD Index. Across groups, intraclass correlations indicated generally poor agreement on anxiety and ADHD symptomatology. Although youth generally reported greater internalizing symptoms (i.e., anxiety), caregivers tended to report more observable externalizing behaviors (i.e., ADHD). Together, the results of this study support the need for a multi‐informant approach in assessments of anxiety and ADHD in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Background: Early adversity, broadly defined as a set of negative exposures during childhood, is extremely common and increases risk for psychopathology across the life span. Previous research suggests that separate dimensions of adversity increase risk through developmental plasticity mechanisms shaping unique neurobiological pathways. Specifically, research suggests that deprivation is associated with deficits in higher order cognition, while threat is associated with atypicality in fear learning and emotion dysregulation. However, most of this research has been conducted in adolescent and adult samples, long after exposure to adversity occurs and far from periods of peak developmental plasticity. Objective: The Wellness Health and Life Experiences (WHALE) study examines the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms by which deprivation, threat, and unpredictability increase risk for psychopathology in early childhood (age 4-7 years) directly following periods of peak developmental plasticity. The objective of this study is to describe the study rationale and aims, the research design and procedures, and the analytical plan to test the study hypotheses. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study that examines associations between exposure to deprivation and threat and their hypothesized neurobiological mechanisms, how these neurobiological mechanisms link early adversity and psychopathology, and associations between unpredictability, reward learning, and psychopathology. The sample was a convenience sample of children (aged 4-7 years) and their families, identified through flyers, email blasts to listserves, school-based advertising, and involvement in community events. Data were collected during a home visit, a subsequent laboratory visit, and a final neuroimaging visit. Planned analyses include linear regression, path analyses, and functional magnetic resonance imaging analyses to explore the role of neural function in the association between early adversity and psychopathology. Results: Participants (N=301) have been recruited into the study, and data collection has commenced. The expected results will be available in 2024. Conclusions: The findings of this study will help elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms by which early adversity increases risk for psychopathology in early childhood. This study represents the earliest test of an influential theory of biological embedding of early adversity. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/59636

Emotion understanding and emotion regulation play important roles in children's development, but we have only a limited understanding of how these constructs are socialized. Constructionist theories suggest that as children engage in interactions with caregivers, they learn to associate words naming emotion categories with conceptual representations of specific emotions, leading to greater emotion understanding. In this preregistered study, we posit emotion word knowledge as a key feature of emotion understanding. Using path analysis with a cross-sectional sample of 252 mainly low socioeconomic status children (aged 4-8 years) and their caregivers collected between 2018 and 2024, we examined indirect effects of implicit parental emotion socialization (difficulties with emotion regulation and emotional expressivity) on children's emotion regulation through children's emotion word knowledge. While parental difficulties with emotion regulation and expressivity were unrelated to children's emotion word knowledge, child emotion word knowledge predicted parent reports of children's adaptive emotion regulation. In addition, we observed an indirect effect of children's verbal intelligence on adaptive emotion regulation through children's emotion word knowledge. In contrast, we observed a direct effect of parental difficulties with emotion regulation on children's dysregulation. These findings align with constructionist theories underscoring the importance of emotion word knowledge for the development of emotion regulation skills and begin to shine light on how family contexts might support children's development of emotion word knowledge. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).