Emotions in the brain
What's the study about?
We are studying emotion processing and mental health in autistic adults. We are measuring brain activity using MRI. We are also asking autistic adults questions about how they experience emotions and about their mental health. We are using this information to help us understand why some autistic adults have high levels of anxiety or depression.
Who can participate?
We are recruiting autistic adults who are between the ages of 18 years and 30 years 11 months. Participants must not have a diagnosis of an intellectual disability (Note: this does not include autism, ADHD, or a learning disability, such as dyslexia).
What will participants be doing?
Participation includes a one-time visit to the lab where an MRI brain scan is done. Participants will also complete some short tasks in the lab. In addition, participants will fill out some surveys online. The in-person visit will take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The online surveys will take about 33 to 49 minutes.
Why is this important?
Some autistic adults experience high levels of depression and anxiety. We think that understanding emotion processing can help us to better understand depression and anxiety in autistic people.