Emotional reactivity and regulation in autistic adults
Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach
This project uses brain scans and daily monitoring to understand why autistic adults often have intense emotions but trouble calming or acting on them.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11121013 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you would complete MRI scans while hearing criticism and praise, naming emotional words, viewing intense images, and during rest so researchers can see how your brain reacts. About 200 autistic adults and 100 non-autistic adults will also wear brief physiological monitors and answer short daily surveys to link brain patterns with real-life feelings and stress. The team will build a neural network model to see if strong early brain reactions pair with weaker connections to systems that help control emotions, movement, or social responses. Results will be used to relate those brain patterns to moment-to-moment experience and reports of mood and suicidal thoughts.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Autistic adults aged 21 and older who can travel to Pittsburgh for MRI sessions and are willing to wear monitors and complete daily surveys.
Not a fit: Children, teens, people without an autism diagnosis, or adults who cannot undergo MRI or do daily monitoring are unlikely to be eligible or benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could help tailor supports or treatments to reduce overwhelming emotional states and lower self-harm risk for autistic adults.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research has shown altered emotional reactivity and brain connectivity in autism, but combining large-sample neuroimaging with ambulatory physiological monitoring is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Siegle, Greg J — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Siegle, Greg J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.