Value-based decision making plays an important role in social interaction. Previous studies have reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit deficits in terms of decision making. However, it is still unknown clearly whether individuals with high autistic traits within nonclinical populations employ abnormal neural substrates in value-based decision-making. To explore this issue, we investigated value-based decision making and its neural substrates in individuals with high and low autistic traits within a typically developing population who completed the revised Iowa gambling task (IGT) based on measurements of event-related potentials (ERPs). The IGT net scores were significantly lower in the group with high autistic traits than the group with low autistic traits in the fifth and sixth blocks. The ERP results showed that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) amplitude in individuals with high autistic traits allowed slight discrimination between positive and negative feedback in the low-risk option. The event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) and inter-trial coherence (ITC) of the theta-band frequency were also lower in the group with high autistic traits than the group with low autistic traits in the loss low-risk option. The results obtained in this study indicate that individuals with high autistic traits exhibit an unusual negative feedback process and relevant neural substrate. The FRN amplitude and theta-band oscillation may comprise a neural index of abnormal decision-making processes in individuals with high autistic traits. This study of a small sample may be considered an important step toward a more comprehensive understanding of the autism “spectrum” within a nonclinical population based on cognitive neuroscience.

基于价值的决策在社会互动中扮演着重要的角色。先前的研究报告称，自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 患者在决策方面表现出缺陷。然而，目前尚不清楚非临床人群中具有高度自闭症特征的个体是否在基于价值的决策中使用异常的神经基质。为了探讨这个问题，我们调查了基于事件相关电位 (ERP) 测量值完成修订后的爱荷华州赌博任务 (IGT) 的典型发育人群中具有高和低自闭症特征的个体的基于价值的决策及其神经基质。 . 在第五和第六区块中，高自闭症特征组的 IGT 净分数显着低于低自闭症特征组。ERP 结果表明，具有高自闭症特征的个体的反馈相关负性 (FRN) 幅度允许在低风险选项中对正反馈和负反馈进行轻微区分。在损失低风险选项中，高自闭症特征组的事件相关频谱扰动（ERSPs）和试验间相干性（ITC）也低于低自闭症特征组。本研究获得的结果表明，具有高度自闭症特征的个体表现出不寻常的负反馈过程和相关的神经基质。FRN 振幅和 theta 波段振荡可能包括具有高度自闭症特征的个体异常决策过程的神经指数。