Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may demonstrate atypical autonomic (ANS) responses; however, research remains inconsistent. This study examined parasympathetic response during social evaluation in 241 youth (10–13 years) with ASD (n = 138) or typical development (TD; n = 103). Diagnosis, age, pubertal development, and body mass index (BMI) were hypothesized to be associated with ANS function. Linear mixed effects models demonstrated lower RSA in ASD relative to TD in a base model with no covariates. However, when accounting for differences in BMI, there was no evidence of atypical parasympathetic regulation in youth with ASD. As lower parasympathetic regulation may increase susceptibility for a number of conditions, it will be important to elucidate the link between BMI and the ANS, especially in ASD.

患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 的个体可能会表现出非典型的自主 (ANS) 反应；然而，研究仍然不一致。本研究调查了 241 名患有自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) (n = 138) 或典型发育 (TD；n = 103) 的青少年（10-13 岁）在社会评估期间的副交感神经反应。诊断、年龄、青春期发育和体重指数 (BMI) 被假设与 ANS 功能相关。线性混合效应模型表明，在没有协变量的基本模型中，ASD 中的 RSA 相对于 TD 而言较低。然而，考虑到体重指数的差异，没有证据表明患有自闭症谱系障碍的青少年存在非典型的副交感神经调节。由于副交感神经调节功能降低可能会增加对多种疾病的易感性，因此阐明 BMI 和 ANS 之间的联系非常重要，尤其是在自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 中。