Fig. 3

Age correlations with sensory-evoked neural activation. A Brain regions where age correlated significantly with neural activation in response to joint (i.e., tactile and auditory) sensory stimulation in ASD youth (left) and TD youth (right). There were no significant positive age correlations with neural activity in TD and significant age-by-diagnosis interaction clusters. B Scatter plots of parameter estimates extracted from the significant clusters in A) plotted against age. C Brain regions where age² (i.e., quadratic age) correlated significantly with sensory-evoked neural activation. There were no significant clusters where age² correlated with neural activity negatively in ASD and positively in TD. Top: positive age² correlations with neural activity in ASD. Middle: negative age² correlations with neural activity in TD. Bottom: regions where age² showed a more positive correlation with neural activation in ASD than TD. ASD > TD results were masked by ASD Age² positive (red) and TD Age² negative (blue) results at z > 1.7. D Parameter estimates were extracted from representative clusters from the ASD > TD Age² contrast (i.e., the bottom row of C)) and plotted against age. Representative clusters were (left) the OFC/temporal pole/IFG cluster where red (i.e., ASD > TD Age² masked by ASD Age² pos) overlapped with blue (i.e., ASD > TD Age² masked by TD Age² neg), (middle) the mPFC cluster where red and blue overlapped; and (right) left angular gyrus cluster. IQ and mean absolute motion were regressed out of parameter estimates in scatter plots in B) and D). Age pos regions where age positively correlated with neural activation, Age neg regions where age negatively correlated with neural activation, ASD Autism spectrum disorder, TD Typically developing youth, PE Parameter estimates, OFC Orbitofrontal cortex, IFG Inferior frontal gyrus, mPFC Medial prefrontal cortex