The influence of age and ASD on verbal fluency networks.
Autistic adults keep the default-mode network humming during word tasks and recruit new areas as they age, so look at process not just word count.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chezan et al. (2019) scanned adult males with and without autism while they did a verbal fluency task. The team wanted to see how age and autism change brain network patterns during word generation.
They used fMRI to watch which brain areas lit up. They compared younger and older adults in both groups.
What they found
Adults with autism kept their default-mode network active during the task. Neurotypical adults turned this network down.
Older adults in both groups showed different compensatory patterns. Yet age and autism did not interact. Each factor worked on its own.
How this fits with other research
Chien et al. (2016) saw weaker default-mode links in autistic teens during visuospatial work. C et al. now show the same network stays too active in autistic adults during word tasks. The pattern looks like a lifelong trait.
Ring et al. (2020) found autistic adults scored lower on memory span but did not decline with age. C et al. add that these adults recruit new brain areas instead. Both studies point to hidden reserves that mask typical aging losses.
Zhang et al. (2026) link poorer memory in aging autistic adults to glymphatic "clogging." C et al. show the brain keeps working by shifting networks, giving a functional view of the same aging story.
Why it matters
When you test verbal fluency, do not assume quiet minds are off-task. The autistic client may be using default-mode areas to compensate. Allow extra think time and skip rapid-fire probes. For older clients, watch for new strategies rather than drops in raw scores. Track how they solve the task, not just how many words they say.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Give clients 5 extra seconds before prompting during verbal fluency drills and note any self-cueing tricks they use.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The integrity and connectivity of the frontal lobe, which subserves fluency, may be compromised by both ASD and aging. Alternate networks often integrate to help compensate for compromised functions during aging. We used network analyses to study how compensation may overcome age-related compromised in individuals with ASD. METHOD: Participants consisted of middle-aged (40-60; n=24) or young (18-25; n=18) right-handed males who have a diagnosis of ASD, and age- and IQ-matched control participants (n=20, 14, respectively). All performed tests of language and executive functioning and a fluency functional MRI task. We first used group individual component analysis (ICA) for each of the 4 groups to determine whether different networks were engaged. An SPM analysis was used to compare activity detected in the network nodes from the ICA analyses. RESULTS: The individuals with ASD performed more slowly on two cognitive tasks (Stroop word reading and Trailmaking Part A). The 4 groups engaged different networks during the fluency fMRI task despite equivalent performance. Comparisons of specific regions within these networks indicated younger individuals had greater engagement of the thalamus and supplementary speech area, while older adults engaged the superior temporal gyrus. Individuals with ASD did not disengage from the Default Mode Network during word generation. CONCLUSION: Interactions between diagnosis and aging were not found in this study of young and middle-aged men, but evidence for differential engagement of compensatory networks was observed.
Research in autism spectrum disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhj069