Exploring the relationship of autonomic and endocrine activity with social functioning in adults with autism spectrum disorders.
Expect a calm heart rate, not a racing one, when adults with autism face everyday social contact.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Weissman-Fogel et al. (2015) watched young adults with autism talk to a stranger.
They tracked heart rate, heart-rate variability, and saliva cortisol.
A comparison group of neurotypical adults did the same chat task.
What they found
During the conversation, the autism group’s heart rate rose less than controls.
Heart-rate variability and cortisol levels were the same for both groups.
In short, their bodies showed a muted reaction to social contact.
How this fits with other research
van den Broek et al. (2006) saw the same blunted heart-rate jump in autistic adults giving a speech.
The new study adds a fuller hormone panel and finds cortisol stays flat too.
Sigman et al. (2003) seems to disagree: preschoolers with autism slowed their heart rate while watching social videos.
The gap is about age and task. Little kids passively watch; young adults must interact.
McQuaid et al. (2024) extends the idea to tweens. They found bigger heart-rate and cortisol spikes, but only when the kids felt judged.
Friendly talk, like the one used by I et al., still produced little rise.
Together the papers show autistic people may ramp up only when social stakes are high.
Why it matters
If you assess social anxiety, do not assume a racing heart. Look for flat lines instead.
Plan extra supports before high-stakes events like job interviews or public speaking.
For day-to-day practice, keep the setting low-key; the body is already calm.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Several studies indicate that autonomic and endocrine activity may be related to social functioning in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), although the number of studies in adults is limited. The present study explored the relationship of autonomic and endocrine activity with social functioning in young adult males with ASD compared to young adult males without ASD. Autonomic and endocrine activity (i.e. heart rate, heart rate variability and salivary cortisol) were measured during rest and social interaction. No differences in heart rate, heart rate variability and cortisol between both groups were found during rest and social interaction. Repeated measures ANOVA's indicate a main effect of time for heart rate and cortisol, indicating an increase in these measures for both groups. An interaction effect between time and group was found for heart rate, with the ASD group showing a blunted increase in heart rate from rest to social interaction as compared to those without ASD. Future research should focus on replicating the present findings with larger sample sizes which also enables assessing inter-individual variability in autonomic and endocrine activity in relation to social functioning.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1947-z