Autistic adults prefer social touch less but engage just as much: The impact of social context, relationship type, sensory responsivity, and psychological factors / Macy Tsz Wing LI in Autism, 30-3 (March 2026)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism > 30-3 (March 2026) . - p.626-641 Titre : Autistic adults prefer social touch less but engage just as much: The impact of social context, relationship type, sensory responsivity, and psychological factors Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Macy Tsz Wing LI, Auteur ; Manuel MELLO, Auteur ; Keren MACLENNAN, Auteur ; Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.626-641 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : autism  relationship  sensory responsivity  social context  social touch  touch-related anxiety Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autistic people face touch-related challenges, yet the factors influencing these difficulties are not well understood. We developed a novel instrument to capture social touch experiences of autistic adults, along with both social and individual factors that influence them. Using a body-painting task and questionnaires, we demonstrated that the perception of touch interactions varies based on social contexts and neurotypes. Autistic adults, on average, prefer touch less, but the type of relationship influences the perceived comfort and meaningfulness of touch similarly in both groups. Regarding the appropriateness, erogeneity, and pleasantness of social touch, the autistic group showed different touch perceptions in professional and friendly scenarios compared to the non-autistic group, whereas touch in intimate scenarios was perceived similarly. Sensory responsivity, touch predictability, social confidence, and touch-related anxiety affect social touch to a greater extent than the non-autistic group. Despite these marked differences in perception, the autistic adults, on average, engage in social touch as frequently as non-autistic adults, and their satisfaction with touch is comparable. Our findings suggest that supporting autistic people would involve understanding their preferences and the contextual factors that contribute to their sense of comfort, rather than excluding them from touch interactions.Lay abstract Autistic people find certain types of touch, particularly light or unexpected touch, uncomfortable or overwhelming. The reasons for this are not fully understood. To address this, we asked both autistic and non-autistic adults how they feel about being touched in different situations and on different parts of the body. We also asked how much they enjoy touch and how they feel about being touched by people in various relationships, such as a partner, parent, or friend. Finally, we looked at how individual traits affect their experience of touch. We found that the autistic group engaged in social touch just as often as the non-autistic group and reported similar overall satisfaction. In intimate contexts, such as with a romantic partner, both groups perceived touch similarly. Both groups agreed that touch from a partner or child is the most meaningful and comfortable compared to other relationship types. Despite some similarities, autistic adults, on average, still reported enjoying social touch less overall and experiencing more touch-related challenges in romantic relationships. They also placed less importance on touch for bonding. Moreover, the autistic group rated touch as less appropriate, less pleasant, or less intimate than the non-autistic group in professional (like physiotherapy) or friendly (like a dance class) situations. While social interaction difficulties influence how both groups experience touch, other factors seem to play a stronger role for the autistic group, such as how predictable the touch is, whether they experience sensory challenges, and how socially confident they feel or how anxious about touch they are. Rather than assuming autistic people dislike touch, it is important to recognise that they may have different preferences, and that certain situations make touch feel more comfortable and enjoyable. Respecting these preferences can help make social touch more positive and meaningful, potentially improving relationship quality with autistic people. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613251403906 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=582 [article] Autistic adults prefer social touch less but engage just as much: The impact of social context, relationship type, sensory responsivity, and psychological factors [texte imprimé] / Macy Tsz Wing LI, Auteur ; Manuel MELLO, Auteur ; Keren MACLENNAN, Auteur ; Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur . - p.626-641. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism > 30-3 (March 2026) . - p.626-641 Mots-clés : autism  relationship  sensory responsivity  social context  social touch  touch-related anxiety Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autistic people face touch-related challenges, yet the factors influencing these difficulties are not well understood. We developed a novel instrument to capture social touch experiences of autistic adults, along with both social and individual factors that influence them. Using a body-painting task and questionnaires, we demonstrated that the perception of touch interactions varies based on social contexts and neurotypes. Autistic adults, on average, prefer touch less, but the type of relationship influences the perceived comfort and meaningfulness of touch similarly in both groups. Regarding the appropriateness, erogeneity, and pleasantness of social touch, the autistic group showed different touch perceptions in professional and friendly scenarios compared to the non-autistic group, whereas touch in intimate scenarios was perceived similarly. Sensory responsivity, touch predictability, social confidence, and touch-related anxiety affect social touch to a greater extent than the non-autistic group. Despite these marked differences in perception, the autistic adults, on average, engage in social touch as frequently as non-autistic adults, and their satisfaction with touch is comparable. Our findings suggest that supporting autistic people would involve understanding their preferences and the contextual factors that contribute to their sense of comfort, rather than excluding them from touch interactions.Lay abstract Autistic people find certain types of touch, particularly light or unexpected touch, uncomfortable or overwhelming. The reasons for this are not fully understood. To address this, we asked both autistic and non-autistic adults how they feel about being touched in different situations and on different parts of the body. We also asked how much they enjoy touch and how they feel about being touched by people in various relationships, such as a partner, parent, or friend. Finally, we looked at how individual traits affect their experience of touch. We found that the autistic group engaged in social touch just as often as the non-autistic group and reported similar overall satisfaction. In intimate contexts, such as with a romantic partner, both groups perceived touch similarly. Both groups agreed that touch from a partner or child is the most meaningful and comfortable compared to other relationship types. Despite some similarities, autistic adults, on average, still reported enjoying social touch less overall and experiencing more touch-related challenges in romantic relationships. They also placed less importance on touch for bonding. Moreover, the autistic group rated touch as less appropriate, less pleasant, or less intimate than the non-autistic group in professional (like physiotherapy) or friendly (like a dance class) situations. While social interaction difficulties influence how both groups experience touch, other factors seem to play a stronger role for the autistic group, such as how predictable the touch is, whether they experience sensory challenges, and how socially confident they feel or how anxious about touch they are. Rather than assuming autistic people dislike touch, it is important to recognise that they may have different preferences, and that certain situations make touch feel more comfortable and enjoyable. Respecting these preferences can help make social touch more positive and meaningful, potentially improving relationship quality with autistic people. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613251403906 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=582

Dynamic functional adaptations during touch observation in autism: connectivity strength is linked to attitudes towards social touch and social responsiveness / Haemy LEE MASSON in Molecular Autism, 16 (2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inMolecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 11 Titre : Dynamic functional adaptations during touch observation in autism: connectivity strength is linked to attitudes towards social touch and social responsiveness Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur Article en page(s) : 11 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Humans  Male  Autistic Disorder/physiopathology/psychology/diagnostic imaging  Adult  Magnetic Resonance Imaging  Touch  Young Adult  Brain/diagnostic imaging/physiopathology  Social Behavior  Social Interaction  Brain Mapping  Autism  Embodied simulation  Functional connectivity  Generalized psychophysiological interaction  Independent component analysis  Social perception  Social responsiveness  Social touch  Vicarious touch  provided written informed consent, and the Medical Ethical Committee of KU Leuven  approved the original study (S53768 and S59577). Consent for publication: Not  applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Autistic adults experience differences in social interactions involving physical contact. Brain imaging studies suggest that these differences may be related to atypical brain responses to social-affective cues, affecting both the experience of receiving touch and observing it in others. However, it remains unclear whether these atypical responses are limited to specific brain regions or represent broader alterations in brain connectivity. The current study investigated how the functional network architecture is modulated during touch observation associated with autism and explored the extent to which changes in this architecture are associated with individual differences in social touch preferences and social responsiveness. METHODS: By integrating generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis with independent component analysis (ICA), the current study analyzed existing fMRI datasets, in which 21 autistic and 21 non-autistic male adults viewed videos of social and nonsocial touch while undergoing MRI scans. RESULTS: A gPPI analysis of regions of interest revealed that autistic adults exhibited increased connectivity between sensory and social brain regions. The strength of some of these connections was positively associated with a higher preference for social touch and greater social responsiveness, suggesting neural compensatory mechanisms that may help autistic adults better understand the meaning of touch. At the level of large-scale brain networks extracted using ICA, atypical connectivity was predominantly observed between the sensorimotor network and other networks involved in social-emotional processing. Increased connectivity was observed in the sensorimotor network during nonsocial touch, suggesting that embodied simulation, the process by which individuals internally simulate touch experience of others in this context, may be more engaged when observing human-object interactions than during human-to-human touch. LIMITATIONS: This study focused on a specific subgroup of 21 autistic male adults with minimal support needs. Future research would benefit from including a more diverse autistic sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals atypical context-dependent modulation of functional brain architecture associated with autism during touch observation. Neural compensatory mechanisms in autistic individuals who enjoy social touch and show higher social responsiveness may function as adaptive social responses. However, these compensations may be limited to specific brain regions, rather than occurring at the level of large-scale brain networks. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00644-6 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555 [article] Dynamic functional adaptations during touch observation in autism: connectivity strength is linked to attitudes towards social touch and social responsiveness [texte imprimé] / Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur . - 11. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Molecular Autism > 16 (2025) . - 11 Mots-clés : Humans  Male  Autistic Disorder/physiopathology/psychology/diagnostic imaging  Adult  Magnetic Resonance Imaging  Touch  Young Adult  Brain/diagnostic imaging/physiopathology  Social Behavior  Social Interaction  Brain Mapping  Autism  Embodied simulation  Functional connectivity  Generalized psychophysiological interaction  Independent component analysis  Social perception  Social responsiveness  Social touch  Vicarious touch  provided written informed consent, and the Medical Ethical Committee of KU Leuven  approved the original study (S53768 and S59577). Consent for publication: Not  applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : BACKGROUND: Autistic adults experience differences in social interactions involving physical contact. Brain imaging studies suggest that these differences may be related to atypical brain responses to social-affective cues, affecting both the experience of receiving touch and observing it in others. However, it remains unclear whether these atypical responses are limited to specific brain regions or represent broader alterations in brain connectivity. The current study investigated how the functional network architecture is modulated during touch observation associated with autism and explored the extent to which changes in this architecture are associated with individual differences in social touch preferences and social responsiveness. METHODS: By integrating generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis with independent component analysis (ICA), the current study analyzed existing fMRI datasets, in which 21 autistic and 21 non-autistic male adults viewed videos of social and nonsocial touch while undergoing MRI scans. RESULTS: A gPPI analysis of regions of interest revealed that autistic adults exhibited increased connectivity between sensory and social brain regions. The strength of some of these connections was positively associated with a higher preference for social touch and greater social responsiveness, suggesting neural compensatory mechanisms that may help autistic adults better understand the meaning of touch. At the level of large-scale brain networks extracted using ICA, atypical connectivity was predominantly observed between the sensorimotor network and other networks involved in social-emotional processing. Increased connectivity was observed in the sensorimotor network during nonsocial touch, suggesting that embodied simulation, the process by which individuals internally simulate touch experience of others in this context, may be more engaged when observing human-object interactions than during human-to-human touch. LIMITATIONS: This study focused on a specific subgroup of 21 autistic male adults with minimal support needs. Future research would benefit from including a more diverse autistic sample. CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals atypical context-dependent modulation of functional brain architecture associated with autism during touch observation. Neural compensatory mechanisms in autistic individuals who enjoy social touch and show higher social responsiveness may function as adaptive social responses. However, these compensations may be limited to specific brain regions, rather than occurring at the level of large-scale brain networks. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-025-00644-6 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555

Intact neural representations of affective meaning of touch but lack of embodied resonance in autism: a multi-voxel pattern analysis study / Haemy LEE MASSON in Molecular Autism, 10 (2019)  

Public ISBD [article]  inMolecular Autism > 10 (2019) . - 39 p. Titre : Intact neural representations of affective meaning of touch but lack of embodied resonance in autism: a multi-voxel pattern analysis study Type de document : texte imprimé Auteurs : Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur ; Ineke PILLET, Auteur ; Steffie AMELYNCK, Auteur ; Stien VAN DE PLAS, Auteur ; Michelle HENDRIKS, Auteur ; Hans OP DE BEECK, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur Article en page(s) : 39 p. Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  Embodied simulation  Multi-voxel pattern analysis  Social touch aversion  Social touch observation  Theory of mind Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background: Humans can easily grasp the affective meaning of touch when observing social interactions. Several neural systems support this ability, including the theory of mind (ToM) network and the somatosensory system linked to embodied resonance, but it is unclear how these systems are affected in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD exhibit impairments in the use of nonverbal communication such as social and reciprocal touch. Despite the importance of touch in social communication and the reported touch aversion in ASD, surprisingly little is known about the neural systems underlying impairments in touch communication in ASD. Methods: The present study applies a dynamic and socially meaningful stimulus set combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to pinpoint atypicalities in the neural circuitry underlying socio-affective touch observation in adults with ASD. Twenty-one adults with ASD and 21 matched neurotypical adults evaluated the valence and arousal of 75 video fragments displaying touch interactions. Subsequently, they underwent fMRI while watching the same videos. Using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) and multiple regression analysis, we examined which brain regions represent the socio-affective meaning of observed touch. To further understand the brain-behavior relationship, we correlated the strength of affective representations in the somatosensory cortex with individuals' attitude towards social touch in general and with a quantitative index of autism traits as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale. Results: Results revealed that the affective meaning of touch was well represented in the temporoparietal junction, a core mentalizing area, in both groups. Conversely, only the neurotypical group represented affective touch in the somatosensory cortex, a region involved in self-experienced touch. Lastly, irrespective of the group, individuals with a more positive attitude towards receiving, witnessing, and providing social touch and with a higher score on social responsivity showed more differentiated representations of the affective meaning of touch in these somatosensory areas. Conclusions: Together, our findings imply that male adults with ASD show intact cognitive understanding (i.e., "knowing") of observed socio-affective touch interactions, but lack of spontaneous embodied resonance (i.e., "feeling"). En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-019-0294-0 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=414 [article] Intact neural representations of affective meaning of touch but lack of embodied resonance in autism: a multi-voxel pattern analysis study [texte imprimé] / Haemy LEE MASSON, Auteur ; Ineke PILLET, Auteur ; Steffie AMELYNCK, Auteur ; Stien VAN DE PLAS, Auteur ; Michelle HENDRIKS, Auteur ; Hans OP DE BEECK, Auteur ; Bart BOETS, Auteur . - 39 p. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Molecular Autism > 10 (2019) . - 39 p. Mots-clés : Autism spectrum disorder  Embodied simulation  Multi-voxel pattern analysis  Social touch aversion  Social touch observation  Theory of mind Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background: Humans can easily grasp the affective meaning of touch when observing social interactions. Several neural systems support this ability, including the theory of mind (ToM) network and the somatosensory system linked to embodied resonance, but it is unclear how these systems are affected in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD exhibit impairments in the use of nonverbal communication such as social and reciprocal touch. Despite the importance of touch in social communication and the reported touch aversion in ASD, surprisingly little is known about the neural systems underlying impairments in touch communication in ASD. Methods: The present study applies a dynamic and socially meaningful stimulus set combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to pinpoint atypicalities in the neural circuitry underlying socio-affective touch observation in adults with ASD. Twenty-one adults with ASD and 21 matched neurotypical adults evaluated the valence and arousal of 75 video fragments displaying touch interactions. Subsequently, they underwent fMRI while watching the same videos. Using multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) and multiple regression analysis, we examined which brain regions represent the socio-affective meaning of observed touch. To further understand the brain-behavior relationship, we correlated the strength of affective representations in the somatosensory cortex with individuals' attitude towards social touch in general and with a quantitative index of autism traits as measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale. Results: Results revealed that the affective meaning of touch was well represented in the temporoparietal junction, a core mentalizing area, in both groups. Conversely, only the neurotypical group represented affective touch in the somatosensory cortex, a region involved in self-experienced touch. Lastly, irrespective of the group, individuals with a more positive attitude towards receiving, witnessing, and providing social touch and with a higher score on social responsivity showed more differentiated representations of the affective meaning of touch in these somatosensory areas. Conclusions: Together, our findings imply that male adults with ASD show intact cognitive understanding (i.e., "knowing") of observed socio-affective touch interactions, but lack of spontaneous embodied resonance (i.e., "feeling"). En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13229-019-0294-0 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=414

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