Autistic individuals generally demonstrate impaired emotion recognition but it is unclear whether effects are emotion-specific or influenced by oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genotype. Here we implemented a dimensional approach using an implicit emotion recognition task together with functional MRI in a large cohort of neurotypical adult participants (N = 255, male = 131, aged 17–29 years) to establish associations between autistic traits and neural and behavioral responses to specific face emotions, together with modulatory effects of OXTR genotype. A searchlight-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) revealed an extensive network of frontal, basal ganglia, cingulate and limbic regions exhibiting significant predictability for autistic traits from patterns of responses to angry relative to neutral expression faces. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a genotype interaction (OXTR SNPs rs2254298, rs2268491) for coupling between the orbitofrontal cortex and mid-cingulate during angry expression processing, with a negative association between coupling and autistic traits in the risk-allele group and a positive one in the non-risk allele group. Overall, results indicate extensive emotion-specific associations primarily between patterns of neural responses to angry faces and autistic traits in regions processing motivation, reward and salience but not in early visual processing. Functional connections between these identified regions were not only associated with autistic traits but also influenced by OXTR genotype. Thus, altered patterns of neural responses to threatening faces may be a potential biomarker for autistic symptoms although modulatory influences of OXTR genotype need to be taken into account.

自闭症患者通常表现出情绪识别受损，但尚不清楚这种影响是情绪特异性的还是受催产素受体（OXTR）基因型的影响。在这里，我们在一大群神经典型成人参与者（N  = 255，男性 = 131，年龄 17-29 岁）中实施了一种使用隐式情绪识别任务和功能 MRI 的维度方法，以建立自闭症特征与神经和行为反应之间的关联特定的面部情绪，以及 OXTR 基因型的调节作用。基于探照灯的多元模式分析（MVPA）揭示了额叶、基底神经节、扣带回和边缘区的广泛网络，通过对愤怒相对于中性表情面孔的反应模式，表现出对自闭症特征的显着可预测性。功能连接分析揭示了愤怒表达处理过程中眶额皮层和中扣带皮层之间存在耦合的基因型相互作用（OXTR SNP rs2254298、rs2268491），耦合与风险等位基因组中的自闭症特征呈负相关，而风险等位基因组中的耦合与自闭症特征之间呈正相关。非风险等位基因组。总体而言，结果表明，主要在处理动机、奖励和显着性的区域中对愤怒面孔的神经反应模式与自闭症特征之间存在广泛的情绪特异性关联，但在早期视觉处理中则不然。这些已识别区域之间的功能联系不仅与自闭症特征相关，而且还受到 OXTR 基因型的影响。因此，尽管需要考虑 OXTR 基因型的调节影响，但对威胁面孔的神经反应模式的改变可能是自闭症症状的潜在生物标志物。