# Functional brain developments during movie watching and resting-state in autism spectrum disorder

> **NIH NIH R15** · NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $305,061

## Abstract

Project summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is usually diagnosed early in childhood. Understanding the developmental
curves of brain functions in typically developing children and children with ASD will help to understand the brain
correlates of ASD. In this project, we will analyze functional MRI (fMRI) data of more than 1,000 children and
adults to portrait brain developmental curves.
FMRI has been commonly used to study brain functions in action. Usually, participants are asked to do some
strictly designed tasks on a computer, or simply lay in the scanner without thinking a thing in particular. A more
natural way to perform scanning has been proposed, where the participants are asked to watch short movie clips
during the scanning. However, data analysis for movie watching data becomes complicated. We have developed
a novel method to examine functional communications between brain regions during movie watching. In this
project, we will compare our new method with existing methods.
The project is divided into two parts. In the first part, we will study brain developments in hundreds of typically
developing children. We will compare data from movie watching and resting-state, and compare different
analysis methods. The results will help us find better methods to chart the developing brain. In the second part,
we will compare the developing curves between individuals with ASD and those in typically developing
individuals. The data may help us to establish a better way to scan individuals of ASD, and a better way to
characterize brain functions in ASD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10291842
- **Project number:** 1R15MH125332-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Xin Di
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $305,061
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10291842

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10291842, Functional brain developments during movie watching and resting-state in autism spectrum disorder (1R15MH125332-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10291842. Licensed CC0.

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