# Immune Functioning and Reward Processing in Autism

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $242,669

## Abstract

Project Summary
This exploratory grant seeks to evaluate linkages between social reward processing in autism spectrum
disorder (ASD) and systemic inflammation. The social motivation theory of autism posits that reduced
motivation to interact with people and decreased pleasure derived from social interactions may derail typical
social development and contribute to the emergence of social communication deficits in ASD. This framework
highlights the centrality of impaired brain reward circuitry functioning to the etiology of ASD and suggests that
when young children with ASD lack the motivation to participate in activities where social skills are typically
forged, the resulting impoverished social environment contributes to the emergence of social communication
impairments in the disorder. There is increasing evidence that inflammatory processes contribute to ASD risk
and pathogenesis, and that neuroinflammation, in turn, interferes with social reward processing. However, no
research to date has examined relations between immune function and neural responses to social rewards in
ASD. The objective of this proposal is to investigate relations between (i) neural responses to social rewards,
measured via electroencephalography (EEG), (ii) a blood-derived composite marker of systemic inflammation,
and (iii) ASD symptoms and quality of life. Additionally, half of participants will be recruited from a companion
study collecting positron emission tomography (PET) data using a translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) tracer to
measure neuroinflammation centrally, and an exploratory goal of this proposal is to investigate relations
between EEG-based responses to social rewards, PET-derived (i.e., central) measures of neuroinflammation,
and a blood-derived (i.e., peripheral) measure of systemic inflammation from the portion of autistic participants
who completed TSPO PET scans. This project will provide a deeper understanding of relations between neural
responses to social rewards, immune functioning, and symptom expression in ASD. It also has the potential to
contribute to the development of EEG-based measures that may be suitable endpoints in future mechanistic
trials investigating novel ASD interventions targeting inflammatory processes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10951667
- **Project number:** 1R21HD115944-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** GABRIEL S DICHTER
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $242,669
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-15 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10951667

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10951667, Immune Functioning and Reward Processing in Autism (1R21HD115944-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10951667. Licensed CC0.

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