Sex modulation of faces prediction error in the autistic brain

Recent research suggests that autistic females may possess superior socio-cognitive abilities compared to autistic males, potentially contributing to underdiagnosis in females. However, it remains unclear whether differences arise from distinct neurophysiological functioning in autistic males and females. This study aimed to address this question by presenting an oddball paradigm involving spatially filtered faces to 41 autistic and 48 non-autistic adults. Analysis of event-related potentials from scalp electroencephalography revealed a neurophysiological profile in autistic females that fell between those of autistic males and non-autistic females, highlighting sex differences in autism from the initial stages of face processing. This finding underscores the urgent need to explore neurophysiological sex differences in autism and encourages efforts toward a better comprehension of compensation mechanism and a clearer definition of what is meant by camouflaging.