Atypical Associations Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Parent-Child Neural Synchronization in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from fNIRS Hyperscanning 

Atypical Associations Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Parent-Child Neural Synchronization in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from fNIRS Hyperscanning | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Atypical Associations Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Parent-Child Neural Synchronization in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from fNIRS Hyperscanning Dongming Qin, Peilian Chi, Zhen Wei, Liying Long, Di Cui, Shumeng Hou This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8889143/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Emotion regulation (ER) is critical for mental health in autistic children. Existing studies have shown that autistic children use more maladaptive and fewer adaptive ER strategies, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these ER patterns remain underexplored. Methods This study examined the associations between ER strategies and interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) among autistic ( n = 30) and neurotypical ( n = 30; NT) children during naturalistic parent-child interactions. Brain signals in both parents’ and children’s prefrontal cortex were assessed while they completed a cooperative puzzle task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning. Parents reported their children’s use of ER strategies across multiple social situations. Results INS between autistic children’s left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and their parents’ right frontopolar cortex was lower than that in NT dyads. INS-based classification distinguishing autistic from NT children achieved an accuracy of 74.55%. Furthermore, group (autistic versus NT) moderated the associations between INS and specific ER strategies. Specifically, more frequent use of passive reactions was associated with higher INS in NT dyads but not in autistic dyads, whereas more frequent use of venting was linked to lower INS in autistic dyads but not in NT dyads. Limitations: Findings should be considered preliminary until they are replicated in a larger sample. Conclusions Autistic children exhibit reduced INS with their parents during social interactions. This reduction is characterized by atypical associations with maladaptive ER strategies. These findings provide insights for advancing INS-based diagnostic markers and developing family-centred interventions focusing on emotion co-regulation within parent-child interactions in autism. Autism emotion regulation strategies interpersonal neural synchronization fNIRS hyperscanning parent-child interactions machine learning Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files MASupplementaryMaterials20260215.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8889143","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":600053577,"identity":"41a41f6d-cc15-4264-af5d-e3e952576f85","order_by":0,"name":"Dongming Qin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dongming","middleName":"","lastName":"Qin","suffix":""},{"id":600053582,"identity":"52c798f9-c989-4571-9a28-b7488a8a8a1d","order_by":1,"name":"Peilian Chi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Macau, 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","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Autism, emotion regulation strategies, interpersonal neural synchronization, fNIRS hyperscanning, parent-child interactions, machine learning","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8889143/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8889143/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotion regulation (ER) is critical for mental health in autistic children. Existing studies have shown that autistic children use more maladaptive and fewer adaptive ER strategies, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these ER patterns remain underexplored.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study examined the associations between ER strategies and interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) among autistic (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;30) and neurotypical (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;30; NT) children during naturalistic parent-child interactions. Brain signals in both parents\u0026rsquo; and children\u0026rsquo;s prefrontal cortex were assessed while they completed a cooperative puzzle task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning. Parents reported their children\u0026rsquo;s use of ER strategies across multiple social situations.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eINS between autistic children\u0026rsquo;s left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and their parents\u0026rsquo; right frontopolar cortex was lower than that in NT dyads. INS-based classification distinguishing autistic from NT children achieved an accuracy of 74.55%. Furthermore, group (autistic versus NT) moderated the associations between INS and specific ER strategies. Specifically, more frequent use of passive reactions was associated with higher INS in NT dyads but not in autistic dyads, whereas more frequent use of venting was linked to lower INS in autistic dyads but not in NT dyads.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eLimitations:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFindings should be considered preliminary until they are replicated in a larger sample.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAutistic children exhibit reduced INS with their parents during social interactions. This reduction is characterized by atypical associations with maladaptive ER strategies. These findings provide insights for advancing INS-based diagnostic markers and developing family-centred interventions focusing on emotion co-regulation within parent-child interactions in autism.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Atypical Associations Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Parent-Child Neural Synchronization in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights from fNIRS Hyperscanning ","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-04 18:53:56","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8889143/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dc749320-90b5-49e4-a2c3-e104349c26fc","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 4th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-04-29T08:34:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-29T08:40:14+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-04 18:53:56","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8889143","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8889143","identity":"rs-8889143","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}