One in 100 people are on the autism spectrum – that’s around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.[1] Many will face challenges with social interaction, which can impact on their personal relationships, education, work and wellbeing. To better understand how these challenges relate to underlying differences in brain activity in young children during social behaviour, Professor Tomoki Arichi and his colleagues at King’s College London are combining virtual reality (VR) with advanced brain scanning techniques. By characterising neurotypical and autistic children, their ultimate goal is to improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind individual differences in social brain processing and predict later outcomes. Eventually, this could pave the way for earlier, more effective support for autistic children and their families.

How are children’s lives affected now?

Every autistic child is different – but many will face challenges with social interactions, finding it difficult to understand others or to express their own emotions. 

“Being able to identify these social processing differences early – and predict future outcomes – would enable earlier, more targeted support to help children to navigate the social world more effectively,” says Professor Arichi. 

Researchers have used advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to study brain activity involved in processing social information in adults. However, these studies are challenging to carry out in young children, as they need to lie still in a scanner and perform repetitive tasks. To overcome this, the team has developed an innovative VR system that can be used by children inside MRI scanners which they can control using only their eyes.

“Our VR system creates an interactive, immersive experience – enabling us to study brain activity in a way that’s engaging, fun, and more feasible for young children,” says Professor Arichi. 

How could this research help?

“Our goal is to identify patterns of brain activity associated with social interaction in young children during the crucial period when neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism, first start to emerge,” says Professor Arichi.

The team will refine and test their VR system for use inside a very powerful, state-of-the-art MRI scanner. This process will involve focus groups, including autistic participants, to gather feedback and importantly, co-design engaging VR content tailored to children’s needs.

“We will then carry out brain scans on autistic and neurotypical children aged three to seven years of age,” says Professor Arichi.  “During the scanning session, these children will explore a fully interactive VR environment featuring content focussed on key social behaviours.”

The researchers will then analyse the resulting data to identify differences in patterns of brain activity between the two groups – and explore how these relate to social behaviours.

This research also has the potential to transform the MRI experience for children with other neurodevelopmental conditions, who can often require regular scans but find the process very challenging due to the small size of the inside of the scanner and the loud noise during scanning.

References

1. National Autistic Society: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism [website accessed 06 January 2025]

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