Error‐related brain activity and anxiety symptoms in youth with autism spectrum disorder

The error-related negativity (ERN) is a physiological measure of the brain's response to errors which is thought to reflect threat sensitivity and has been implicated in anxiety disorders in individuals without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study revealed that the ERN is related to social anxiety symptoms, specifically performance fears, in a sample of youth with ASD. Findings suggest that heightened threat sensitivity may be characteristic of individuals with ASD who exhibit social fearfulness.