Social communication deficits are a core characteristic of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), but its heterogeneity remains insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study intended to broaden the knowledge of the underlying brain mechanisms of ASC when participating in social situations. Functional connectivity (FC) of the Salience Ventral Attention Network (SVAN) was studied while participants viewed either social or non-social stimuli, as well as during rest. Hypothesized were higher FC of the SVAN in the social condition when controlling for group, within-SVAN hyperconnectivity and cross-network hypoconnectivity in participants with ASC during rest and when controlling for condition, and an interaction effect of group and condition. 

The sample consisted of 33 adults with ASC and 33 comparison participants (aged 18-30). A linear mixed-effects design with repeated measures confirmed a main effect of condition for the majority of the connections. In most cases, FC of the SVAN was higher during the non-social condition. The same design showed no significant effect for group when controlling for condition, and no significant interaction effect. A linear regression model found no significant group difference during the resting-state condition. Results suggest that FC of the SVAN differs by stimulus type, but not consistently between individuals with ASC and neurotypical people. This highlights the need to further explore the brain mechanisms of autism and proposes other networks possibly more relevant to ASC, thus offering suggestions for future research.