Social brain fingerprinting: unique functional connectomes underpin interpersonal behaviours in non-autistic and autistic adults
- 1IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo", 98124 Messina, Italy
Abstract
Human social interaction requires continuous adaptation while preserving stable individual patterns of brain organisation. This study examined whether functional connectome fingerprinting captures person-specific organisation during reciprocal interaction and whether its spatial architecture relates to social role and autistic traits. fMRI data from 70 adults forming 35 dyads were analysed during an iterated Ultimatum Game: 19 non-autistic Proposer-non-autistic Responder dyads and 16 non-autistic Proposer-autistic Responder dyads. Functional connectivity across 400 cortical parcels was used to assess whole-brain identifiability and edge-wise reliability. Connectomes remained identifiable across datasets, roles, and task conditions, with no reduction in global identifiability in mixed dyads. Edge-wise analyses revealed role-related and dataset-dependent differences across distributed large-scale networks. Role-sensitive connectivity features were associated with Autism-Spectrum Quotient scores, supported out-of-sample prediction, and topology-derived features classified AQ-threshold status above chance. Stable connectomic signatures therefore persist during reciprocal interaction while their network organisation varies with social role and autistic traits.
Related
- NeuroGraphBench: Interacting with Drosophila Connectomes at Scale for Exploring the Functional Logic of Neural Circuits
- A language network in the individualized functional connectomes of 1199 human brains doing arbitrary tasks
- Explainable Deep Learning of Resting-State Functional Connectomes Reveals Network Biomarkers of Adolescent Intelligence
- Lesion-Derived Estimated Functional and Structural Connectomes Predict Post-Stroke Recovery Outcomes
- Hemisphere fingerprinting: Identifying left and right hemispheres using functional connectivity.
BibTeX
@misc{ielo2026social,
title = {{Social brain fingerprinting: unique functional connectomes underpin interpersonal behaviours in non-autistic and autistic adults}},
author = {A. Ielo and K. Czekoova and G. A. Basile and A. Cacciola and M. Brazdil and D. Shaw and E. Amico},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.20.760343},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760343v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Social brain fingerprinting: unique functional connectomes underpin interpersonal behaviours in non-autistic and autistic adults
AU - A. Ielo
AU - K. Czekoova
AU - G. A. Basile
AU - A. Cacciola
AU - M. Brazdil
AU - D. Shaw
AU - E. Amico
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.20.760343
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.20.760343v1
AB - Human social interaction requires continuous adaptation while preserving stable individual patterns of brain organisation. This study examined whether functional connectome fingerprinting captures person-specific organisation during reciprocal interaction and whether its spatial architecture relates to social role and autistic traits. fMRI data from 70 adults forming 35 dyads were analysed during an iterated Ultimatum Game: 19 non-autistic Proposer-non-autistic Responder dyads and 16 non-autistic Proposer-autistic Responder dyads. Functional connectivity across 400 cortical parcels was used to assess whole-brain identifiability and edge-wise reliability. Connectomes remained identifiable across datasets, roles, and task conditions, with no reduction in global identifiability in mixed dyads. Edge-wise analyses revealed role-related and dataset-dependent differences across distributed large-scale networks. Role-sensitive connectivity features were associated with Autism-Spectrum Quotient scores, supported out-of-sample prediction, and topology-derived features classified AQ-threshold status above chance. Stable connectomic signatures therefore persist during reciprocal interaction while their network organisation varies with social role and autistic traits.
ER -