Functional connectivity within an anxiety network and associations with anxiety symptom severity in middle‐aged adults with and without autism

Anxiety is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, few functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of ASDs have focused on anxiety (and fewer still on anxiety in middle‐aged adults). Thus, relationships between atypical connectivity and anxiety in this population are poorly understood. The current study contrasted functional connectivity within anxiety network regions across adults (40–64 years) with and without autism, and tested for group by functional connectivity interactions on anxiety. Twenty‐two adults with ASDs (16 males) and 26 typical control (TC) adults (22 males) completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory and a resting‐state fMRI scan. An anxiety network consisting of 12 regions of interest was defined, based on a meta‐analysis in TC individuals and two studies on anxiety in ASDs. We tested for main effects of group and group by anxiety interactions on connectivity within this anxiety network, controlling for head motion using ANCOVA. Results are reported at an FDR adjusted threshold of q