OSCR

Task-Related Aperiodic EEG (1/f) Activity in Autism.

Overview

Authors: Magdalena Matyjek1, Salvador Soto Faraco1,2, Claudia Alvarez Martin1,3,4, Mireia Torralba Cuello1,5
ORCID iDs: Magdalena Matyjek, Salvador Soto Faraco, Claudia Alvarez Martin, Mireia Torralba Cuello
  1. Center for Brain and Cognition Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona Spain
  2. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA) Barcelona Spain
  3. Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL) L'hospitalet de Llobregat Spain
  4. Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona Spain
  5. Serra Húnter Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya‐BarcelonaTech‐Institut de Recerca i Innovacio i Salut Barcelona Spain
Institutions: Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain); Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (Spain); Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge (Spain); Universitat de Barcelona (Spain); Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain)
Journal: Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, volume 19, issue 8, article e70314
Dates: received 5 February 2026; accepted 8 July 2026; published online 16 July 2026; in print August 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY-NC
Identifiers: DOI 10.1002/aur.70314 · PMID 42460540 · PMCID PMC13471935 · OpenAlex W7169134363
Open access: hybrid, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: EEG (modality), human (organism), autism (population)
Methods: Statistics, Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Preprocessing, Spectral & time-frequency, Physiology & signal measures
Keywords: 1/f slope, aperiodic activity, autism, E/I, EEG, excitation/inhibition balance
MeSH: Autistic Disorder*, Electroencephalography*, Adolescent, Adult, Female, Humans, Inhibition, Psychological, Male, Young Adult (* major topic)
Journal subjects: NEUROSCIENCE
Topic: Autism Spectrum Disorder Research (Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroscience), according to OpenAlex
Funding: EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020) (945380); Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2022‐137277NB‐I00 MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033); Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (2021 SGR 00911)
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 43 references in the paper

Abstract

Autism has been hypothesized to involve atypicalities in the balance between neural excitation and inhibition (E/I). Aperiodic EEG activity, characterized by the 1/f exponent of the power spectrum, provides a proxy of cortical E/I dynamics. However, prior studies in autism report mixed findings regarding the slope of aperiodic activity. One potentially important modulator of EEG slope is task engagement. Here, we examined variations in aperiodic slopes in autistic (n = 35) and neurotypical (n = 39) adults during passive viewing and an active, goal‐directed task. The data revealed that autistic participants exhibited steeper slopes (indicative of increased inhibition vs. excitation) during the active task relative to passive viewing, whereas neurotypical participants showed no significant task‐related changes. These findings suggest that aperiodic activity reflects dynamic, task‐dependent neural adaptation rather than baseline group differences. Task engagement may reveal compensatory inhibitory processes in autistic adults, underscoring the importance of considering task demands and individual variability when investigating E/I balance in autism.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Tracing map

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Data

Datasets cited

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in OSF at https://osf.io/q64np/overview?view_only=5c059fbf30f44637bf762f2d871874c7.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 2, 28 September 2026

  • Publisher: — → Wiley

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 4 authors, 6 keywords, 9 MeSH terms, 3 funders, 38 references.

Cite

This paper

Matyjek, M., Faraco, S. S., Martin, C. A., & Cuello, M. T. (2026). Task-Related Aperiodic EEG (1/f) Activity in Autism. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 19(8), e70314. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70314

BibTeX

@article{matyjek2026task,
author = {Matyjek, Magdalena and Faraco, Salvador Soto and Martin, Claudia Alvarez and Cuello, Mireia Torralba},
title = {{Task-Related Aperiodic EEG (1/f) Activity in Autism}},
journal = {Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
volume = {19},
number = {8},
pages = {e70314},
publisher = {Wiley},
issn = {1939-3792},
doi = {10.1002/aur.70314},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70314},
pmid = {42460540},
pmcid = {PMC13471935}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Matyjek, Magdalena
AU - Faraco, Salvador Soto
AU - Martin, Claudia Alvarez
AU - Cuello, Mireia Torralba
TI - Task-Related Aperiodic EEG (1/f) Activity in Autism
T2 - Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research
J2 - Autism Res
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/16
VL - 19
IS - 8
SP - e70314
SN - 1939-3792
PB - Wiley
DO - 10.1002/aur.70314
UR - https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70314
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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"volume": "19",
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"PMCID": "PMC13471935",
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"language": "en",
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