What this means
Researchers compared autistic and non-autistic adults using questionnaires, finger tapping, and brain scans. The study looked at many people at one point in time, so it cannot show what causes these differences.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- 325 adults in two groups: 225 in Arizona and 210 from the SPARK study
- Kind of research
- A study
The science
- Original title
- Age-related differences in behavioral and brain predictors of parkinsonism in autistic adults.
- Authors
- Velez Galindo M, McQuaid GA, Charlton RA et al.
- Journal
- Frontiers in aging neuroscience
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Study type
- Study
- PMID
- 42871355 ↗
Abstract
Autistic adults experience lifelong motor differences and may have increased vulnerability to parkinsonism, yet behavioral and neuroanatomical correlates of motor challenges across adulthood remain poorly understood. We examined cross-sectional behavioral and motor-related brain region morphology in autistic (n = 123) and non-autistic (n = 102) adults aged 18-71 years using the Parkinsonism Screening Questionnaire (PSQ), Adult Repetitive Behavior Questionnaire-2 (RBQ-2A), finger tapping, and MRI-derived cortical thickness and subcortical volumes of motor-related brain regions. Replication of the questionnaire analyses was conducted in an independent cohort of middle- and older-aged autistic adults from the Simons Powering Autism Research (SPARK; n = 210; ages 42-80 years), whereas structural MRI and finger tapping analyses were limited to the Arizona cohort. Autistic adults reported significantly higher PSQ scores than non-autistic adults. A significant group-by-age interaction was observed for RBQ-2A Factor 1, with autistic adults showing a steeper age-related reduction in repetitive motor and sensory behaviors. RBQ-2A scores were positively correlated with PSQ scores across both cohorts. Finger tapping performance did not differ between groups. Caudate volumes were larger in autistic adults and showed a modestly stronger negative association with age that did not survive multiple comparison correction. These findings suggest that self-reported restricted, repetitive motor behaviors and interests may serve as an indicator of self-reported parkinsonism-like symptoms in autism and highlight the need for longitudinal studies to clarify mechanisms of parkinsonism risk across the lifespan.
Velez Galindo M, McQuaid GA, Charlton RA et al. Age-related differences in behavioral and brain predictors of parkinsonism in autistic adults. Frontiers in aging neuroscience. 2026. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2026.1893104. PMID: 42871355. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42871355/