Abstract:

This study addresses the core social impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder—characterized by endogenous social motivation deficits and explicit behavioral interaction deficiencies—whose underlying mechanisms are closely linked to multi-level dysfunction of the Emotional Processing System. Current mainstream interventions struggle to activate intrinsic motivation, while Structured Physical Activity shows promise yet lacks a systematic theoretical framework explaining its efficacy. Building on SPA's unique potential to activate the EPS physiologically, psychologically, and behaviorally, we propose the groundbreaking Emotional Processing System Activation-Driven Dynamic Regulation Model to transcend traditional linear causality and elucidate the dynamic pathways through which SPA improves social deficits.
Existing theories explaining SPA's benefits exhibit significant limitations. Neuroplasticity theory ignores immediate neuromodulatory effects and individual variability. Embodied Cognition overemphasizes cognitive mimicry while neglecting direct physiological pathways and showing limited efficacy for lower-functioning individuals. Executive Function theory fundamentally fails to address ASD's core feature of impaired social reward sensitivity. Crucially, these theories cannot adequately explain the nonlinear characteristics of SPA interventions. Evidence reveals SPA activates the EPS through synergistic dopamine reward and oxytocin social bonding pathways, demonstrating distinct threshold effects modulated by environmental factors, positioning EPS activation as the key integrative mechanism overcoming theoretical fragmentation.
Empirical evidence demonstrates SPA's multidimensional impact through its classification system. Interactive SPA creates compulsory social opportunities, yielding improvements across domains: Enhancing social motivation via group activities correlated with dopamine release. Improving emotion regulation through rhythmic activities stabilizing autonomic function and rule-based exercises like Tai Chi enhancing conflict management. Optimizing social behavior including nonverbal communication and empathy. Effects show long-term sustainability but exhibit individual variability and environmental dependency, strongly suggesting EPS activation mediates these outcomes.
The core mechanism involves context-dependent EPS activation. SPA improves social deficits through three integrated pathways: Neural pathway repair via synergistic activation of dopaminergic reward circuits and oxytocinergic trust systems, repairing amygdala-prefrontal abnormalities. Psychological and behavioral reshaping where rhythmic activities provide physiological stability, rule-bound exercises scaffold emotional management, and group feedback forges emotion-behavior links. A dynamic loop mechanism representing the core innovation. EPS activation exhibits critical threshold effects, overcome partly by group interaction. SPA triggers EPS activation, which bidirectionally interacts with enhanced executive functions to drive improved social behavior. Successful interactions then reinforce EPS and cognition through dual neurochemical and cognitive feedback pathways, establishing a self-sustaining positive cycle modulated by individual factors, neural thresholds, and environmental support.
We construct the Emotional Processing System Activation-Driven Dynamic Regulation Model integrating these insights. Its core innovation is framing SPA effects as a dynamic closed-loop system: Multidimensional SPA input serves distinct pathways. EPS activation acts as the central hub, bidirectionally coupled with cognition. Social behavior output shows phased progression. Feedback loops maintain the system. This model resolves three critical limitations of prior frameworks: replacing neuroplasticity's static causality with emotion-mediated cascades. correcting embodied cognition's overreliance on mimicry by affirming direct oxytocin pathways. establishing EPS activation as the prerequisite for unlocking social reward sensitivity, surpassing executive function theory.
Future research requires theoretical and methodological breakthroughs. The model needs ecological validation in real-world settings using ambulatory assessment and advanced statistical modeling. Methodologically, multimodal neuroimaging must precisely define neural activation thresholds and establish dose-response relationships. Future work must systematically differentiate how specific SPA types engage distinct pathways and build institution-family-community intervention networks leveraging technology. Cultural influences on model applicability require investigation, alongside longitudinal studies examining long-term effects across developmental stages and neural plasticity windows.

Key words: exercise intervention, children with autism spectrum disorder, social impairment, emotion activation, social behavior