TY - JOUR
T1 - FMRI evidence of neural abnormalities in the subcortical face processing system in ASD
AU - Kleinhans, Natalia M.
AU - Richards, Todd
AU - Johnson, L. Clark
AU - Weaver, Kurt E.
AU - Greenson, Jessica
AU - Dawson, Geraldine
AU - Aylward, Elizabeth
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by NICHD ( U19 HD34565 ) and NIMH ( U54MH066399 ). The development of the MacBrain Face Stimulus Set was overseen by Nim Tottenham (tott0006@tc.umn.edu) and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development. Portions of this manuscript were presented at the 7th International Meeting for Autism Research , London, England, 2008. We would like to thank Dr. Heracles Panagiotides for his helpful discussions on the subcortical face processing system, Dr. Sara Webb for her input on the experimental design, and Dr. Neva Corrigan for the help with stimuli preparation and MATLAB programming.
PY - 2011/1/1
Y1 - 2011/1/1
N2 - Recent evidence suggests that a rapid, automatic face detection system is supported by subcortical structures including the amygdala, pulvinar, and superior colliculus. Early-emerging abnormalities in these structures may be related to reduced social orienting in children with autism, and subsequently, to aberrant development of cortical circuits involved in face processing. Our objective was to determine whether functional abnormalities in the subcortical face processing system are present in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) during supraliminal fearful face processing. Participants included twenty-eight individuals with ASD and 25 controls group-matched on age, IQ, and behavioral performance. The ASD group met diagnostic criteria on the ADI-R, ADOS-G, and DSM-IV. Both the ASD and control groups showed significant activation in bilateral fusiform gyri. The control group exhibited additional significant responses in the right amygdala, right pulvinar, and bilateral superior colliculi. In the direct group comparison, the controls showed significantly greater activation in the left amygdala, bilateral fusiform gyrus, right pulvinar, and bilateral superior colliculi. No brain region showed significantly greater activation in the ASD group compared to the controls. Thus, basic rapid face identification mechanisms appear to be functional in ASD. However, individuals with ASD failed to engage the subcortical brain regions involved in face detection and automatic emotional face processing, suggesting a core mechanism for impaired socioemotional processing in ASD. Neural abnormalities in this system may contribute to early-emerging deficits in social orienting and attention, the putative precursors to abnormalities in social cognition and cortical face processing specialization.
AB - Recent evidence suggests that a rapid, automatic face detection system is supported by subcortical structures including the amygdala, pulvinar, and superior colliculus. Early-emerging abnormalities in these structures may be related to reduced social orienting in children with autism, and subsequently, to aberrant development of cortical circuits involved in face processing. Our objective was to determine whether functional abnormalities in the subcortical face processing system are present in adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) during supraliminal fearful face processing. Participants included twenty-eight individuals with ASD and 25 controls group-matched on age, IQ, and behavioral performance. The ASD group met diagnostic criteria on the ADI-R, ADOS-G, and DSM-IV. Both the ASD and control groups showed significant activation in bilateral fusiform gyri. The control group exhibited additional significant responses in the right amygdala, right pulvinar, and bilateral superior colliculi. In the direct group comparison, the controls showed significantly greater activation in the left amygdala, bilateral fusiform gyrus, right pulvinar, and bilateral superior colliculi. No brain region showed significantly greater activation in the ASD group compared to the controls. Thus, basic rapid face identification mechanisms appear to be functional in ASD. However, individuals with ASD failed to engage the subcortical brain regions involved in face detection and automatic emotional face processing, suggesting a core mechanism for impaired socioemotional processing in ASD. Neural abnormalities in this system may contribute to early-emerging deficits in social orienting and attention, the putative precursors to abnormalities in social cognition and cortical face processing specialization.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.037
DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.037
M3 - Article
C2 - 20656041
AN - SCOPUS:77957946858
SN - 1053-8119
VL - 54
SP - 697
EP - 704
JO - NeuroImage
JF - NeuroImage
IS - 1
ER -