A functional and structural study of emotion and face processing in children with autism

Abstract

Children with autism exhibit impairment in the processing of socioemotional information. The amygdala, a core structure centrally involved in socioemotional functioning, has been implicated in the neuropathology of autism. We collected structural and functional MRI images in children 8-to-12 years of age with high functioning autism (n=12) and typical development (n=15). The fMRI experiment involved matching facial expressions and people. Volumetric analysis of the amygdala was also performed. The results showed that children with autism exhibited intact emotion matching, while showing diminished activation of the fusiform gyrus (FG) and the amygdala. Conversely, the autism group showed deficits in person matching amidst some FG and variable amygdala activation. No significant between group differences in the volume of the left or right amygdala were found. There were associations between age, social anxiety and amygdala volume in the children with autism such that smaller volumes were generally associated with more anxiety and younger age. In summary, the data are consistent with abnormalities in circuits involved in emotion and face processing reported in studies of older subjects with autism showing reductions in amygdala activation related to emotion processing and reduced fusiform activation involved in face processing.

The Role of the Amygdala in Atypical Gaze on Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The exact relationship of gaze and brain findings in ASD, however, remains unclear. Previous studies reported both amygdalar hyperactivation (Dalton et al, 2005) and hypoactivation (Baron-Cohen et al, 1999;Critchley et al, 2000;Corbett et al, 2009;Kleinhans et al, 2011) triggered by faces. Within normal functioning, an increase in amygdala activation seems to be associated with immediate orientation toward the eyes (Gamer and Büchel, 2009;Gamer et al, 2010).…”

Neural Signatures of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Insights into Brain Network Dynamics

“…It was originally proposed that children, adolescents, and adults with ASD display reduced activation to faces based on fMRI studies finding reduced activity in the fusiform gyrus (Corbett et al, 2009;Critchley et al, 2000;Dalton et al, 2005;Hubl et al, 2003;Kleinhans et al, 2011;Piggot et al, 2004;Schultz et al, 2000;Wang et al, 2004), and amygdala (Corbett et al, 2009;Kleinhans et al, 2011) during face and emotion processing. However, brain activity in these areas may be mediated by extrinsic factors that increase attention.…”

From Child-Robot Interaction to Child-Robot-Therapist Interaction: A Case Study in Autism

“…In particular, these studies show that the neural substrate underlying emotional impairment involves the amydgala [16], the superior temporal sulcus and gyrus as well as the orbital frontal cortex [12]. In addition, autistic children also show aberrant brain connectivity and disruption of white matter tracts between temporal regions [21] which disrupt acquisition, consolidation as well as social interaction [1,2,26].…”