Impaired social brain network for processing dynamic facial expressions in autism spectrum disorders

BMC Neuroscience

Research Article

Shota Uono¹  Takanori Kochiyama²  Wataru Sato³  Motomi Toichi⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin-Kawaharacho, 606-8507, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan;The Hakubi Project, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484-8506, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan;The Hakubi Project, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, 484-8506, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan;The Organization for Promoting Developmental Disorder Research, 40 Shogoin-Sannocho, 606-8392, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan;The Organization for Promoting Developmental Disorder Research, 40 Shogoin-Sannocho, 606-8392, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan;Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin-Kawaharacho, 606-8507, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan;

关键词: Amygdala;    Autism spectrum disorders (ASD);    Dynamic facial expression;    Fusiform gyrus;    Inferior frontal gyrus;    Medial prefrontal cortex;    Middle temporal gyrus/superior temporal sulcus;    Mirror neuron system;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2202-13-99

 received in 2012-02-25, accepted in 2012-07-24,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundImpairment of social interaction via facial expressions represents a core clinical feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the neural correlates of this dysfunction remain unidentified. Because this dysfunction is manifested in real-life situations, we hypothesized that the observation of dynamic, compared with static, facial expressions would reveal abnormal brain functioning in individuals with ASD.We presented dynamic and static facial expressions of fear and happiness to individuals with high-functioning ASD and to age- and sex-matched typically developing controls and recorded their brain activities using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).ResultRegional analysis revealed reduced activation of several brain regions in the ASD group compared with controls in response to dynamic versus static facial expressions, including the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), fusiform gyrus, amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Dynamic causal modeling analyses revealed that bi-directional effective connectivity involving the primary visual cortex–MTG–IFG circuit was enhanced in response to dynamic as compared with static facial expressions in the control group. Group comparisons revealed that all these modulatory effects were weaker in the ASD group than in the control group.ConclusionsThese results suggest that weak activity and connectivity of the social brain network underlie the impairment in social interaction involving dynamic facial expressions in individuals with ASD.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Sato et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012