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Neural bases of atypical emotional face processing in autism: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies

Neural bases of atypical emotional face processing in autism: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies
Neural bases of atypical emotional face processing in autism: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies
Objectives. We aim to outline the neural correlates of atypical emotional face processing in individuals with ASD. Methods. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through electronic databases to identify functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of whole brain analysis with emotional-face processing tasks in individuals with ASD. The Signed Differential Mapping with random effects model was used to conduct meta-analyses. Identified fMRI studies were further divided into sub-groups based on contrast (“emotional-face vs. non-emotional-face” or “emotional-face vs. non-face”) to confirm the results of a meta-analysis of the whole studies. Results. Thirteen studies with 226 individuals with ASD and 251 typically developing people were identified. We found ASD-related hyperactivation in subcortical structures, including bilateral thalamus, bilateral caudate, and right precuneus, and ASD-related hypoactivation in the hypothalamus during emotional-face processing. Sub-analyses with more homogeneous contrasts preserved the findings of the main analysis such as hyperactivation in sub-cortical structure. Jackknife analyses showed that hyperactivation of the left caudate was the most robust finding. Conclusions. Abnormalities in the subcortical structures, such as amygdala, hypothalamus and basal ganglia, are associated with atypical emotional-face processing in individuals with ASD.
Asperger's syndrome, autistic disorder, functional magnetic resonance imaging, human, pervasive developmental disorders
1562-2975
291-300
Aoki, Yuta
806ea614-51b3-4018-b68b-d12b7f1487c1
Cortese, Samuele
53d4bf2c-4e0e-4c77-9385-218350560fdb
Tansella, Michele
d3c993fc-19c9-4db3-a88a-1130cf49464c
Aoki, Yuta
806ea614-51b3-4018-b68b-d12b7f1487c1
Cortese, Samuele
53d4bf2c-4e0e-4c77-9385-218350560fdb
Tansella, Michele
d3c993fc-19c9-4db3-a88a-1130cf49464c

Aoki, Yuta, Cortese, Samuele and Tansella, Michele (2015) Neural bases of atypical emotional face processing in autism: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 16 (5), 291-300. (doi:10.3109/15622975.2014.957719).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives. We aim to outline the neural correlates of atypical emotional face processing in individuals with ASD. Methods. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through electronic databases to identify functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of whole brain analysis with emotional-face processing tasks in individuals with ASD. The Signed Differential Mapping with random effects model was used to conduct meta-analyses. Identified fMRI studies were further divided into sub-groups based on contrast (“emotional-face vs. non-emotional-face” or “emotional-face vs. non-face”) to confirm the results of a meta-analysis of the whole studies. Results. Thirteen studies with 226 individuals with ASD and 251 typically developing people were identified. We found ASD-related hyperactivation in subcortical structures, including bilateral thalamus, bilateral caudate, and right precuneus, and ASD-related hypoactivation in the hypothalamus during emotional-face processing. Sub-analyses with more homogeneous contrasts preserved the findings of the main analysis such as hyperactivation in sub-cortical structure. Jackknife analyses showed that hyperactivation of the left caudate was the most robust finding. Conclusions. Abnormalities in the subcortical structures, such as amygdala, hypothalamus and basal ganglia, are associated with atypical emotional-face processing in individuals with ASD.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 19 August 2014
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 June 2015
Keywords: Asperger's syndrome, autistic disorder, functional magnetic resonance imaging, human, pervasive developmental disorders
Organisations: Clinical Neuroscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 380155
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/380155
ISSN: 1562-2975
PURE UUID: be2e7344-f09b-4776-8ffd-e8715225631c
ORCID for Samuele Cortese: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-5877-8075

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Date deposited: 19 Aug 2015 16:25
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:52

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Contributors

Author: Yuta Aoki
Author: Samuele Cortese ORCID iD
Author: Michele Tansella

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