Functional imbalance of visual pathways indicates alternative face processing strategies in autism

Hubl, D; Bölte, S; Feineis-Matthews, S; Lanfermann, H; Federspiel, A; Strik, W; Poustka, F; Dierks, T (2003). Functional imbalance of visual pathways indicates alternative face processing strategies in autism. Neurology, 61(9), pp. 1232-7. Hagerstown, Md.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether autistic subjects show a different pattern of neural activity than healthy individuals during processing of faces and complex patterns. METHODS: Blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes accompanying visual processing of faces and complex patterns were analyzed in an autistic group (n = 7; 25.3 [6.9] years) and a control group (n = 7; 27.7 [7.8] years). RESULTS: Compared with unaffected subjects, autistic subjects demonstrated lower BOLD signals in the fusiform gyrus, most prominently during face processing, and higher signals in the more object-related medial occipital gyrus. Further signal increases in autistic subjects vs controls were found in regions highly important for visual search: the superior parietal lobule and the medial frontal gyrus, where the frontal eye fields are located. CONCLUSIONS: The cortical activation pattern during face processing indicates deficits in the face-specific regions, with higher activations in regions involved in visual search. These findings reflect different strategies for visual processing, supporting models that propose a predisposition to local rather than global modes of information processing in autism.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > UPD Murtenstrasse
04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > Psychiatric Neurophysiology [discontinued]

UniBE Contributor:

Hubl, Daniela, Federspiel, Andrea, Dierks, Thomas

ISSN:

0028-3878

ISBN:

14610126

Publisher:

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Language:

English

Submitter:

Factscience Import

Date Deposited:

04 Oct 2013 14:55

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:17

PubMed ID:

14610126

Web of Science ID:

000186479300014

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/23469 (FactScience: 41933)

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