Functional imbalance of visual pathways indicates alternative face processing strategies in autism
Functional imbalance of visual pathways indicates alternative face processing strategies in autism
复制标题
DOI：
10.1212/01.wnl.0000091862.22033.1a
复制
发表时间：
2003-11-11
期刊：
影响因子：
9.9
通讯作者：
Dierks, T
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hubl, D;Bölte, S;Dierks, T
目的：探讨自闭症患者在面孔和复杂图形加工过程中是否表现出与正常人不同的神经活动模式。方法：对自闭症组(n=7；25.3[6.9]岁)和对照组(n=7；27.7[7.8]岁)的血氧水平依赖性(BOLD)信号变化进行分析。结果：与非自闭症受试者相比，自闭症受试者在梭状回表现出较低的BOLD信号，在面部加工过程中最为显著，而在与客体相关的枕内侧回表现出较高的信号。自闭症受试者与对照组相比，在对视觉搜索非常重要的区域：顶上小叶和额叶内侧回(额叶视野所在的区域)，信号进一步增加。结论：面孔加工过程中的皮质激活模式表明，在面孔特定区域存在缺陷，而在参与视觉搜索的区域激活程度较高。这些发现反映了不同的视觉处理策略，支持自闭症患者倾向于局部而不是全局信息处理模式的模型。
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.