Experimental manipulation of face-evoked activity in the fusiform gyrus of individuals with autism

Abstract

Previous research suggests hypoactivity in response to the visual perception of faces in the fusiform gyri and amygdalae of individuals with autism. However, critical questions remain regarding the mechanisms underlying these findings. In particular, to what degree is the hypoactivation accounted for by known differences in the visual scanpaths exhibited by individuals with and without autism in response to faces? Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we report “normalization” of activity in the right fusiform gyrus, but not the amygdalae, when individuals with autism were compelled to perform visual scanpaths that involved fixating on the eyes of a fearful face. These findings hold important implications for our understanding of social brain dysfunction in autism, theories of the role of the fusiform gyri in face processing, and the design of more effective interventions for autism.

Keywords:

• Autism
• Face perception
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Fusiform gyrus
• Amygdala

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the participants in this study who generously gave of their time to make this research possible. We also wish to thank Ami Klin, Fred Volkmar, and Sarah-Jayne Blakemore for their extremely helpful comments on this manuscript. This research was supported by the NICHD Pittsburgh Autism Center for Excellence and by the John Merck Scholars Fund. Kevin Pelphrey is supported by a career development award from the NIMH.