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Lacroix A, Harquel S, Barbosa LS, Kovarski K, Garrido MI, Vercueil L, Kauffmann L, Dutheil F, Gomot M, Mermillod M. Reduced spatial frequency differentiation and sex-related specificities in fearful face detection in autism: Insights from EEG and the predictive brain model. Autism Res 2024. [PMID: 39092565 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Face processing relies on predictive processes driven by low spatial frequencies (LSF) that convey coarse information prior to fine information conveyed by high spatial frequencies. However, autistic individuals might have atypical predictive processes, contributing to facial processing difficulties. This may be more normalized in autistic females, who often exhibit better socio-communicational abilities than males. We hypothesized that autistic females would display a more typical coarse-to-fine processing for socio-emotional stimuli compared to autistic males. To test this hypothesis, we asked adult participants (44 autistic, 51 non-autistic) to detect fearful faces among neutral faces, filtered in two orders: from coarse-to-fine (CtF) and from fine-to-coarse (FtC). Results show lower d' values and longer reaction times for fearful detection in autism compared to non-autistic (NA) individuals, regardless of the filtering order. Both groups presented shorter P100 latency after CtF compared to FtC, and larger amplitude for N170 after FtC compared to CtF. However, autistic participants presented a reduced difference in source activity between CtF and FtC in the fusiform. There was also a more spatially spread activation pattern in autistic females compared to NA females. Finally, females had faster P100 and N170 latencies, as well as larger occipital activation for FtC sequences than males, irrespective of the group. Overall, the results do not suggest impaired predictive processes from LSF in autism despite behavioral differences in fear detection. However, they do indicate reduced brain modulation by spatial frequency in autism. In addition, the findings highlight sex differences that warrant consideration in understanding autistic females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeline Lacroix
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Sylvain Harquel
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Leonardo S Barbosa
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
- Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
| | - Klara Kovarski
- Sorbonne Université, Faculté des Lettres, INSPE, Paris, France
- LaPsyDÉ, Université Paris-Cité, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Marta I Garrido
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Computational Psychiatry Lab, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Laurent Vercueil
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Louise Kauffmann
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Frédéric Dutheil
- Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, LaPSCo, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Marie Gomot
- Université de Tours, INSERM, Imaging Brain and Neuropsychiatry iBraiN U1253, Tours, France
| | - Martial Mermillod
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
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2
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Beaurenaut M, Kovarski K, Destais C, Mennella R, Grèzes J. Spontaneous instrumental approach-avoidance learning in social contexts in autism. Mol Autism 2024; 15:33. [PMID: 39085896 PMCID: PMC11293119 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00610-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) are characterized by atypicalities in social interactions, compared to Typically Developing individuals (TD). The social motivation theory posits that these difficulties stem from diminished anticipation, reception, and/or learning from social rewards. Although learning from socioemotional outcomes is core to the theory, studies to date have been sparse and inconsistent. This possibly arises from a combination of theoretical, methodological and sample-related issues. Here, we assessed participants' ability to develop a spontaneous preference for actions that lead to desirable socioemotional outcomes (approaching/avoiding of happy/angry individuals, respectively), in an ecologically valid social scenario. We expected that learning abilities would be impaired in ASC individuals, particularly in response to affiliative social feedback. METHOD We ran an online social reinforcement learning task, on two large online cohorts with (n = 274) and without (n = 290) ASC, matched for gender, age and education. Participants had to indicate where they would sit in a waiting room. Each seat was associated with different probabilities of approaching/avoiding emotional individuals. Importantly, the task was implicit, as participants were not instructed to learn, and emotional expressions were never mentioned. We applied both categorical analyses contrasting the ASC and TD groups and dimensional factor analysis on affective questionnaires. RESULTS Contrary to our hypothesis, participants showed spontaneous learning from socioemotional outcomes, regardless of their diagnostic group. Yet, when accounting for dimensional variations in autistic traits, as well as depression and anxiety, two main findings emerged among females who failed to develop explicit learning strategies: (1) autism severity in ASC correlated with reduced learning to approach happy individuals; (2) anxiety-depression severity across both ASC and TD participants correlated with reduced learning to approach/avoid happy/angry individuals, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Implicit spontaneous learning from socioemotional outcomes is not generally impaired in autism but may be specifically associated with autism severity in females with ASC, when they do not have an explicit strategy for adapting to their social environment. Clinical diagnosis and intervention ought to take into account individual differences in their full complexity, including the presence of co-morbid anxiety and depression, when dealing with social atypicalities in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Beaurenaut
- Laboratoire sur les Interactions Cognition, Action, Émotion (LICAÉ), Université Paris Nanterre, 200 avenue de La République, Nanterre Cedex, 92001, France.
| | - Klara Kovarski
- Sorbonne Université, INSPE, Paris, France
- Laboratoire de Psychologie du Développement et de l'Éducation de l'enfant (LaPsyDÉ), Université Paris Cité, CNRS, 46 rue Saint-Jacques, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Constance Destais
- Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (LNC2), Inserm U960, Department of Cognitive Studies, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, 29 rue d'Ulm, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Rocco Mennella
- Laboratoire sur les Interactions Cognition, Action, Émotion (LICAÉ), Université Paris Nanterre, 200 avenue de La République, Nanterre Cedex, 92001, France
- Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (LNC2), Inserm U960, Department of Cognitive Studies, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, 29 rue d'Ulm, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Julie Grèzes
- Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Laboratory (LNC2), Inserm U960, Department of Cognitive Studies, École Normale Supérieure, PSL University, 29 rue d'Ulm, Paris, 75005, France.
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3
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Gao Y, Li R, Ma Q, Bartholomay KL, Lightbody AA, Reiss AL. Longitudinal Changes in Functional Neural Activation and Sensitization During Face Processing in Fragile X Syndrome. Biol Psychiatry 2024:S0006-3223(24)01424-0. [PMID: 38945386 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic condition associated with increased risk for social anxiety and avoidance. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we previously demonstrated aberrant neural activity responding to faces in young girls with FXS cross-sectionally. Here, we tested the hypothesis that abnormalities in neural activation and sensitization would increase with age in 65 girls with FXS (ages 6-16 years) relative to an age-matched control group of 52 girls who had comparable cognitive function and clinical symptoms. METHODS fNIRS data were collected at 2 time points (mean [SD] = 2.8 [0.6] years apart) during a face processing task. Linear mixed-effect models examined longitudinal neural profiles in girls with FXS and control participants. Correlational analysis was performed to examine associations between neural sensitization (increasing neural response to repeated stimuli) and clinical ratings. RESULTS In the FXS group, 24 participants had 1 fNIRS scan, and 32 had 2 scans. In the control group, 28 participants had 1 fNIRS scan, and 22 had 2 scans. Brain activations in the superior frontal gyrus were higher in girls with FXS than control participants at both time points. Neural sensitization also increased in girls with FXS at a higher rate than control participants in the superior frontal gyrus when responding to upright faces. For the FXS group, sensitization in the superior frontal gyrus positively correlated with longitudinal increases in anxiety and social avoidance scores. CONCLUSIONS Girls with FXS show increasingly abnormal neural activation and sensitization responding to faces over time. Aberrant neural sensitization in girls with FXS is associated with longitudinal changes in anxiety and social skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Gao
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
| | - Rihui Li
- Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR
| | - Qianheng Ma
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Kristi L Bartholomay
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Amy A Lightbody
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Allan L Reiss
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California
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4
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Twito R, Hadad BS, Szpiro S. Is she still angry? Intact learning but no updating of facial expressions priors in autism. Autism Res 2024; 17:934-946. [PMID: 38716802 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Autistic people exhibit atypical use of prior information when processing simple perceptual stimuli; yet, it remains unclear whether and how these difficulties in using priors extend to complex social stimuli. Here, we compared autistic people without accompanying intellectual disability and nonautistic people in their ability to acquire an "emotional prior" of a facial expression and update this prior to a different facial expression of the same identity. Participants performed a two-interval same/different discrimination task between two facial expressions. To study the acquisition of the prior, we examined how discrimination was modified by the contraction of the perceived facial expressions toward the average of presented stimuli (i.e., regression to the mean). At first, facial expressions surrounded one average emotional prior (mostly sad or angry), and then the average switched (to mostly angry or sad, accordingly). Autistic people exhibited challenges in facial discrimination, and yet acquired the first prior, demonstrating typical regression-to-the-mean effects. However, unlike nonautistic people, autistic people did not update their perception to the second prior, suggesting they are less flexible in updating an acquired prior of emotional expressions. Our findings shed light on the perception of emotional expressions, one of the most pressing challenges in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renana Twito
- Department of Special Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Bat-Sheva Hadad
- Department of Special Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Special Education and The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sarit Szpiro
- Department of Special Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- Department of Special Education and The Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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5
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Scaffei E, Mazziotti R, Conti E, Costanzo V, Calderoni S, Stoccoro A, Carmassi C, Tancredi R, Baroncelli L, Battini R. A Potential Biomarker of Brain Activity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pilot fNIRS Study in Female Preschoolers. Brain Sci 2023; 13:951. [PMID: 37371429 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13060951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a neurodevelopmental condition whose detection still remains challenging in young females due to the heterogeneity of the behavioral phenotype and the capacity of camouflage. The availability of quantitative biomarkers to assess brain function may support in the assessment of ASD. Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive and flexible tool that quantifies cortical hemodynamic responses (HDR) that can be easily employed to describe brain activity. Since the study of the visual phenotype is a paradigmatic model to evaluate cerebral processing in many neurodevelopmental conditions, we hypothesized that visually-evoked HDR (vHDR) might represent a potential biomarker in ASD females. We performed a case-control study comparing vHDR in a cohort of high-functioning preschooler females with ASD (fASD) and sex/age matched peers. We demonstrated the feasibility of visual fNIRS measurements in fASD, and the possibility to discriminate between fASD and typical subjects using different signal features, such as the amplitude and lateralization of vHDR. Moreover, the level of response lateralization was correlated to the severity of autistic traits. These results corroborate the cruciality of sensory symptoms in ASD, paving the way for the validation of the fNIRS analytical tool for diagnosis and treatment outcome monitoring in the ASD population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Scaffei
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
| | - Raffaele Mazziotti
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Eugenia Conti
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
| | - Valeria Costanzo
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
| | - Sara Calderoni
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Andrea Stoccoro
- Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudia Carmassi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Laura Baroncelli
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Roberta Battini
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno, 56128 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126 Pisa, Italy
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6
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Hasegawa C, Ikeda T, Yoshimura Y, Kumazaki H, Saito DN, Yaoi K, An K, Takahashi T, Hirata M, Asada M, Kikuchi M. Reduced gamma oscillation during visual processing of the mother's face in children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study. PCN REPORTS : PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES 2023; 2:e68. [PMID: 38868414 PMCID: PMC11114405 DOI: 10.1002/pcn5.68] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2024]
Abstract
Aim This study aimed to investigate gamma oscillations related to face processing of children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developed children using magnetoencephalography. Methods We developed stimuli that included naturalistic real-time eye-gaze situations between participants and their mothers. Eighteen young children with autism spectrum disorders (62-97 months) and 24 typically developed children (61-79 months) were included. The magnetoencephalography data were analyzed in the bilateral banks of the superior temporal sulcus, fusiform gyrus, and pericalcarine cortex for frequency ranges 30-59 and 61-90 Hz. The gamma oscillation normalized values were calculated to compare the face condition (children gazing at mother's face) and control measurements (baseline) using the following formula: (face - control)/(face + control). Results The results revealed significant differences in gamma oscillation normalized values in the low gamma band (30-59 Hz) in the right banks of the superior temporal sulcus, right fusiform gyrus, and right pericalcarine cortex between children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developed children. Furthermore, there were significant differences in gamma oscillation normalized values in the high gamma band (61-90 Hz) in the right banks of the superior temporal sulcus, bilateral fusiform gyrus, and bilateral pericalcarine cortex between the groups. Conclusion This report is the first magnetoencephalography study revealing atypical face processing in young children with autism spectrum disorders using relevant stimuli between participants and their mothers. Our naturalistic paradigm provides a useful assessment of social communication traits and a valuable insight into the underlying neural mechanisms in children with autism spectrum disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiaki Hasegawa
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of ScienceChiyoda‐kuTokyoJapan
- School of Psychological SciencesMacquarie UniversitySydneyAustralia
| | - Takashi Ikeda
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
- University of FukuiFukuiJapan
| | - Yuko Yoshimura
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
- Institute of Human and Social SciencesKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
| | - Hirokazu Kumazaki
- Department of Future Psychiatric Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical SciencesNagasaki UniversityNagasakiJapan
| | - Daisuke N. Saito
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of PsychologyYasuda Woman's UniversityHiroshimaJapan
| | - Ken Yaoi
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
| | - Kyung‐Min An
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
- School of PsychologyUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of PsychologyUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Tetsuya Takahashi
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- Uozu Shinkei SanatoriumUozuJapan
- Department of NeuropsychiatryUniversity of FukuiFukuiJapan
| | - Masayuki Hirata
- Department of Neurological Diagnosis and Restoration, Graduate School of MedicineOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
- Department of Neurosurgery Osaka University Medical SchoolSuitaJapan
- Center for Information and Neural NetworksNational Institute of Information and Communications TechnologySuitaJapan
- Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Symbiotic Intelligent System Research CenterOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
| | - Minoru Asada
- Center for Information and Neural NetworksNational Institute of Information and Communications TechnologySuitaJapan
- Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives, Symbiotic Intelligent System Research CenterOsaka UniversitySuitaJapan
- International Professional University of Technology in OsakaOsakaJapan
- Chubu University Academy of Emerging SciencesKasugaiJapan
| | - Mitsuru Kikuchi
- Research Center for Child Mental DevelopmentKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of MedicineChiba University, and University of FukuiOsaka/Kanazawa/Hamamatsu/Chiba/FukuiJapan
- Department of Psychiatry and NeurobiologyKanazawa UniversityKanazawaJapan
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7
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Kuang Q, Zhou S, Li H, Mi L, Zheng Y, She S. Association between fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and facial emotion recognition ability in first-episode schizophrenia patients: a fMRI study. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19561. [PMID: 36380188 PMCID: PMC9666540 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24258-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
It was still unclear that the correlation between the resting-state intrinsic activity in brain regions and facial emotion recognition (FER) ability in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FSZ). Our aim was to analyse the correlation between the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and FER ability in FSZ patients. A total of 28 patients with FSZ and 33 healthy controls (HCs) completed visual search tasks for FER ability. Regions of interest (ROIs) related to facial emotion were obtained from a previous meta-analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to understand the correlation between fALFF and FER ability. Our results indicated that the patients performed worse than the HCs in the accuracy performances of happy FER and fearful FER. The previous meta-analysis results showed that the brain regions related to FER included the bilateral amygdala (AMY)/hippocampus (HIP), right fusiform gyrus (FFG), and right supplementary motor area (SMA). Partial correlation analysis showed that the fALFF of the right FFG was associated with high-load fearful FER accuracy (r = - 0.60, p = 0.004). Our study indicated that FER ability is correlated with resting-state intrinsic activity in brain regions related to facial emotion, which may provide a reference for the study of FER deficiency in schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qijie Kuang
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China
| | - Sumiao Zhou
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China
| | - Haijing Li
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Mi
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China
| | - Yingjun Zheng
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China.
| | - Shenglin She
- Department of Psychiatry, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510370, People's Republic of China.
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8
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The dual neural effects of oxytocin in autistic youth: results from a randomized trial. Sci Rep 2022; 12:16304. [PMID: 36175473 PMCID: PMC9523043 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19524-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent discoveries have highlighted the effects of oxytocin (OT) on social behavior and perception among autistic individuals. However, a gap persists in the literature regarding the potential effects of OT and the neural temporal dynamics due to OT administration. We explored the effect of OT on autistic individuals using magnetoencephalography (MEG), focusing on M100, M170, and M250, social perception-related components that tend to show atypical patterns in autistic individuals. Twenty-five autistic adolescents participated in this randomized, double-blind MEG study. Autistic individuals arrived at the lab twice and received an acute dose of intranasal OT or placebo in each session. During the scans, participants were asked to identify pictures of social and non-social stimuli. Additionally, 23 typically developing (TD) adolescents performed the same task in the MEG as a benchmark that allowed us to better characterize neural regions of interest and behavioral results for this age group in this task. A source-model beamformer analysis revealed that OT enhanced neural activity for social stimuli in frontal regions during M170. Additionally, in each of the preselected time windows, OT increased activation in the left hemisphere, regardless of the content of the presented stimuli. We suggest that OT increased the processing of social stimuli through two separate mechanisms. First, OT increased neural activity in a nonspecific manner, allowing increased allocation of attention toward the stimuli. Second, OT enhanced M170 activity in frontal regions only in response to social stimuli. These results reveal the temporal dynamics of the effects of OT on the early stages of social and non-social perception in autistic adolescents. Trial registration: This study was a part of a project registered as clinical trial October 27th, 2021. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05096676.
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9
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Safar K, Vandewouw MM, Pang EW, de Villa K, Crosbie J, Schachar R, Iaboni A, Georgiades S, Nicolson R, Kelley E, Ayub M, Lerch JP, Anagnostou E, Taylor MJ. Shared and Distinct Patterns of Functional Connectivity to Emotional Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Children. Front Psychol 2022; 13:826527. [PMID: 35356352 PMCID: PMC8959934 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.826527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Impairments in emotional face processing are demonstrated by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is associated with altered emotion processing networks. Despite accumulating evidence of high rates of diagnostic overlap and shared symptoms between ASD and ADHD, functional connectivity underpinning emotion processing across these two neurodevelopmental disorders, compared to typical developing peers, has rarely been examined. The current study used magnetoencephalography to investigate whole-brain functional connectivity during the presentation of happy and angry faces in 258 children (5–19 years), including ASD, ADHD and typically developing (TD) groups to determine possible differences in emotion processing. Data-driven clustering was also applied to determine whether the patterns of connectivity differed among diagnostic groups. We found reduced functional connectivity in the beta band in ASD compared to TD, and a further reduction in the ADHD group compared to the ASD and the TD groups, across emotions. A group-by-emotion interaction in the gamma frequency band was also observed. Greater connectivity to happy compared to angry faces was found in the ADHD and TD groups, while the opposite pattern was seen in ASD. Data-driven subgrouping identified two distinct subgroups: NDD-dominant and TD-dominant; these subgroups demonstrated emotion- and frequency-specific differences in connectivity. Atypicalities in specific brain networks were strongly correlated with the severity of diagnosis-specific symptoms. Functional connectivity strength in the beta network was negatively correlated with difficulties in attention; in the gamma network, functional connectivity strength to happy faces was positively correlated with adaptive behavioural functioning, but in contrast, negatively correlated to angry faces. Our findings establish atypical frequency- and emotion-specific patterns of functional connectivity between NDD and TD children. Data-driven clustering further highlights a high degree of comorbidity and symptom overlap between the ASD and ADHD children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Safar
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Marlee M Vandewouw
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Autism Research Centre, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth W Pang
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Division of Neurology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Kathrina de Villa
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer Crosbie
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Russell Schachar
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alana Iaboni
- Autism Research Centre, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Stelios Georgiades
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Robert Nicolson
- Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Kelley
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry,Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Muhammed Ayub
- Department of Psychiatry,Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Jason P Lerch
- Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.,Mouse Imaging Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Evdokia Anagnostou
- Autism Research Centre, Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Margot J Taylor
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Program in Neurosciences & Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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10
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Martínez A, Tobe RH, Gaspar PA, Malinsky D, Dias EC, Sehatpour P, Lakatos P, Patel GH, Bermudez DH, Silipo G, Javitt DC. Disease-Specific Contribution of Pulvinar Dysfunction to Impaired Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 15:787383. [PMID: 35237135 PMCID: PMC8883821 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.787383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
One important aspect for managing social interactions is the ability to perceive and respond to facial expressions rapidly and accurately. This ability is highly dependent upon intact processing within both cortical and subcortical components of the early visual pathways. Social cognitive deficits, including face emotion recognition (FER) deficits, are characteristic of several neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia (Sz) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Here, we investigated potential visual sensory contributions to FER deficits in Sz (n = 28, 8/20 female/male; age 21–54 years) and adult ASD (n = 20, 4/16 female/male; age 19–43 years) participants compared to neurotypical (n = 30, 8/22 female/male; age 19–54 years) controls using task-based fMRI during an implicit static/dynamic FER task. Compared to neurotypical controls, both Sz (d = 1.97) and ASD (d = 1.13) participants had significantly lower FER scores which interrelated with diminished activation of the superior temporal sulcus (STS). In Sz, STS deficits were predicted by reduced activation of early visual regions (d = 0.85, p = 0.002) and of the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus (d = 0.44, p = 0.042), along with impaired cortico-pulvinar interaction. By contrast, ASD participants showed patterns of increased early visual cortical (d = 1.03, p = 0.001) and pulvinar (d = 0.71, p = 0.015) activation. Large effect-size structural and histological abnormalities of pulvinar have previously been documented in Sz. Moreover, we have recently demonstrated impaired pulvinar activation to simple visual stimuli in Sz. Here, we provide the first demonstration of a disease-specific contribution of impaired pulvinar activation to social cognitive impairment in Sz.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antígona Martínez
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Antígona Martínez,
| | - Russell H. Tobe
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Pablo A. Gaspar
- Department of Psychiatry, Biomedical Neurosciences Institute, IMHAY, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Daniel Malinsky
- Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Elisa C. Dias
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Pejman Sehatpour
- College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Peter Lakatos
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Gaurav H. Patel
- College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
- New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States
| | - Dalton H. Bermudez
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Gail Silipo
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
| | - Daniel C. Javitt
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, United States
- College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
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11
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Atypical development of emotional face processing networks in autism spectrum disorder from childhood through to adulthood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 51:101003. [PMID: 34416703 PMCID: PMC8377538 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2021.101003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Revised: 07/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
MEG connectivity to emotional faces in ASD and typical controls 6–39 years of age was investigated. Distinct age-related changes in connectivity were observed in the groups to happy and angry faces. Age-related between-group differences in functional connectivity were found in gamma band. Emotion-specific age-related between-group differences were seen in beta. Findings highlight specific neurodevelopmental trajectories to emotional faces in ASD vs. TD.
Impairments in social functioning are hallmarks of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and atypical functional connectivity may underlie these difficulties. Emotion processing networks typically undergo protracted maturational changes, however, those with ASD show either hyper- or hypo-connectivity with little consensus on the functional connectivity underpinning emotion processing. Magnetoencephalography was used to investigate age-related changes in whole-brain functional connectivity of eight regions of interest during happy and angry face processing in 190 children, adolescents and adults (6–39 years) with and without ASD. Findings revealed age-related changes from child- through to mid-adulthood in functional connectivity in controls and in ASD in theta, as well as age-related between-group differences across emotions, with connectivity decreasing in ASD, but increasing for controls, in gamma. Greater connectivity to angry faces was observed across groups in gamma. Emotion-specific age-related between-group differences in beta were also found, that showed opposite trends with age for happy and angry in ASD. Our results establish altered, frequency-specific developmental trajectories of functional connectivity in ASD, across distributed networks and a broad age range, which may finally help explain the heterogeneity in the literature.
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12
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Paakki J, Rahko JS, Kotila A, Mattila M, Miettunen H, Hurtig TM, Jussila KK, Kuusikko‐Gauffin S, Moilanen IK, Tervonen O, Kiviniemi VJ. Co-activation pattern alterations in autism spectrum disorder-A volume-wise hierarchical clustering fMRI study. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e02174. [PMID: 33998178 PMCID: PMC8213933 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION There has been a growing effort to characterize the time-varying functional connectivity of resting state (RS) fMRI brain networks (RSNs). Although voxel-wise connectivity studies have examined different sliding window lengths, nonsequential volume-wise approaches have been less common. METHODS Inspired by earlier co-activation pattern (CAP) studies, we applied hierarchical clustering (HC) to classify the image volumes of the RS-fMRI data on 28 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their 27 typically developing (TD) controls. We compared the distribution of the ASD and TD groups' volumes in CAPs as well as their voxel-wise means. For simplification purposes, we conducted a group independent component analysis to extract 14 major RSNs. The RSNs' average z-scores enabled us to meaningfully regroup the RSNs and estimate the percentage of voxels within each RSN for which there was a significant group difference. These results were jointly interpreted to find global group-specific patterns. RESULTS We found similar brain state proportions in 58 CAPs (clustering interval from 2 to 30). However, in many CAPs, the voxel-wise means differed significantly within a matrix of 14 RSNs. The rest-activated default mode-positive and default mode-negative brain state properties vary considerably in both groups over time. This division was seen clearly when the volumes were partitioned into two CAPs and then further examined along the HC dendrogram of the diversifying brain CAPs. The ASD group network activations followed a more heterogeneous distribution and some networks maintained higher baselines; throughout the brain deactivation state, the ASD participants had reduced deactivation in 12/14 networks. During default mode-negative CAPs, the ASD group showed simultaneous visual network and either dorsal attention or default mode network overactivation. CONCLUSION Nonsequential volume gathering into CAPs and the comparison of voxel-wise signal changes provide a complementary perspective to connectivity and an alternative to sliding window analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jyri‐Johan Paakki
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biosciences Doctoral ProgrammeUniversity of Oulu Graduate SchoolUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- The Faculty of MedicineResearch Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and TechnologyOulu Functional NeuroImaging GroupUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Department of Diagnostic RadiologyMedical Research CenterOulu University HospitalOuluFinland
| | - Jukka S. Rahko
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Biosciences Doctoral ProgrammeUniversity of Oulu Graduate SchoolUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Aija Kotila
- Faculty of HumanitiesResearch Unit of LogopedicsUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Marja‐Leena Mattila
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Helena Miettunen
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Tuula M. Hurtig
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
- Research Unit of Clinical Neuroscience, PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Katja K. Jussila
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Sanna Kuusikko‐Gauffin
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Irma K. Moilanen
- PEDEGO Research UnitFaculty of MedicineChild PsychiatryUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Institute of Clinical MedicineClinic of Child PsychiatryUniversity and University Hospital of OuluOuluFinland
| | - Osmo Tervonen
- The Faculty of MedicineResearch Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and TechnologyOulu Functional NeuroImaging GroupUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Department of Diagnostic RadiologyMedical Research CenterOulu University HospitalOuluFinland
| | - Vesa J. Kiviniemi
- The Faculty of MedicineResearch Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and TechnologyOulu Functional NeuroImaging GroupUniversity of OuluOuluFinland
- Department of Diagnostic RadiologyMedical Research CenterOulu University HospitalOuluFinland
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13
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Styliadis C, Leung R, Özcan S, Moulton EA, Pang E, Taylor MJ, Papadelis C. Atypical spatiotemporal activation of cerebellar lobules during emotional face processing in adolescents with autism. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:2099-2114. [PMID: 33528852 PMCID: PMC8046060 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by social deficits and atypical facial processing of emotional expressions. The underlying neuropathology of these abnormalities is still unclear. Recent studies implicate cerebellum in emotional processing; other studies show cerebellar abnormalities in ASD. Here, we elucidate the spatiotemporal activation of cerebellar lobules in ASD during emotional processing of happy and angry faces in adolescents with ASD and typically developing (TD) controls. Using magnetoencephalography, we calculated dynamic statistical parametric maps across a period of 500 ms after emotional stimuli onset and determined differences between group activity to happy and angry emotions. Following happy face presentation, adolescents with ASD exhibited only left‐hemispheric cerebellar activation in a cluster extending from lobule VI to lobule V (compared to TD controls). Following angry face presentation, adolescents with ASD exhibited only midline cerebellar activation (posterior IX vermis). Our findings indicate an early (125–175 ms) overactivation in cerebellar activity only for happy faces and a later overactivation for both happy (250–450 ms) and angry (250–350 ms) faces in adolescents with ASD. The prioritized hemispheric activity (happy faces) could reflect the promotion of a more flexible and adaptive social behavior, while the latter midline activity (angry faces) may guide conforming behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charis Styliadis
- Laboratory of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | | | - Selin Özcan
- Laboratory of Children's Brain Dynamics, Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Eric A Moulton
- Center for Pain and the Brain, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Elizabeth Pang
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Division of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Neurosciences and Mental Health Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Margot J Taylor
- University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Neurosciences and Mental Health Program, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.,Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.,Autism Research Unit, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
| | - Christos Papadelis
- Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, Cook Children's Health Care System, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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14
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Kovarski K, Charpentier J, Roux S, Batty M, Houy-Durand E, Gomot M. Emotional visual mismatch negativity: a joint investigation of social and non-social dimensions in adults with autism. Transl Psychiatry 2021; 11:10. [PMID: 33414385 PMCID: PMC7791028 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01133-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 11/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Unusual behaviors and brain activity to socio-emotional stimuli have been reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Atypical reactivity to change and intolerance of uncertainty are also present, but little is known on their possible impact on facial expression processing in autism. The visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) is an electrophysiological response automatically elicited by changing events such as deviant emotional faces presented among regular neutral faces. While vMMN has been found altered in ASD in response to low-level changes in simple stimuli, no study has investigated this response to visual social stimuli. Here two deviant expressions were presented, neutral and angry, embedded in a sequence of repetitive neutral stimuli. vMMN peak analyses were performed for latency and amplitude in early and late time windows. The ASD group presented smaller amplitude of the late vMMN to both neutral and emotional deviants compared to the typically developed adults (TD) group, and only the TD group presented a sustained activity related to emotional change (i.e., angry deviant). Source reconstruction of the vMMNs further revealed that any change processing elicited a reduced activity in ASD group compared to TD in the saliency network, while the specific processing emotional change elicited activity in the temporal region and in the insula. This study confirms atypical change processing in ASD and points to a specific difficulty in the processing of emotional changes, potentially playing a crucial role in social interaction deficits. Nevertheless, these results require to be further replicated with a greater sample size and generalized to other emotional expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Kovarski
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France. .,Hôpital Fondation Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris, France. .,Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, 75006, Paris, France.
| | | | - Sylvie Roux
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France
| | - Magali Batty
- grid.508721.9Université de Toulouse, CERPPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Emmanuelle Houy-Durand
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France ,grid.411167.40000 0004 1765 1600CHRU de Tours, Centre Universitaire de Pédopsychiatrie, Tours, France
| | - Marie Gomot
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Université de Tours, Inserm, Tours, France
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15
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Blink and You Will Miss It: a Core Role for Fast and Dynamic Visual Processing in Social Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder. CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS REPORTS 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s40474-020-00220-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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16
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Kovarski K, Caetta F, Mermillod M, Peyrin C, Perez C, Granjon L, Delorme R, Cartigny A, Zalla T, Chokron S. Emotional face recognition in autism and in cerebral visual impairments: In search for specificity. J Neuropsychol 2020; 15:235-252. [PMID: 32920927 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in the social domain, but also by hyper- and hypo-reactivity. Atypical visual behaviours and processing have often been observed. Nevertheless, several similar signs are also identified in other clinical conditions including cerebral visual impairments (CVI). In the present study, we investigated emotional face categorization in groups of children with ASD and CVI by comparing each group to typically developing individuals (TD) in two tasks. Stimuli were either non-filtered or filtered by low- and high-spatial frequencies (LSF and HSF). All participants completed the autism spectrum quotient score (AQ) and a complete neurovisual evaluation. The results show that while both clinical groups presented difficulties in the emotional face recognition tasks and atypical processing of filtered stimuli, they did not differ from one another. Additionally, autistic traits were observed in the CVI group and symmetrically, some visual disturbances were present in the ASD group as measured via the AQ score and a neurovisual evaluation, respectively. The present study suggests the relevance of comparing ASD to CVI by showing that emotional face categorization difficulties should not be solely considered as autism-specific but merit investigation for potential dysfunction of the visual processing neural network. These results are of interest in both clinical and research perspectives, indicating that systematic visual examination is warranted for individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Kovarski
- Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Hôpital Fondation Rothschild, Paris, France.,Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France, Paris, France
| | - Florent Caetta
- Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Hôpital Fondation Rothschild, Paris, France
| | - Martial Mermillod
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Carole Peyrin
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LPNC, Grenoble, France
| | - Céline Perez
- Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Hôpital Fondation Rothschild, Paris, France
| | - Lionel Granjon
- Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France, Paris, France
| | - Richard Delorme
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Ariane Cartigny
- Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Hôpital Fondation Rothschild, Paris, France.,Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France, Paris, France
| | - Tiziana Zalla
- Institut Jean Nicod, CNRS, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Sylvie Chokron
- Institut de Neuropsychologie, Neurovision et Neurocognition, Hôpital Fondation Rothschild, Paris, France.,Université de Paris, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France, Paris, France
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17
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Shephard E, Milosavljevic B, Mason L, Elsabbagh M, Tye C, Gliga T, Jones EJ, Charman T, Johnson MH. Neural and behavioural indices of face processing in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A longitudinal study from infancy to mid-childhood. Cortex 2020; 127:162-179. [PMID: 32200288 PMCID: PMC7254063 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Impaired face processing is proposed to play a key role in the early development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to be an endophenotypic trait which indexes genetic risk for the disorder. However, no published work has examined the development of face processing abilities from infancy into the school-age years and how they relate to ASD symptoms in individuals with or at high-risk for ASD. In this novel study we investigated neural and behavioural measures of face processing at age 7 months and again in mid-childhood (age 7 years) as well as social-communication and sensory symptoms in siblings at high (n = 42) and low (n = 35) familial risk for ASD. In mid-childhood, high-risk siblings showed atypical P1 and N170 event-related potential correlates of face processing and, for high-risk boys only, poorer face and object recognition ability compared to low-risk siblings. These neural and behavioural atypicalities were associated with each other and with higher social-communication and sensory symptoms in mid-childhood. Additionally, more atypical neural correlates of object (but not face) processing in infancy were associated with less right-lateralised (more atypical) N170 amplitudes and greater social-communication problems in mid-childhood. The implications for models of face processing in ASD are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Shephard
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
| | - Bosiljka Milosavljevic
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Luke Mason
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
| | - Mayada Elsabbagh
- Montreal Neurology Institute and Hospital, McGill University, Canada
| | - Charlotte Tye
- Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Teodora Gliga
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, UK; University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Emily Jh Jones
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, UK
| | - Tony Charman
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Mark H Johnson
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, UK; Department of Psychology, Cambridge University, UK
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