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Zheng X, Zhou F, Fu M, Xu L, Wang J, Li J, Li K, Sindermann C, Montag C, Becker B, Zhan Y, Kendrick KM. Patterns of neural activity in response to threatening faces are predictive of autistic traits: modulatory effects of oxytocin receptor genotype. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:168. [PMID: 38553454 PMCID: PMC10980722 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02889-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Autistic individuals generally demonstrate impaired emotion recognition but it is unclear whether effects are emotion-specific or influenced by oxytocin receptor (OXTR) genotype. Here we implemented a dimensional approach using an implicit emotion recognition task together with functional MRI in a large cohort of neurotypical adult participants (N = 255, male = 131, aged 17-29 years) to establish associations between autistic traits and neural and behavioral responses to specific face emotions, together with modulatory effects of OXTR genotype. A searchlight-based multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) revealed an extensive network of frontal, basal ganglia, cingulate and limbic regions exhibiting significant predictability for autistic traits from patterns of responses to angry relative to neutral expression faces. Functional connectivity analyses revealed a genotype interaction (OXTR SNPs rs2254298, rs2268491) for coupling between the orbitofrontal cortex and mid-cingulate during angry expression processing, with a negative association between coupling and autistic traits in the risk-allele group and a positive one in the non-risk allele group. Overall, results indicate extensive emotion-specific associations primarily between patterns of neural responses to angry faces and autistic traits in regions processing motivation, reward and salience but not in early visual processing. Functional connections between these identified regions were not only associated with autistic traits but also influenced by OXTR genotype. Thus, altered patterns of neural responses to threatening faces may be a potential biomarker for autistic symptoms although modulatory influences of OXTR genotype need to be taken into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoxiao Zheng
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Feng Zhou
- Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Meina Fu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lei Xu
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jiayuan Wang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Jialin Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Keshuang Li
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Cornelia Sindermann
- University of Stuttgart, Computational Digital Psychology, Interchange Forum for Reflecting on Intelligent Systems, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Christian Montag
- Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Benjamin Becker
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hongkong, Hongkong, China
| | - Yang Zhan
- Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Keith M Kendrick
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
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Yang C, Wang XK, Ma SZ, Lee NY, Zhang QR, Dong WQ, Zang YF, Yuan LX. Abnormal functional connectivity of the reward network is associated with social communication impairments in autism spectrum disorder: A large-scale multi-site resting-state fMRI study. J Affect Disord 2024; 347:608-618. [PMID: 38070748 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The social motivation hypothesis proposes that the social deficits of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are related to reward system dysfunction. However, functional connectivity (FC) patterns of the reward network in ASD have not been systematically explored yet. METHODS The reward network was defined as eight regions of interest (ROIs) per hemisphere, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), caudate, putamen, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), amygdala, and insula. We computed both the ROI-wise resting-state FC and seed-based whole-brain FC in 298 ASD participants and 348 typically developing (TD) controls from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange I dataset. Two-sample t-tests were applied to obtain the aberrant FCs. Then, the association between aberrant FCs and clinical symptoms was assessed with Pearson's correlation or Spearman's correlation. In addition, Neurosynth Image Decoder was used to generate word clouds verifying the cognitive functions of the aberrant pathways. Furthermore, a three-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to examine the effects of gender, subtype and age on the atypical FCs. RESULTS For the within network analysis, the left ACC showed weaker FCs with both the right amygdala and left NAc in ASD compared with TD, which were negatively correlated with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) total scores and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) total scores respectively. For the whole-brain analysis, weaker FC (i.e., FC between the left vmPFC and left calcarine gyrus, and between the right vmPFC and left precuneus) accompanied by stronger FC (i.e., FC between the left caudate and right insula) were exhibited in ASD relative to TD, which were positively associated with the SRS motivation scores. Additionally, we detected the main effect of age on FC between the left vmPFC and left calcarine gyrus, of subtype on FC between the right vmPFC and left precuneus, of age and age-by-gender interaction on FC between the left caudate and right insula. CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the crucial role of abnormal FC patterns of the reward network in the core social deficits of ASD, which have the potential to reveal new biomarkers for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Yang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xing-Ke Wang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Sheng-Zhi Ma
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Nathan Yee Lee
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Qiu-Rong Zhang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wen-Qiang Dong
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yu-Feng Zang
- Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, The Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Institute of Psychological Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; TMS Center, Hangzhou Normal University Affiliated Deqing Hospital, Huzhou, China
| | - Li-Xia Yuan
- School of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing, China.
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Van der Donck S, Hendriks M, Vos S, Op de Beeck H, Boets B. Neural sensitivity to facial identity and facial expression discrimination in adults with autism. Autism Res 2023; 16:2110-2124. [PMID: 37823568 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3036] [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: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
The fluent processing of faces can be challenging for autistic individuals. Here, we assessed the neural sensitivity to rapid changes in subtle facial cues in 23 autistic men and 23 age and IQ matched non-autistic (NA) controls using frequency-tagging electroencephalography (EEG). In oddball paradigms examining the automatic and implicit discrimination of facial identity and facial expression, base rate images were presented at 6 Hz, periodically interleaved every fifth image with an oddball image (i.e. 1.2 Hz oddball frequency). These distinctive frequency tags for base rate and oddball stimuli allowed direct and objective quantification of the neural discrimination responses. We found no large differences in the neural sensitivity of participants in both groups, not for facial identity discrimination, nor for facial expression discrimination. Both groups also showed a clear face-inversion effect, with reduced brain responses for inverted versus upright faces. Furthermore, sad faces generally elicited significantly lower neural amplitudes than angry, fearful and happy faces. The only minor group difference is the larger involvement of high-level right-hemisphere visual areas in NA men for facial expression processing. These findings are discussed from a developmental perspective, as they strikingly contrast with robust face processing deficits observed in autistic children using identical EEG paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Van der Donck
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michelle Hendriks
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuve, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Silke Vos
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Op de Beeck
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Research Unit Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuve, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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D'Mello AM, Frosch IR, Meisler SL, Grotzinger H, Perrachione TK, Gabrieli JDE. Diminished Repetition Suppression Reveals Selective and Systems-Level Face Processing Differences in ASD. J Neurosci 2023; 43:1952-1962. [PMID: 36759192 PMCID: PMC10027049 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0608-22.2023] [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: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Repeated exposure to a stimulus results in reduced neural response, or repetition suppression, in brain regions responsible for processing that stimulus. This rapid accommodation to repetition is thought to underlie learning, stimulus selectivity, and strengthening of perceptual expectations. Importantly, reduced sensitivity to repetition has been identified in several neurodevelopmental, learning, and psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges in social communication and repetitive behaviors and restricted interests. Reduced ability to exploit or learn from repetition in ASD is hypothesized to contribute to sensory hypersensitivities, and parallels several theoretical frameworks claiming that ASD individuals show difficulty using regularities in the environment to facilitate behavior. Using fMRI in autistic and neurotypical human adults (females and males), we assessed the status of repetition suppression across two modalities (vision, audition) and with four stimulus categories (faces, objects, printed words, and spoken words). ASD individuals showed domain-specific reductions in repetition suppression for face stimuli only, but not for objects, printed words, or spoken words. Reduced repetition suppression for faces was associated with greater challenges in social communication in ASD. We also found altered functional connectivity between atypically adapting cortical regions and higher-order face recognition regions, and microstructural differences in related white matter tracts in ASD. These results suggest that fundamental neural mechanisms and system-wide circuits are selectively altered for face processing in ASD and enhance our understanding of how disruptions in the formation of stable face representations may relate to higher-order social communication processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A common finding in neuroscience is that repetition results in plasticity in stimulus-specific processing regions, reflecting selectivity and adaptation (repetition suppression [RS]). RS is reduced in several neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Theoretical frameworks of ASD posit that reduced adaptation may contribute to associated challenges in social communication and sensory processing. However, the scope of RS differences in ASD is unknown. We examined RS for multiple categories across visual and auditory domains (faces, objects, printed words, spoken words) in autistic and neurotypical individuals. We found reduced RS in ASD for face stimuli only and altered functional connectivity and white matter microstructure between cortical face-recognition areas. RS magnitude correlated with social communication challenges among autistic individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anila M D'Mello
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139
| | - Isabelle R Frosch
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139
| | - Steven L Meisler
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02115
| | - Hannah Grotzinger
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139
| | - Tyler K Perrachione
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215
| | - John D E Gabrieli
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139
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Klauke S, Sondocie C, Fine I. The impact of low vision on social function: The potential importance of lost visual social cues. JOURNAL OF OPTOMETRY 2023; 16:3-11. [PMID: 35568628 PMCID: PMC9811370 DOI: 10.1016/j.optom.2022.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Visual cues usually play a vital role in social interaction. As well as being the primary cue for identifying other people, visual cues also provide crucial non-verbal social information via both facial expressions and body language. One consequence of vision loss is the need to rely on non-visual cues during social interaction. Although verbal cues can carry a significant amount of information, this information is often not available to an untrained listener. Here, we review the current literature examining potential ways that the loss of social information due to vision loss might impact social functioning. A large number of studies suggest that low vision and blindness is a risk factor for anxiety and depression. This relationship has been attributed to multiple factors, including anxiety about disease progression, and impairments to quality of life that include difficulties reading, and a lack of access to work and social activities. However, our review suggests a potential additional contributing factor to reduced quality of life that has been hitherto overlooked: blindness may make it more difficult to effectively engage in social interactions, due to a loss of visual information. The current literature suggests it might be worth considering training in voice discrimination and/or recognition when carrying out rehabilitative training in late blind individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chloe Sondocie
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
| | - Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.
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Soto-Icaza P, Beffara-Bret B, Vargas L, Aboitiz F, Billeke P. Differences in cortical processing of facial emotions in broader autism phenotype. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262004. [PMID: 35041646 PMCID: PMC8765621 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous condition that affects face perception. Evidence shows that there are differences in face perception associated with the processing of low spatial frequency (LSF) and high spatial frequency (HSF) of visual stimuli between non-symptomatic relatives of individuals with autism (broader autism phenotype, BAP) and typically developing individuals. However, the neural mechanisms involved in these differences are not fully understood. Here we tested whether face-sensitive event related potentials could serve as neuronal markers of differential spatial frequency processing, and whether these potentials could differentiate non-symptomatic parents of children with autism (pASD) from parents of typically developing children (pTD). To this end, we performed electroencephalographic recordings of both groups of parents while they had to recognize emotions of face pictures composed of the same or different emotions (happiness or anger) presented in different spatial frequencies. We found no significant differences in the accuracy between groups but lower amplitude modulation in the Late Positive Potential activity in pASD. Source analysis showed a difference in the right posterior part of the superior temporal region that correlated with ASD symptomatology of the child. These results reveal differences in brain processing of recognition of facial emotion in BAP that could be a precursor of ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Soto-Icaza
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Social y Neuromodulación, Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (neuroCICS), Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
| | | | | | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pablo Billeke
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Social y Neuromodulación, Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (neuroCICS), Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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McPartland JC, Lerner MD, Bhat A, Clarkson T, Jack A, Koohsari S, Matuskey D, McQuaid GA, Su WC, Trevisan DA. Looking Back at the Next 40 Years of ASD Neuroscience Research. J Autism Dev Disord 2021; 51:4333-4353. [PMID: 34043128 PMCID: PMC8542594 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-05095-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
During the last 40 years, neuroscience has become one of the most central and most productive approaches to investigating autism. In this commentary, we assemble a group of established investigators and trainees to review key advances and anticipated developments in neuroscience research across five modalities most commonly employed in autism research: magnetic resonance imaging, functional near infrared spectroscopy, positron emission tomography, electroencephalography, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Broadly, neuroscience research has provided important insights into brain systems involved in autism but not yet mechanistic understanding. Methodological advancements are expected to proffer deeper understanding of neural circuitry associated with function and dysfunction during the next 40 years.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew D Lerner
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Anjana Bhat
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Tessa Clarkson
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Allison Jack
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Sheida Koohsari
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - David Matuskey
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Goldie A McQuaid
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Wan-Chun Su
- Department of Physical Therapy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
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