| Ashwin, Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, O'Riordan, Bullmore, 2007 [163] |
13 (13) |
13 (13) |
31.2 + 9.1 |
25.6 + 5.1 |
Viewed facial stimuli known to activate AMY in healthy controls |
Differential activation to faces;
↑ACG, superior temporal cortex;
No difference in AMY activation between angry and frightened faces |
Different activation of social brain during face processing;
Absence of response to varying emotional intensity of facial stimuli |
| Bird, Catmur, Silani, Frith, Frith, 2006 [164] |
16 (14) |
16 (14) |
33.3 ± 11.5 |
35.3 + 12.1 |
Viewed pairs of stimuli (face/ house) in attended /unattended locations |
Attention modulation present only to house images (rather than to both houses and faces) |
Social stimuli less salient for individuals with ASD |
| Bookheimer, Wang, Scott, Sigman, Dapretto, 2008 [165] |
12 (12) |
12 (12) |
11.3 ± 40 |
11.9 ± 2.4 |
Inverted or upright face matching |
↓Frontal cortex across all conditions, particularly left hemisphere, dorsal IFG (i.e. mirror neurons);
↓AMY;
↑Precuneus |
Faces processed as objects;
Behavioral differences in processing upright vs inverted faces implicates a social rather that visual processing impairment |
| Corbett, Carmean, Ravizza, et al, 2009 [166] |
12 (12) |
15 (13) |
9.01 ± 13.82 |
9.17 ± 1.44 |
Face identify and expression matching |
↓AMY during expression matching;
↓FG during identity matching |
ASD recruits frontal and parietal lobes, but not AMY, for face expression matching;
ASD processes faces less efficiently and less effectively;
AMY fails to provide socio-emotional context during social interactions |
| Coutanche, Thompson-Schill, Schultz, 2011 [167] |
12 (12) |
12 (12) |
13.9 ± 4.48 |
13.6 ± 3.87 |
Recognition of emotional facial expressions |
Multi-voxel pattern analysis classification negatively correlated with symptom severity (activation levels did not);
Searchlight analysis across the ventral TL identified regions with relationships between classification performance and symptom severity |
Clinical severity was more classifiable from MVPA than from FG patterns;
MVPA can identify regions not found using mean activation,
ITG may play a role in ASD face processing |
| Dalton, Nacewicz, Johnstoner, et al, 2005 [168] |
Task : 14 (14)
Task 2 : 16 (16) |
Task 1: 12 (12)
Task 2: 16 (16) |
15.9 ± 4.71 |
17.1 ± 2.78 |
(1) Facial emotion discrimination
(2) Face recognition |
↓Bilateral FG, occipital gyri, MFG;
↑Left AMY, OFG;
FG and AMY activation correlated with time fixating on eye regions in the ASD group |
Diminished gaze fixation may account for FFG hypoactivation results in the literature |
| Deeley, Daly, Surguladze, et al, 2007 [169] |
18 (18) |
9 (9) |
34 + 10 |
27 ± 5 |
Viewed face stimuli with variable emotional expressions |
Fusiform, extrastriate hyporesponsiveness across emotion and intensity levels |
While fusiform and extrastriate regions are activated to social stimuli in ASD, it is less so than in typical development |
| Greimel, Schulte-Ruther, Kircher, et al, 2010 [170] |
15 (15), 11 (11) (adolescents, fathers) |
15 (15), 9 (9) (adolescents, fathers) |
14.9 ± 1.6, 47.7 ± 5.3 (adolescents, fathers) |
15.0 ± 1.4, 43.9 ± 5.1 (adolescents, fathers) |
Emotion identification in facial stimuli and in self |
↓FG correlated with social deficits, ↓IFG during self-task; Fathers of ASD performed similarly to fathers of controls, but showed ↓FG |
FG impairment shared between first-degree relatives is a fundamental feature of ASD; FG impairment during face processing related to empathy deficits |
| Hadjikhani, Joseph, Snyder, et al, 2004 [171] |
11** |
10** |
36 ± 12 |
26 ± 6 |
Viewed faces, objects, and scrambled images |
No FFA activation differences when viewing faces |
Face processing abnormalities not due to dysfunction in the FFA, but to abnormalities in surrounding networks involved in social cognition |
| Hadjikhani, Joseph, Snyder, Tager-Husberg, 2007 [172] |
10** |
7** |
34 ± 11 |
35 ± 12 |
Viewed unemotional faces |
No differences in FFA, inferior occipital gyrus activation; ↓Right AMY, IFC, STS, somatosensory cortex, PMC |
Atypical activation in a broader face-processing network outside of FFA and inferior occipital gyrus; Suggests mirror neuron system disturbance during face-processing in ASD |
| Hall, Szeehtman, Nahmias, 2003 [173] |
8 (8) |
8 (8) |
** |
** |
Emotion and gender recognition tasks |
↓IFA, FG; ↑right ATL, ACG, THAL |
Recognition of emotions in ASD achieved through recruitment of brain regions concerned with attention, perceptual knowledge, and categorization |
| Hall, Doyle, Goldberg, West, Szatman, 2010 [174] |
12 (12) |
12(12) |
31.8** |
32** |
Identified gender of subliminally presented images of anxious faces |
↓FFA; No AMY differences between groups |
Transmission of social information along subcortical pathways intact, but signaling to downstream structures as well as the mechanisms of subsequent processing are impaired |
| Hubl, Bolte, Feineis-Matthews, et al, 2003 [175] |
10 (10) |
10 (10) |
25.3 ± 6.9 |
27.7 ± 7.8 |
Viewed faces and complex patterns |
↓FG, esp during face processing; ↑Medial occipital gyrus, superior parietal lobule, medial frontal gyrus |
Deficits in face-specific regions, but overdevelopment in areas of visual search; Predisposed for local processing, rather than global |
| Humphreys, Hasson, Avidan, Minshew, Behrmann, 2008 [176] |
13 (13) |
15 (15) |
27 ± 10 |
29 ± 10 |
Viewed faces, buildings, objects and patterns in controlled and naturalistic settings |
↓FFA, occipital face area, STS in response to faces; No group differences in place-related or object-related processing |
Differential organization of ventral visual cortex; Developmental effects of lower functional connectivity have a more pronounced effect on later-developing systems, like face-processing, than for early-developing systems, like object- and place-processing |
| Kleinhans, Richards, Sterling, et al,2008 [177] |
19** |
21** |
23.5 ± 7.8 |
25.1 ±7.6 |
Viewed familiar faces, houses |
Reduced functional connectivity FFA-AMY, FFA-PCC, FFA-THAL; Greater social impairment correlated with worse connectivity FFA-AMY, FFA-right IFC |
Abnormal connectivity in limbic system underlies social deficits in ASD |
| Kleinhans, Johnson, Richards, et al, 2009 [178] |
19** |
20** |
** |
** |
Viewed neutral faces |
Reduced bilateral AMY habituation;No group differences in FG habituation |
AMY hyperarousal to socially relevant stimuli; Sustained AMY arousal may contribute to social deficits |
| Kleinhans, Richards, Weaver, et al, 2010 [179] |
31 (29) |
25 (23) |
23.57 ± 6.6 |
23.32 ± 5.15 |
Matched facial expressions of fear or anger |
↓Left PFC; ↑Occiptal lobe; Social anxiety correlated with ↑right AMY, ↓left middle temporal gyrus, ↓FFA |
Social anxiety mediates emotional face perception |
| Kleinhans, Richards, Johnson, et al, 2011 [180] |
31 (29) |
25 (23) |
23.57 ± 6.6 |
23.32 ± 5.15 |
Viewed images of faces and houses |
No activation in right AMY, right pulvinar, or bilateral superior colliculi to faces; |
Rapid face identification but failure to engage subcortical brain regions involved in face detection and automatic emotional face processing. |
| Koshino, Kana, Keller, et al, 2008 [181] |
11 (11) |
11 (10) |
24.5 ± 10.2 |
28.7 ± 10.9 |
Working memory tasks using faces |
↓Inferior left PFC, right posterior temporal; Activation in a different FFA location; Lower FFA-frontal connectivity |
Faces processed as objects; Working memory of faces not mediated by typical frontal regions |
| Loveland, Steinberg, Pearson, Mansour, Reddoch, 2008 [182] |
5 (4) |
4 (3) |
18 ± 1.3 |
17 + 1.1 |
Auditory and visual emotional congruence task |
During emotion trials, ↓OFt, STG, PHG, posterior cingulate gyrus, occipital gyrus |
Fronto-limbic and superior temporal activity differences during integration of auditory and visual emotional stimuli |
| Monk, Weng, Wiggins, et al, 2010 [183] |
12** |
12** |
26 ± 6 |
27 ± 6 |
Probe detection with different emotional expressions |
↑Right AMY to emotional faces; Greater right AMY and VMPFC coupling; Weaker positive right AMY and TL coupling |
Attention must be factored into any model of neural circuitry in ASD; Overconnectivity may underlie greater emotional responses in ASD |
| Morita, Kosaka, Saito, et al, 2011 [184] |
15 (14) |
15 (13) |
23.7 ± 4.3 |
23.3 + 3.6 |
Rated photogenicity of faces |
↓Setf-related activity in PCC; ↓Right IC and lateral OFC to embarrassment; ↓IC activity to self-face images associated with weak coupling between cognitive evaluation and emotional responses to self-face |
Decoupling between evaluation of self-face images and emotional response; Dysfunction in PCC and IC contributes to lack of self-conscious behaviors in response to self-reflection |
| Ogai, Matsumoto, Suzuki, et al, 2003 [185] |
5** |
9** |
21.8 ± 5.9 |
23.0 ± 5.2 |
Facial expression recognition |
↓Left insula, left IFG, left putamen during recognition of disgust and fear |
Difficulty understanding facial expressions in others and, therefore, in manipulating social information |
| Pelphrey, Morris, McCarthy, Labar, 2007 [186] |
8 (6) |
8 (6) |
24.5 ± 11.5 |
24.1 ± 5.6 |
Dynamic and static face processing |
↓AMY, STS, FG to dynamic faces |
Dysfunctions in these component areas may contribute to problems in social and emotional processing |
| Perlman, Hudac, Pegors, Minshew, Pelphrey, 2011 [187] |
12 (11) |
7 (7) |
25.5 ± 7.47 |
28.57 ± 5.74 |
Viewed faces while compelled to look at eyes |
Right FG activity normalized by following predetermined scan paths to eyes, but AMY response unaffected |
Rather than an underdeveloped FFA as a result of not focusing on faces during development, FFA appears functional; Impaired mechanism of appropriately directing gaze |
| Pierce, Muller, Ambrose, Allen, Courchesne, 2001 [188] |
6 (6) |
8 (8) |
29.5 ± 8 |
28.3** |
Face perception with gender identification |
↓Bilateral FG, left AMY; 50% of group showed atypical FG activation to faces |
ASD is associated with aberrant locations of maximal activations to faces |
| Pierce, Haist, Sedaghat, Courchesne, 2004 [189] |
7 (7) |
9 (9) |
27.1 ± 9.2 |
** |
Familiar versus unfamiliar face processing |
No group difference in extent of FFA activation to faces; ↑FFA to familiar faces. Right hemisphere dominance to both types of faces; Limited response in the posterior cingulate, AMY, MFL |
FFA hypoactivation to faces in ASD may be specific to unfamiliar faces; ASD may be characterized by anomalous FFA modulation by faces, rather than hypoactivation |
| Pierce, Redcay, 2008 [190] |
11 (9) |
11 (9) |
9.9 ± 2.1 |
9.8 ± 1.8 |
Matched faces of mothers, other children, adult strangers |
Normal FG response to face of mother or other children; ↓FG to stranger adult faces |
Selective reduction in FG activity in response to strangers may be a result to reduced attention and interest in those conditions |
| Pinkham, Hopfinger, Peiphrey, Pwen, Penn, 2008 [191] |
12** |
12** |
24.08 ± 5.71 |
27.08 ± 3.99 |
Free-viewing face processing |
↓Right AMY, FFA; ↓Left VLPFC compared to non-paranoid individuals with schizophrenia |
Potential common substrates of impaired social cognition in ASD and schizophrenia |
| Rudie, Shehzad, Hernandez, et al, 2011 [192] |
23 (21) |
25 (22) |
12.6 ± 2.83 |
13.3 ± 96 |
Emotional face processing |
Reduced functional integration; AMY-secondary visual areas, PO-parietal cortex, Reduced segregation AMY-DLPFC, PO-VMPFC; Reduced integration PO-FC, within right NAC |
Reduced functional integration and segregation of large-scale brain networks during face viewing |
| Scherf, Luna, Minshew, Behrmann, 2010 [193] |
10 (10) |
10 (10) |
12.2 ± 1.1 |
11.2 ± 1.3 |
Vignettes of faces, common objects, houses and scenes of navigation |
↓FG occipital face area, STS to faces; ↑Ventral posterior FG to faces |
Selective ventral visual pathway disruption; Face-processing alteration present in early adolescence, Face perception in ASD akin to object perception in typical development |
| Schultz, Gauthier, Klin, et aI, 2000 [194] |
14 (14) |
28 (28) (2 groups of 14) |
24.08 ± 5.71 |
27.08 ± 3.99 |
Face discrimination |
↓Right FG; ↑Right ITG |
Brain activation in the ASD group during face discrimination was consistent with feature-based strategies |
| Uddin, Davies, Scott, et al, 2008 [195] |
18 (18) |
12 (12) |
13.19 ± 2.61 |
12.23+2.10 |
Judged “self” or “other” for morphed face images |
↓Right premotor/prefrontal during presentation of “other” faces |
Functional dissociation between the representation of self versus others suggests a neural substrate of self-focus and decreased social understanding |
| Wang, Dapretto, Hariri, Sigman, Bookheimer, 2004 [196] |
12 (12) |
12 (12) |
13.91 ± 2.61 |
12.23 ± 2.10 |
Emotion matching naming |
↓FG and ↑precuneus during matching facial expressions; Lack of modulation by task demands in the AMY |
Recruited different neural networks and relied on different strategies when processing facial emotion |
| Welchew, Ashwm, Berkouk, et al, 2005 [197] |
13 (13) |
13 (13) |
31.2 ± 51 |
25.6± 5.1 |
Face processing |
Abnormal AMY—parahippocampal connectivity |
Difficulty in grasping facial expressions in others and, therefore, in manipulating interpersonally derived information |
| Weng, Carrasco, Swartz, et al, 2011 [198] |
22 (17) |
20 (19) |
14.36 ± 17 |
14.97 ± 1.95 |
Emotional face processing |
↑AMY, ventral PFC and striatum, particularly to sad faces; Negative correlation between age, pubertal status, and AMY activation |
Greater activation in social-emotional processing regions when viewing faces |
