Anomalous brain activation during face and gaze processing in Williams syndrome

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder associated with cognitive and behavioral differences.
• Individuals with WS often exhibit relative strengths in social approach and face processing.
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of these preserved abilities is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinct neural systems supporting face and eye-gaze processing in Williams syndrome.
• To compare brain activation patterns between individuals with WS and typically developing controls during these tasks.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to assess brain activity.
• 11 individuals with WS and 11 age- and sex-matched controls participated.
• Participants completed tasks assessing face and eye-gaze direction processing.

Main Results:

• Williams syndrome subjects demonstrated reduced accuracy and increased response times in gaze direction processing.
• Increased activation in the right fusiform gyrus (FuG), frontal, and temporal regions was observed in WS subjects.
• Controls showed greater activation in bilateral FuG, occipital, and visual cortices, while WS subjects exhibited more extensive activation in frontal and subcortical areas.

Conclusions:

• Neural activation patterns in WS suggest preserved functioning in frontal and temporal regions, potentially due to compensatory mechanisms or task difficulty.
• Individuals with WS may have impairments in visual cortical regions affecting global-coherence and visuospatial processing of faces and gaze.