Atypical neural substrates of Embedded Figures Task performance in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Superior performance on the Embedded Figures Task (EFT) has been attributed to weak central coherence in perceptual processing in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural basis of EFT performance in 7- to 12-year-old ASD children and age- and IQ-matched controls. ASD children activated only a subset of the distributed network of regions activated in controls. In frontal cortex, control children activated left dorsolateral, medial and dorsal premotor regions whereas ASD children only activated the dorsal premotor region. In parietal and occipital cortices, activation was bilateral in control children but unilateral (left superior parietal and right occipital) in ASD children. Further, extensive bilateral ventral temporal activation was observed in control, but not ASD children. ASD children performed the EFT at the same level as controls but with reduced cortical involvement, suggesting that disembedded visual processing is accomplished parsimoniously by ASD relative to typically developing brains.