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Conscious and Non-conscious Representations of Emotional Faces in Asperger's Syndrome
Published on: July 31, 2016
Amygdala response to faces parallels social behavior in Williams syndrome
Brianna M Paul1, Abraham Z Snyder, Frank Haist
1Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. bpaul@mednet.ucla.edu
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
|July 28, 2009
Summary
Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) exhibit strong face processing but fail to activate the amygdala during face tasks. This may explain their heightened sociability.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder characterized by cognitive and visuospatial deficits.
- Individuals with WS display relative strengths in face processing and heightened interest in social interaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate neural responses in face-sensitive brain regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in individuals with WS.
- To explore the relationship between amygdala activation and social behavior in WS.
Main Methods:
- fMRI was used to examine brain activity during a face discrimination task.
- Participants included individuals with WS, age-matched healthy adults (CA), and typically developing children (DA).
Main Results:
- WS participants showed reduced amygdala recruitment compared to both CA and DA controls during face processing.
- Ventral occipito-temporal cortex responses in WS participants were comparable to DA controls.
Conclusions:
- The failure to recruit the amygdala during face processing in WS may be a neural correlate of their characteristic high sociability.
- These findings offer insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of social behavior in genetic disorders.
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