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Published on: December 7, 2018
Social and emotional processing in Prader-Willi syndrome: genetic subtype differences.
Alexandra P Key1, Dorita Jones, Elisabeth M Dykens
1Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development, Vanderbilt University, 230 Appleton Place, Peabody Box 74, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA. sasha.key@vanderbilt.edu.
Individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) show differences in how their brains process faces versus objects, particularly between the maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) and deletion subtypes. These findings suggest altered social and emotional recognition in PWS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Genetics
- Psychology
Background:
- Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated with social deficits and increased autism risk.
- Genetic subtypes, maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) and paternal deletion, may influence these characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare neural processing of social (faces) and nonsocial stimuli in PWS subtypes.
- To investigate the impact of emotional valence on stimulus processing across genetic groups.
Main Methods:
- Used an oddball paradigm with faces and objects, varying emotional valence.
- Recorded behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data in 24 adolescents and adults with PWS.
Main Results:
- No accuracy differences between genetic subtypes.
- ERP data revealed subtype differences in face vs. object processing (N170 response).
- Both subtypes showed altered processing of faces and emotional expressions.
Conclusions:
- The maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD) subtype may exhibit atypical face/object processing.
- Both PWS subtypes demonstrate potentially altered face recognition and attention.
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