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Updated: Oct 26, 2026
Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
Characteristics of visual search and prefrontal brain activity in individuals with autism spectrum disorder:
Koji Yano1, Akira Yasumura2, Jungpil Shin3
1Developmental Disorders Section, Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, 4-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-8555, Japan.
Introduction:
The term 'visual search' (VS) is used to describe behaviors such as finding a desired item while shopping or looking for a room key. These behaviors are important in everyday life. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been reported to experience difficulties with VS. However, the characteristics of VS and the associated brain activity remain unclear. Therefore, we investigated these characteristics in detail using a measurement method that combined VS tasks with brain function measurements.
Methods:
Twenty-one individuals with ASD and 42 typically developing (TD) individuals, matched for age and visual intelligence, participated in this study. The characteristics of VS were evaluated using two types of cancellation tasks: structured and random arrays. We evaluated VS performance using various measurements, including the rate of intersections and the best r, which reflect systematicity and directional constancy. We measured brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Results:
The ASD group had a significantly higher rate of intersections and a significantly lower best r than the TD group. The right PFC activity was significantly higher than the activity in other PFC regions during the random array task in the TD group. Additionally, the TD group exhibited significantly higher right PFC activity than the ASD group.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that VS in individuals with ASD is characterized by inconsistent search direction and disorganization and that patterns of PFC brain activity during VS may also differ from those observed in TD individuals.
