ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

›› 2009, Vol. 17 ›› Issue (6): 1177-1184.

Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Neural Mechanisms of Face Recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders

WANG Li-Juan;LUO Hong-Ge;YAO Xue   

  1. Psychology Department, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
  • Received:2009-05-20 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:2009-11-15 Published:2009-11-15
  • Contact: WANG Li-Juan

Abstract: Autism Spectrum Disorders(ASD) refers to a spectrum of psychological conditions characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication as well as severely restricted interests and highly repetitive stereotyped behavior. It includes Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Regarding event-related potentials and functional magnetic resonance imaging technology as cues, this review discussed the neural mechanisms of face recognition in ASD patients via analyzing the abnormal changes of brain in the processing of face recognition. Researches showed that face recognition disability of ASD patients is mainly related to the abnormality of ERPs components such as N170, P400, N300 and Nc as well as lower activation of the fusiform face area and amygdala. Therefore, it is argued that the disorder of face recognition in ASD patients maybe result from the interaction of abnormal brain regions, which is impacted on the extent of the damage and the number of abnormal brain regions.

Key words: autism spectrum disorders, face recognition, N170, fusiform face area, amagdala