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Cited by 898Face Recognition and PerceptionAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchFace recognition and analysis

Face processing occurs outside the fusiform ‘face area’ in autism: evidence from functional MRI

Pierce, K.·2001·Brain
DOI 10.1093/brain/124.10.2059
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Abstract

Processing the human face is at the focal point of most social interactions, yet this simple perceptual task is difficult for individuals with autism, a population that spends limited amounts of time engaged in face-to-face eye contact or social interactions in general. Thus, the study of face processing in autism is not only important because it may be integral to understanding the social deficits of this disorder, but also, because it provides a unique opportunity to study experiential factors related to the functional specialization of normal face processing. In short, autism may be one of the only disorders where affected individuals spend reduced amounts of time engaged in face processing from birth. Using functional MRI, haemodynamic responses during a face perception task were compared between adults with autism and normal control subjects. Four regions of interest (ROIs), the fusiform gyrus (FG), inferior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and amygdala were manually traced on non-spatially normalized images and the percentage ROI active was calculated for each subject. Analyses in Talairach space were also performed. Overall results revealed either abnormally weak or no activation in FG in autistic patients, as well as significantly reduced activation in the inferior occipital gyrus, superior temporal sulcus and amygdala. Anatomical abnormalities, in contrast, were present only in the amygdala in autistic patients, whose mean volume was significantly reduced as compared with normals. Reaction time and accuracy measures were not different between groups. Thus, while autistic subjects could perform the face perception task, none of the regions supporting face processing in normals were found to be significantly active in the autistic subjects. Instead, in every autistic patient, faces maximally activated aberrant and individual-specific neural sites (e.g. frontal cortex, primary visual cortex, etc.), which was in contrast to the 100% consistency of maximal activation within the traditional fusiform face area (FFA) for every normal subject. It appears that, as compared with normal individuals, autistic individuals 'see' faces utilizing different neural systems, with each patient doing so via a unique neural circuitry. Such a pattern of individual-specific, scattered activation seen in autistic patients in contrast to the highly consistent FG activation seen in normals, suggests that experiential factors do indeed play a role in the normal development of the FFA.

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  • Numerous imaging studies show reduced activation in the fusiform face area in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

    “numerous imaging studies have shown reduced activation in the fusiform face area (FFA) in individuals with ASD (Corbett et al., 2009; Hubl et al., 2003; Pierce et al., 2001)”

    From Behavioral, Perceptual, and Neural Alterations in Sensory and Multisensory Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Pierce et al., 2001

  • The posterior superior temporal sulcus shows atypical functional responses to faces in autism spectrum disorder, including faces conveying social information.

    “the posterior STS (pSTS) is also an integral node in the face-processing network, and in ASD has been shown to have atypical functional responses to faces (Pierce et al., 2001), including faces conveying social information (Zilbovicius et al., 2006).”

    From Behavioral, Perceptual, and Neural Alterations in Sensory and Multisensory Function in Autism Spectrum Disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Pierce et al., 2001

  • Since the first studies in 2000, there have been a large number of replications of reduced or anomalous activation of Fusiform Gyrus in both adults and children with ASD during face processing tasks, which might be consistent with a non-existent, inactive or at least substantially altered FFA.

    “Since the first studies in 2000, there have been a large number of replications of reduced or anomalous activation of Fusiform Gyrus in both adults and children with ASD during face processing tasks which might be consistent with a non-existent, inactive or at least substantially altered FFA (Critchley et al., 2000;Hall, Szechtman, & Nahmias, 2003;Pierce, Muller, Ambrose, Allen, & Courchesne, 2001”

    From Vision in autism spectrum disorders (2009) · cites this paper as Pierce et al., 2001

  • Early neuroimaging evidence was in agreement that the amygdala was hypo-active during the viewing of (normally) emotional facial expressions.

    “As with the FFA, early neuroimaging evidence was in agreement that the amygdala was hypo-active during the viewing of (normally) emotional facial expressions (Baron-Cohen et al., 1999;Critchley et al., 2000;Pierce, Muller, Ambrose, Allen, & Courchesne, 2001).”

    From Vision in autism spectrum disorders (2009) · cites this paper as Pierce et al., 2001

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Authors
Pierce, K.
Affiliations
University of California San Diego (US)
Corresponding author
Pierce, K.
ORCID
Pierce, K.
Venue
Brain
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2001-10-01
Volume
124
Issue
10
Pages
2059-2073
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
DOI
10.1093/brain/124.10.2059
OpenAlex
W2000454722
Cited by
898
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 44 · 2013: 45 · 2012: 53
FWCI
18.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH36840, K01-MH01814, R01MH036840, K01MH001814)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition › Face recognition and analysis
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, face processing, fusiform face area, fusiform gyrus, amygdala, inferior occipital gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, inferior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, amygdala volume, face perception
MeSH terms
Adult, Amygdala, Autistic Disorder, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Face, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Reaction Time, Visual Perception

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