CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 263Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchFace Recognition and PerceptionGenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurons in the fusiform gyrus are fewer and smaller in autism

van Kooten, Imke A. J., Palmen, Saskia J. M. C., von Cappeln, Patricia, Steinbusch, Harry W. M., Korr, Hubert, Heinsen, Helmut, Hof, Patrick R., van Engeland, Herman +1 more·2008·Brain
DOI 10.1093/brain/awn033
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Abnormalities in face perception are a core feature of social disabilities in autism. Recent functional magnetic resonance imaging studies showed that patients with autism could perform face perception tasks. However, the fusiform gyrus (FG) and other cortical regions supporting face processing in controls are hypoactive in patients with autism. The neurobiological basis of this phenomenon is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the FG shows neuropathological alterations in autism, namely alterations in neuron density, total neuron number and mean perikaryal volume. We investigated the FG (analysing separately layers II, III, IV, V and VI), in seven post-mortem brains from patients with autism and 10 controls for volume, neuron density, total neuron number and mean perikaryal volume with high-precision design-based stereology. To determine whether these results were specific for the FG, the same analyses were also performed in the primary visual cortex and in the cortical grey matter as a whole. Compared to controls, patients with autism showed significant reductions in neuron densities in layer III, total neuron numbers in layers III, V and VI, and mean perikaryal volumes of neurons in layers V and VI in the FG. None of these alterations were found in the primary visual cortex or in the whole cerebral cortex. Although based on a relatively small sample of post-mortem brains from patients with autism and controls, the results of the present study may provide important insight about the cellular basis of abnormalities in face perception in autism.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1093/brain/awn033

Cites

92 of 92 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Reduced growth of neuronal cell size and dendritic arbors in ASD postmortem cases have long been reported and are now recognized as an important neuropathological attribute of ASD cortex; neuron size reduction varies from −4% in occipital to −18% in prefrontal cortex.

    “Reduced growth of neuronal cell size and dendritic arbors in ASD postmortem cases have long been reported [25, 52] and are now recognized as an important neuropathological attribute of ASD cortex [46]; neuron size reduction varies from −4% in occipital to −18% in prefrontal cortex [24, 40, 53].”

    From The ASD Living Biology: from cell proliferation to clinical phenotype (2019) · cites this paper as [40]

  • Cortex in young ASD cases had 36% more neurons than controls.

    “In another study, cortex in young ASD cases had 36% more neurons than controls [40] (Table S1).”

    From The ASD Living Biology: from cell proliferation to clinical phenotype (2019) · cites this paper as [40]

  • ASD subjects have significantly lower neuron densities in fusiform gyrus layer III, lower total neuron numbers in layers III, V, and VI, and smaller mean perikaryal volumes in layers V and VI compared with controls.

    “Subjects with ASD have significantly lower neuron densities in layer III, significantly lower total neuron numbers in layers III, V, and VI, and significantly smaller mean perikaryal volumes in layers V and VI of the FG (Figure 2), compared to controls.”

    From Autism spectrum disorder: neuropathology and animal models (2017) · cites this paper as [362]

  • The primary visual area and whole cortical gray matter show no differences between ASD subjects and controls, confirming that the fusiform gyrus changes are region-specific.

    “The primary visual area and the whole cortical gray matter show no differences between subjects with ASD and controls, confirming that the observed changes are FG-specific.”

    From Autism spectrum disorder: neuropathology and animal models (2017) · cites this paper as [362]

  • Neuropathology in the amygdala and connected areas suggests abnormalities in specific pathways in ASD.

    “Nonetheless, neuropathology in this region as well as connected areas (i.e., the FG [362]) suggests abnormalities in specific pathways in ASD.”

    From Autism spectrum disorder: neuropathology and animal models (2017) · cites this paper as [362]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
van Kooten, I. A. J., Palmen, S. J. M. C., von Cappeln, P., Steinbusch, H. W. M., Korr, H., Heinsen, H., Hof, P. R., van Engeland, H., & Schmitz, C.
Affiliations
University of Würzburg (DE)
ORCID
Venue
Brain
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2008-03-10
Volume
131
Issue
4
Pages
987-999
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
DOI
10.1093/brain/awn033
OpenAlex
W2107751026
Cited by
263
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 19
FWCI
9.13
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RWTH Publications (RWTH Aachen) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Autism Speaks (AS6288)
  • National Institutes of Health (n01hd013138-010)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH66392, P50MH066392)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (N01 HD 13138)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, fusiform gyrus, neuronal density, neuron number, face perception, postmortem brain, design-based stereology, primary visual cortex, cortical layers, neuropathology
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Autistic Disorder, Cell Count, Cerebral Cortex, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neurons, Visual Cortex

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review