Cited by 73Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Abnormal functional specialization within medial prefrontal cortex in high-functioning autism: a multi-voxel similarity analysis

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Gilbert, Sam J., Meuwese, Julia D.I., Towgood, Karren J., Frith, Christopher D., Burgess, Paul W.·2009·Brain

Abstract

Multi-voxel pattern analyses have proved successful in 'decoding' mental states from fMRI data, but have not been used to examine brain differences associated with atypical populations. We investigated a group of 16 (14 males) high-functioning participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 16 non-autistic control participants (12 males) performing two tasks (spatial/verbal) previously shown to activate medial rostral prefrontal cortex (mrPFC). Each task manipulated: (i) attention towards perceptual versus self-generated information and (ii) reflection on another person's mental state ('mentalizing'versus 'non-mentalizing') in a 2 x 2 design. Behavioral performance and group-level fMRI results were similar between groups. However, multi-voxel similarity analyses revealed strong differences. In control participants, the spatial distribution of activity generalized significantly between task contexts (spatial/verbal) when examining the same function (attention/mentalizing) but not when comparing different functions. This pattern was disrupted in the ASD group, indicating abnormal functional specialization within mrPFC, and demonstrating the applicability of multi-voxel pattern analysis to investigations of atypical populations.

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Authors
Gilbert, S. J., Meuwese, J. D. I., Towgood, K. J., Frith, C. D., & Burgess, P. W.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Gilbert, Sam J.
Venue
Brain
Published
2009-01-27
Volume
132
Issue
4
Pages
869-878
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
OpenAlex
W2159008199
Cited by
73
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 9
FWCI
4.19
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Wellcome Trust (061171)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, high-functioning autism, medial prefrontal cortex, functional specialization, multi-voxel pattern analysis, mentalization, attention
MeSH terms
Adult, Attention, Autistic Disorder, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Prefrontal Cortex, Asperger Syndrome, Young Adult

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