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Cited by 215Autism Spectrum Disorder ResearchFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesGenetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of autism spectrum disorders

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Dichter, Gabriel S.·2012·Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
DOI 10.31887/dcns.2012.14.3/gdichterPMC PMC3513685
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Abstract

This review presents an overview of functional magnetic resonance imaging findings in autism spectrum disorders (ASDS), although there is considerable heterogeneity with respect to results across studies, common themes have emerged, including: (i) hypoactivation in nodes of the "social brain" during social processing tasks, including regions within the prefrontal cortex, the posterior superior temporal sulcus, the amygdala, and the fusiform gyrus; (ii) aberrant frontostriatal activation during cognitive control tasks relevant to restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests, including regions within the dorsal prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia; (iii) differential lateralization and activation of language processing and production regions during communication tasks; (iv) anomalous mesolimbic responses to social and nonsocial rewards; (v) task-based long-range functional hypoconnectivity and short-range hyper-connectivity; and (vi) decreased anterior-posterior functional connectivity during resting states. These findings provide mechanistic accounts of ASD pathophysiology and suggest directions for future research aimed at elucidating etiologic models and developing rationally derived and targeted treatments.

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Authors
Dichter, G. S.
Affiliations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Corresponding author
Dichter, Gabriel S.
ORCID
Dichter, Gabriel S.
Venue
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2012-09-30
Volume
14
Issue
3
Pages
319-351
ISSN
  • 1294-8322 (ISSN-L)
  • 1958-5969
DOI
10.31887/dcns.2012.14.3/gdichter
PMC
PMC3513685
OpenAlex
W1496968292
Cited by
215
References
204
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 13
FWCI
8.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH073402, K23MH081285)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Keywords
autism spectrum disorder, social brain, social processing, hypoactivation, restricted and repetitive behaviors, language lateralization, functional connectivity, resting-state functional connectivity, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, basal ganglia
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Brain, Child, Child Development Disorders, Pervasive, Cognition Disorders, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Language Development Disorders, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Oxygen, Reward, Social Behavior, Theory of Mind

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