Abstract
It is assumed that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have specificities
for self-face recognition, which is known to be a basic cognitive ability for social
development. In the present study, we investigated neurological substrates and potentially
influential factors for self-face recognition of ASD patients using near-infrared
spectroscopy (NIRS). The subjects were 11 healthy adult men, 13 normally developing
boys, and 10 boys with ASD. Their hemodynamic activities in the frontal area and their
scanning strategies (eye-movement) were examined during self-face recognition. Other
factors such as ASD severities and self-consciousness were also evaluated by parents
and patients, respectively. Oxygenated hemoglobin levels were higher in the regions
corresponding to the right inferior frontal gyrus than in those corresponding to the
left inferior frontal gyrus. In two groups of children these activities reflected
ASD severities, such that the more serious ASD characteristics corresponded with lower
activity levels. Moreover, higher levels of public self-consciousness intensified
the activities, which were not influenced by the scanning strategies. These findings
suggest that dysfunction in the right inferior frontal gyrus areas responsible for
self-face recognition is one of the crucial neural substrates underlying ASD characteristics,
which could potentially be used to evaluate psychological aspects such as public self-consciousness.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 20, 2010
Accepted:
November 21,
2010
Received in revised form:
November 15,
2010
Received:
July 25,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
