title: Structural neuroanatomy of face processing in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
abstract: Impairments of face processing occur frequently in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) but the neuroanatomical basis for these deficits has seldom been studied systematically. Here a prospective voxel based morphometry study is described addressing the neuroanatomy of two key dimensions of face processing--face identification and facial emotion recognition--in a single cohort of 32 patients with FTLD (19 with frontal variant and 13 with temporal variant FTLD). For the FTLD group as a whole, face identification was positively associated with grey matter in the right anterior fusiform gyrus while recognition of angry expressions was positively associated with grey matter in the bilateral insula cortex. FTLD provides a perspective on the neuroanatomy of face processing that is complementary to focal lesion and normal functional imaging work.
authors.affiliation: Dementia Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8-11 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
authors.forename: Rohani
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Omar
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Rohrer
authors.forename: Julia C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hailstone
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Warren
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D057174:Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D036421:Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D059906:Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D014796:Visual Perception