title: Neural mechanisms of encoding social and non-social context information in autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often fail to attach context to their memories and are specifically impaired in processing social aspects of contextual information. The aim of the present study was to investigate the modulatory influence of social vs. non-social context on neural mechanisms during encoding in ASD. Using event-related fMRI, 13 boys with ASD and 13 typically developing boys comparable for age and IQ were investigated during encoding of neutral objects presented either with a social (faces) or a non-social (houses) context. A memory paradigm was then applied to identify brain activation patterns associated with encoding of subsequently recollected versus non-recollected objects. On the behavioural level, no significant between-group differences emerged. In particular, no differential effects of context on memory performance were observed. Neurally, however, context-specific group differences were observed in several brain regions. During encoding of subsequently recollected objects presented with a face, ASD subjects (compared to controls) showed reduced neural activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus and right inferior parietal lobule. Neural activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus was positively correlated with memory performance in controls, but negatively in ASD individuals. During encoding of subsequently non-recollected objects presented in the non-social context, ASD subjects showed increased activation in the dorsal MPFC. Our findings suggest that in ASD subjects, fronto-parietal brain regions subserving memory formation and the association of contextual information are activated atypically when a social context is presented at encoding. The data add to findings from related research fields indicating that in ASD, socioemotional impairment extends into domains beyond social cognition. Increased activation in the dorsal MPFC in ASD individuals might reflect supervisory cognitive processes related to the suppression of a distracting non-social context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of the RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany. Ellen.Greimel@med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greimel
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nehrkorn
authors.forename: Gereon R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Fink
authors.forename: Juraj
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kukolja
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kohls
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piefke
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kamp-Becker
authors.forename: Helmut
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Remschmidt
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Herpertz-Dahlmann
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schulte-Rüther
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007360:Intelligence; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D013223:Statistics as Topic
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen