title: Neural bases of atypical emotional face processing in autism: A meta-analysis of fMRI studies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We aim to outline the neural correlates of atypical emotional face processing in individuals with ASD.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive literature search was conducted through electronic databases to identify functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of whole brain analysis with emotional-face processing tasks in individuals with ASD. The Signed Differential Mapping with random effects model was used to conduct meta-analyses. Identified fMRI studies were further divided into sub-groups based on contrast ("emotional-face vs. non-emotional-face" or "emotional-face vs. non-face") to confirm the results of a meta-analysis of the whole studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen studies with 226 individuals with ASD and 251 typically developing people were identified. We found ASD-related hyperactivation in subcortical structures, including bilateral thalamus, bilateral caudate, and right precuneus, and ASD-related hypoactivation in the hypothalamus during emotional-face processing. Sub-analyses with more homogeneous contrasts preserved the findings of the main analysis such as hyperactivation in sub-cortical structure. Jackknife analyses showed that hyperactivation of the left caudate was the most robust finding.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abnormalities in the subcortical structures, such as amygdala, hypothalamus and basal ganglia, are associated with atypical emotional-face processing in individuals with ASD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo , Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo , Japan.
authors.forename: Yuta
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Samuele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tansella
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005149:Facial Expression; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords: Asperger's syndrome; autistic disorder; functional magnetic resonance imaging; human; pervasive developmental disorders