title: Abnormal activation of the social brain network in children with autism spectrum disorder: an FMRI study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to investigate abnormal findings of social brain network in Korean children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with typically developing children (TDC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to examine brain activations during the processing of emotional faces (happy, fearful, and neutral) in 17 children with ASD, 24 TDC.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When emotional face stimuli were given to children with ASD, various areas of the social brain relevant to social cognition showed reduced activation. Specifically, ASD children exhibited less activation in the right amygdala (AMY), right superior temporal sulcus (STS) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) than TDC group when fearful faces were shown. Activation of left insular cortex and right IFG in response to happy faces was less in the ASD group. Similar findings were also found in left superior insular gyrus and right insula in case of neutral stimulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that children with ASD have different processing of social and emotional experience at the neural level. In other words, the deficit of social cognition in ASD could be explained by the deterioration of the capacity for visual analysis of emotional faces, the subsequent inner imitation through mirror neuron system (MNS), and the ability to transmit it to the limbic system and to process the transmitted emotion.
authors: Sungmo-Maum Psychiatric Clinic, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Sun-Young
authors: SY
authors: Kim
authors: Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Uk-Su
authors: US
authors: Choi
authors: Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Sung-Yeon
authors: SY
authors: Park
authors: Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Se-Hong
authors: SH
authors: Oh
authors: Department of Art Therapy, Daegu Cyber University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
authors: Hyo-Woon
authors: HW
authors: Yoon
authors: The Korea Institute for Children's Social Development and Rudolph Child Research Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Yun-Joo
authors: YJ
authors: Koh
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Woo-Young
authors: WY
authors: Im
authors: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jee-In
authors: JI
authors: Park
authors: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Dong-Ho
authors: DH
authors: Song
authors: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Keun-Ah
authors: KA
authors: Cheon
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors: Chang-Uk
authors: CU
authors: Lee
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Social brain network; Social cognition; fMRI