title: Local but not long-range microstructural differences of the ventral temporal cortex in developmental prosopagnosia.
abstract: Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (DP) experience face recognition impairments despite normal intellect and low-level vision and no history of brain damage. Prior studies using diffusion tensor imaging in small samples of subjects with DP (n=6 or n=8) offer conflicting views on the neurobiological bases for DP, with one suggesting white matter differences in two major long-range tracts running through the temporal cortex, and another suggesting white matter differences confined to fibers local to ventral temporal face-specific functional regions of interest (fROIs) in the fusiform gyrus. Here, we address these inconsistent findings using a comprehensive set of analyzes in a sample of DP subjects larger than both prior studies combined (n=16). While we found no microstructural differences in long-range tracts between DP and age-matched control participants, we found differences local to face-specific fROIs, and relationships between these microstructural measures with face recognition ability. We conclude that subtle differences in local rather than long-range tracts in the ventral temporal lobe are more likely associated with developmental prosopagnosia.
authors.affiliation: Human Cortical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: songss@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Sunbin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge UB8 3PH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Lúcia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research (SNS Lab), University of Zurich, Rämistr. 100, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland; Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Siawoosh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.affiliation: Human Cortical Physiology Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steel
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Driver
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ray J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.affiliation: Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
authors.forename: Bradley
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duchaine
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Furl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020238:Prosopagnosia / Q000473:pathology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D066127:White Matter / Q000473:pathology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diffusion-weighted imaging; Face perception; Individual differences; Inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus; Inferior longitudinal fasciculus; Prosopagnosia