title: Repetition Suppression and Memory for Faces is Reduced in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions.
abstract: Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are associated with a number of atypicalities in face processing, including difficulties in face memory. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this difficulty are unclear. In neurotypical individuals, repeated presentation of the same face is associated with a reduction in activity, known as repetition suppression (RS), in the fusiform face area (FFA). However, to date, no studies have investigated RS to faces in individuals with ASC, or the relationship between RS and face memory. Here, we measured RS to faces and geometric shapes in individuals with a clinical diagnosis of an ASC and in age and IQ matched controls. Relative to controls, the ASC group showed reduced RS to faces in bilateral FFA and reduced performance on a standardized test of face memory. By contrast, RS to shapes in object-selective regions and object memory did not differ between groups. Individual variation in face-memory performance was positively correlated with RS in regions of left parietal and prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest difficulties in face memory in ASC may be a consequence of differences in the way faces are stored and/or maintained across a network of regions involved in both visual perception and short-term/working memory.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ewbank
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Pell
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.|School of Psychology, Cardiff University, CB2 8AH Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: Elisabeth A H
authors.initials: EAH
authors.lastname: von dem Hagen
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.|Department of Psychiatry, Autism Research Centre, University of Cambridge, CF10 3AT Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baron-Cohen
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, CB2 7EF Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Calder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000066499:Facial Recognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D060865:Repetition Priming; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: autism; fMRI-adaptation; face-memory; fusiform; objects