Journal
BRAIN AND COGNITION
Volume 61, Issue 1, Pages 54-68Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2005.12.015
Keywords
autism; Asperger syndrome; autism spectrum disorders; functional magnetic resonance imaging; language; semantic processing
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Funding
- NIDCD NIH HHS [P01/U19 DC 03610] Funding Source: Medline
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Language and communication deficits are core features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), even in high-functioning adults with ASD. This study investigated brain activation patterns using functional magnetic resonance imaging in right-handed adult males with ASD and a control group, matched on age, handedness, and verbal IQ. Semantic processing in the controls produced robust activation in Broca's area (left inferior frontal gyrus) and in superior medial frontal gyrus and right cerebellum. The ASD group had substantially reduced Broca's activation, but increased left temporal (Wernicke's) activation. Furthermore, the ASD group showed diminished activation differences between concrete and abstract words, consistent with behavioral studies. The current study suggests Broca's area is a region of abnormal neurodevelopment in ASD, which may be linked with semantic and related language deficits frequently observed in ASD. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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