Kirkovski Melissa, Enticott Peter G, Hughes Matthew E, Rossell Susan L, Fitzgerald Paul B
Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, Building BC, Level 5, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2016 Mar;46(3):954-63. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2639-7.
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPj) are highly involved in social understanding, a core area of impairment in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used fMRI to investigate sex differences in the neural correlates of social understanding in 27 high-functioning adults with ASD and 23 matched controls. There were no differences in neural activity in the mPFC or rTPj between groups during social processing. Whole brain analysis revealed decreased activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus in males with ASD compared to control males while processing social information. This pattern was not observed in the female sub-sample. The current study indicates that sex mediates the neurobiology of ASD, particularly with respect to processing social information.
内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）和右侧颞顶联合区（rTPj）高度参与社会认知，而社会认知是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一个核心受损领域。我们使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）来研究27名高功能成年自闭症患者和23名匹配的对照组在社会认知神经关联方面的性别差异。在社会处理过程中，两组之间mPFC或rTPj的神经活动没有差异。全脑分析显示，与对照组男性相比，患有ASD的男性在处理社会信息时，后颞上沟的活动减少。在女性亚样本中未观察到这种模式。当前研究表明，性别介导了ASD的神经生物学机制，尤其是在处理社会信息方面。
