Neural Substrates of Gaze and Face Processing in Autism

自闭症患者凝视和面部处理的神经基础

• 批准号: 7126009
• 负责人: ROBERT M JOSEPH
• 金额: $ 13.15万
• 依托单位: BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-26 至 2009-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7126009
• 关键词: adolescence (12-20); amygdala; autism; bioimaging /biomedical imaging; brain imaging /visualization /scanning; brain mapping; clinical research; diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; eye movements; face; functional magnetic resonance imaging; human subject; neural information processing; neuropathology; neurophysiology; patient oriented research; white matter

This application is for a Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) entitled Neural Substrates of Gaze and Face Processing in Autism. A failure to attend to and respond appropriately to other people's faces is one of the most salient behavioral features of autism. In particular, individuals with autism exhibit reduced attention to eyes and deficiencies in encoding and recognition of the eye region of the face. The goal of this project is to use state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to assess the neurofunctional and structural integrity of the brain circuitry subserving gaze and face processing in autism. Aim 1 will combine functional MRI with diffusion tensor imaging to assess abnormalities of neurofunctional activity in relation to disturbances in white matter connectivity in the gaze and face processing system in autism, including the fusiform gyrus, the superior temporal sulcus, and the amygdala. Aim 2 will assess whether neurofunctional abnormalities in gaze processing are associated with observable differences in behaviorally measured face processing skills and symptom severity in autism. The candidate, Robert Joseph, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine. As part of Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg's autism research program, he is the subproject leader of a behavioral study of face perception in autism and has completed his own NICHD-funded R03 study on face recognition in autism. This K01 award will enable the candidate to become an independent researcher using MR methodologies most appropriate to the study of the developmental neuropathology of autism, and will extend his expertise from the behavioral realm into the functional and structural brain underpinnings of the disorder. The plan includes comprehensive training in MR methodologies and data analysis, as well as coursework in neuroimaging, neuroanatomy, developmental neurobiology and neuropathology. The proposed research will contribute to a better understanding of brain pathology in autism as it relates to a key domain of impairment, and can thereby guide the development of more effective biomedical and behavioral interventions for children with autism. Together, the training and research will provide the expertise and pilot data that will allow the candidate to prepare independent R01 applications near the completion of the training period.

此申请适用于名为“神经网络”的指导研究科学家发展奖（K01） 自闭症患者的凝视和面部处理的基础。无法关注他人的面部表情并做出适当的反应是自闭症最显着的行为特征之一。特别是，患有自闭症的人表现出对眼睛的注意力减少以及对面部眼睛区域的编码和识别方面的缺陷。该项目的目标是使用最先进的神经影像技术来评估支持自闭症凝视和面部处理的大脑回路的神经功能和结构完整性。目标 1 将功能性 MRI 与弥散张量成像相结合，评估与自闭症患者凝视和面部处理系统（包括梭状回、颞上沟和杏仁核）白质连接障碍相关的神经功能活动异常。目标 2 将评估 凝视处理中的神经功能异常是否与行为测量的面部处理技能和自闭症症状严重程度的可观察到的差异相关。 候选人罗伯特·约瑟夫博士是解剖学系的助理教授， 波士顿大学医学院神经生物学。作为 Helen Tager-Flusberg 博士自闭症研究项目的一部分，他是自闭症面部感知行为研究的子项目负责人，并完成了他自己的 NICHD 资助的自闭症面部识别 R03 研究。该 K01 奖项将使候选人能够成为一名独立研究员，使用最适合自闭症发育神经病理学研究的 MR 方法，并将其专业知识从行为领域扩展到该疾病的功能和结构性大脑基础。该计划包括 MR 方法和数据分析方面的全面培训，以及神经影像学、神经解剖学、发育神经生物学和神经病理学方面的课程。拟议的研究将有助于更好地 了解自闭症的大脑病理学，因为它与损伤的关键领域有关，从而可以指导为自闭症儿童制定更有效的生物医学和行为干预措施。培训和研究将共同​​提供专业知识和试点数据，使候选人能够在培训期结束时准备独立的 R01 申请。