Prefrontal social cognition network dysfunction underlying face encoding and social anxiety in fragile X syndrome

Holsen, L.M., Dalton, K.M., Johnstone, T. and Davidson, R.J. (2008) Prefrontal social cognition network dysfunction underlying face encoding and social anxiety in fragile X syndrome. Neuroimage, 43 (3). pp. 592-604. ISSN 1053-8119 doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.08.009

Abstract/Summary

Individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) commonly display characteristics of social anxiety, including gaze aversion, increased time to initiate social interaction, and difficulty forming meaningful peer relationships. While neural correlates of face processing, an important component of social interaction, are altered in FXS, studies have not examined whether social anxiety in this population is related to higher cognitive processes, such as memory. This study aimed to determine whether the neural circuitry involved in face encoding was disrupted in individuals with FXS, and whether brain activity during face encoding was related to levels of social anxiety. A group of 11 individuals with FXS (5 M) and 11 age-and gender-matched control participants underwent fMRI scanning while performing a face encoding task with onlineeye-tracking. Results indicate that compared to the control group, individuals with FXS exhibited decreased activation of prefrontal regions associated with complex social cognition, including the medial and superior frontal cortex, during successful face encoding. Further, the FXS and control groups showed significantly different relationships between measures of social anxiety (including gaze-fixation) and brain activity during face encoding. These data indicate that social anxiety in FXS may be related to the inability to successfully recruit higher level social cognition regions during the initial phases of memory formation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/14006
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences
Uncontrolled Keywords	Fragile X syndrome, Social anxiety, Face encoding, Subsequent memory, Brain function , BEHAVIORAL-PHENOTYPE, BRAIN ACTIVATION, DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, AUTISTIC BEHAVIOUR, EMOTIONAL MEMORY, TEMPORAL-LOBE, SELF-FACE, AMYGDALA, MALES, FMRI
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