Autism, social cognition and superior temporal sulcus

Monica Zilbovicius, Ana Saitovitch, Traian Popa, Elza Rechtman, Lafina Diamandis, Nadia Chabane, Francis Brunelle, Yves Samson, Nathalie Boddaert

Neuroimage Research Center, ICM, Paris, France.
Stroke Unity, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris VI Pierre et Marie Curie University, Paris, France.
U 1000 Brain Imaging in Psychiatry, INSERM-CEA, Pediatric Radiology Service, Necker Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris V René Descartes University, Paris, France.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2013.32A008                

Abstract

Results on brain imaging studies have led to a better understanding of the neural circuits involved in social cognition and its implication in autism spectrum disorders(ASD). It has been shown that the superior temporal sulcus(STS)is highly implicated in social processes, from perception of socially relevant information, such as body movements or eye gaze, to more complex social cognition processes. Furthermore, several multimodal brain imaging results point to anatomo-functional abnormalities in the STS in both children and adults with ASD. These results are highly consistent with social impairments in ASD, among which eye gaze perception is particularly relevant. Gaze abnormalities can now be objectively measured using eye-tracking methodology, leading to a better characterization of social perception impairments in autism. Moreover, these gaze abnormalities have been associated with STS abnormalities in ASD. Based on these results, our hypothesis is that anatomo-functional anomalies in the STS occurring early across brain development could constitute the first step in the cascade of neural dysfunction underlying autism. In the present work, we’ll review recent data of STS contribution to normal social cognition and it’s implication in autism.

Keywords

Brain Imaging; Social Cognition; Autism; STS

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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