TY - JOUR
T1 - Early event-related potentials to emotional faces differ for adults with autism spectrum disorder and by serotonin transporter genotype
AU - Faja, Susan
AU - Dawson, Geraldine
AU - Aylward, Elizabeth
AU - Wijsman, Ellen M.
AU - Webb, Sara Jane
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health NIMH STAART Centers Program U54 MH066399 Project 4: Electrophysiology and fMRI studies of social cognition in autism, P50 HD 055782, and R01 MH094293. The MacBrain Face Stimulus Set used for this project was overseen by Nim Tottenham and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development. A poster based on these data was presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Toronto, Canada, May, 2012. Special acknowledgement is given to the research participants. Conflict of interest: None of the authors have potential conflicts of interest to be disclosed.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health NIMH STAART Centers Program U54 MH066399 Project 4: Electrophysiology and fMRI studies of social cognition in autism, P50 HD 055782, and R01 MH094293. The MacBrain Face Stimulus Set used for this project was overseen by Nim Tottenham and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development. A poster based on these data was presented at the International Meeting for Autism Research, Toronto, Canada, May, 2012. Special acknowledgement is given to the research participants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology.
PY - 2016/6/1
Y1 - 2016/6/1
N2 - Objective: To test differences in neural sensitivity to facial expressions, including expressions with open versus closed mouths, exhibited by (1) adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical adults, and by (2) short versus long serotonin transporter allele (SLC6A4) carriers. Methods: Event related potentials (ERPs) to happy, fearful, and neutral expressions were collected from neurotypical adults (n = 25) and adults with ASD (n = 27)-of whom 32 had short and 13 had homozygous long SLC6A4 alleles. Results: In the neurotypical group, we confirmed that the N170, VPP and EPN, but not the P1, were influenced by emotional expressions, and determined the EPN was the earliest component modulated by open mouth. Compared to the neurotypical group, individuals with ASD exhibited differences in EPN amplitude in response to open versus closed mouths and in hemispheric distribution. Across groups, short serotonin transporter allele carriers had reduced P1 amplitude compared to long allele carriers. Conclusions: Individuals with ASD exhibited a different pattern of neural response when encoding and recognizing facial expressions at the EPN component. Across groups, SLC6A4 allele type modulated early sensory attention at the P1. Significance: These results provide insight into the nature of early responses to emotional information according to genetic variation and clinical condition.
AB - Objective: To test differences in neural sensitivity to facial expressions, including expressions with open versus closed mouths, exhibited by (1) adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to neurotypical adults, and by (2) short versus long serotonin transporter allele (SLC6A4) carriers. Methods: Event related potentials (ERPs) to happy, fearful, and neutral expressions were collected from neurotypical adults (n = 25) and adults with ASD (n = 27)-of whom 32 had short and 13 had homozygous long SLC6A4 alleles. Results: In the neurotypical group, we confirmed that the N170, VPP and EPN, but not the P1, were influenced by emotional expressions, and determined the EPN was the earliest component modulated by open mouth. Compared to the neurotypical group, individuals with ASD exhibited differences in EPN amplitude in response to open versus closed mouths and in hemispheric distribution. Across groups, short serotonin transporter allele carriers had reduced P1 amplitude compared to long allele carriers. Conclusions: Individuals with ASD exhibited a different pattern of neural response when encoding and recognizing facial expressions at the EPN component. Across groups, SLC6A4 allele type modulated early sensory attention at the P1. Significance: These results provide insight into the nature of early responses to emotional information according to genetic variation and clinical condition.
KW - Autism
KW - Electrophysiology
KW - Emotion
KW - Event related potential
KW - SLC6A4
KW - Serotonin
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U2 - 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.02.022
DO - 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.02.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 27178863
AN - SCOPUS:84963604168
SN - 1388-2457
VL - 127
SP - 2436
EP - 2447
JO - Clinical Neurophysiology
JF - Clinical Neurophysiology
IS - 6
ER -