Face processing has been found to be impaired in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). One hypothesis is that individuals with ASD engage in piecemeal compared to holistic face processing strategies. To investigate the role of possible impairments in holistic face processing in individuals with autism, the current study investigated behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) correlates of face processing (P1/N170 and gamma-band activity) in adolescents with ASD and sex-, age-, and IQ-matched neurotypical controls. Participants were presented with upright and inverted Mooney stimuli; black and white low information faces that are only perceived as faces when processed holistically. Participants indicated behaviorally the detection of a face. EEG was collected time-locked to the presentation of the stimuli. Adolescents with ASD perceived Mooney stimuli as faces suggesting ability to use holistic processing but displayed a lower face detection rate and slower response times. ERP components suggest slowed temporal processing of Mooney stimuli in the ASD compared to control group for P1 latency but no differences between groups for P1 amplitude and at the N170. Increases in gamma-band activity was similar during the perception of the Mooney images by group, but the ASD group showed prolonged temporal elevation in activity. Overall, our results suggest that adolescents with ASD were able to utilize holistic processing to perceive a face within the Mooney stimuli. Delays in early processing, marked by the P1, and elongated elevation in gamma activity indicate that the neural systems supporting holistic processing are slightly altered suggesting a less automatic and less efficient facial processing system. Non-applicable.

中文翻译：

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有和没有自闭症谱系障碍的青少年整体面部处理的神经生理学相关性。

已发现自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）会影响面部处理。一种假设是，与整体面部处理策略相比，患有ASD的人会零星地参与其中。为了研究自闭症患者整体脸部加工中可能的障碍的作用，本研究调查了行为和脑电图（EEG）与ASD和性别，年龄，年龄的青少年的脸部加工（P1 / N170和伽马波段活动）的相关性。以及智商匹配的神经型对照。与会人员接受了直立和倒立的门尼刺激；黑白低信息面部，只有经过整体处理才能被视为面部。参与者从行为上指示了对面部的检测。定期收集脑电图以反映刺激情况。患有ASD的青少年将Mooney刺激视为面部表情，表明他们具有使用整体处理的能力，但显示出较低的面部检测率和较慢的响应时间。ERP组件表明，与对照组相比，P1潜伏期的ASD中门尼刺激的时间处理速度较慢，但​​P1振幅和N170组之间无差异。在按组观察门尼图像的过程中，γ波段活动的增加是相似的，但是ASD组显示活动的时间升高了。总体而言，我们的结果表明，患有ASD的青少年能够利用整体处理来感知门尼刺激内的面部。以P1表示的早期处理延迟，伽马活性的升高以及拉长的升高表明支持整体处理的神经系统略有改变，这表明自动化程度较低且面部处理效率较低。不适用。