The overarching goal of this application is to investigate the face recognition deficits of individuals with autism. Initially, this will entail documenting the behavioral as well as functional and structural cortical signatures associated with this impairment and, in doing so, contrasting face processing with that of other stimulus classes, such as objects or words. To understand the nature of the face impairment further, two additional lines of investigation will be pursued. In the first, the investigators will characterize the topography and function of striate and extrastriate visual areas in these individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging of visual eccentricity and meridian maps. In addition, they will undertake analyses of the structural morphometry of regions such as fusiform and lingual gyrus to explore the neural substrate further. In the second, the investigators will explore the intermediate level vision of these individuals, with specific emphasis on their ability to derive configurations from local elements using sensitive behavioral assays. The investigators will also explore the developmental aspects of these perceptual processes by comparing the performance of young and older high-functioning autistic individuals, along with matched controls.
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