158 Summary The goal of this review is to highlight consistencies in the ASD fMRI literature. Given the array of imaging tasks reviewed, it is perhaps not surprising that findings are heterogenous. Despite variations in findings, there is a sufficient degree of consistency to #selleck compound randurls[1|1|,|CHEM1|]# draw a number of substantive conclusions. Studies of social processes have generally found evidence of hypoactivation in nodes of the “social Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical brain,” including the medial prefrontal cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus and the anterior insula, the posterior superior temporal sulcus, the interparietal sulcus, the amygdala, and the fusiform gyrus. Studies addressing cognitive control,

designed to address neural mechanisms underlying restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests, have converged on aberrant frontostriatal functioning in ASDs, specifically Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in inferior and middle frontal gyri, anterior cingulate cortex, and the basal ganglia. Communication impairments in ASDs have been linked to differential patterns of language Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical function lateralization, decreased synchrony- of brain regions processing language, and recruitment of brain regions that do not typically processing language. Reward processing studies have highlighted mesolimbic and mesocortical

impairments when processing both social and nonsocial incentives in ASDs. Finally, task-based functional connectivity Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical studies in ASDs have reported local overconnectivity and long-distance (ie, between frontal and posterior regions) underconnectivity-, whereas resting state connectivity studies indicate decreased anterior-posterior connectivity and less coherent endogenous low-frequency oscillations across multiple regions. Future directions Most studies reviewed here focus on adulthood or adolescence, yet ASDs are present from very early childhood. It will be critical to address developmental profiles in children with ASDs to disambiguate proximal effects of altered brain function from downstream effects on learning and motivation. There also may be critical

nearly periods during early development Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical when brain dysfunction creates a predisposition to develop a number of disorders, and understanding factors that influence these processes will be essential for the prevention of symptom onset. Indeed, emerging techniques allow for functional brain imaging in children as young as 12 months old, and future studies that focus on young samples are needed. Additionally, most studies reviewed here contain small samples, and larger samples will be needed to identify meaningful subgroups and track developmental profiles. Given the high costs associated with brain imaging and challenges recruiting large pediatric patient samples, it will be critical to leverage available bioinformatics tools to facilitate data sharing across research groups.