Editing Face perception (section)

=== Neurology ===
Many of the obstacles that individuals with autism face in terms of facial processing may be derived from abnormalities in the [[fusiform face area]] and [[amygdala]].

Typically, the [[fusiform face area]] in individuals with autism has reduced volume.<ref name="Pierce">{{cite journal|last1=Pierce|first1=K.|last2=Müller|first2=RA|last3=Ambrose|first3=J|last4=Allen|first4=G|last5=Courchesne|first5=E|title=Face processing occurs outside the fusiform 'face area' in autism: evidence from functional MRI|journal=Brain|date=1 October 2001|volume=124|issue=10|pages=2059–73|doi=10.1093/brain/124.10.2059|pmid=11571222 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Grelotti" /> This volume reduction has been attributed to deviant amygdala activity that does not flag faces as emotionally salient, and thus decreases activation levels.

Studies are not conclusive as to which brain areas people with autism use instead. One found that, when looking at faces, people with autism exhibit activity in brain regions normally active when non-autistic individuals perceive objects.<ref name=Grelotti /> Another found that during facial perception, people with autism use different neural systems, each using their own unique neural circuitry.<ref name=Pierce />