Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show superior performance in processing fine detail, but often exhibit impaired gestalt face perception. The ventral visual stream from the primary visual cortex (V1) to the fusiform gyrus (V4) plays an important role in form (including faces) and color perception. The aim of this study was to investigate how the ventral stream is functionally altered in ASD. Visual evoked potentials were recorded in high-functioning ASD adults (n = 14) and typically developing (TD) adults (n = 14). We used three types of visual stimuli as follows: isoluminant chromatic (red/green, RG) gratings, high-contrast achromatic (black/white, BW) gratings with high spatial frequency (HSF, 5.3 cycles/degree), and face (neutral, happy, and angry faces) stimuli. Compared with TD controls, ASD adults exhibited longer N1 latency for RG, shorter N1 latency for BW, and shorter P1 latency, but prolonged N170 latency, for face stimuli. Moreover, a greater difference in latency between P1 and N170, or between N1 for BW and N170 (i.e., the prolongation of cortico-cortical conduction time between V1 and V4) was observed in ASD adults. These findings indicate that ASD adults have enhanced fine-form (local HSF) processing, but impaired color processing at V1. In addition, they exhibit impaired gestalt face processing due to deficits in integration of multiple local HSF facial information at V4. Thus, altered ventral stream function may contribute to abnormal social processing in ASD.

No abstract

No abstract

Abstract. Tin-oxides were doped into YBCO films as pinning centers to improve J C properties in a magnetic field. YBCO films were grown by a metal organic deposition process using trifluoroacetates starting solutions which contains tin compounds such as SnO 2 particles or tinacetylacetonate salts for pinning centers. J c of the YBCO films were enhanced by introducing pinning centers both SnO 2 and tin-acetylacetonates in the wide range of the magnetic angle. Especially, J C of YBCO film grown by the solution with tin-acetylacetnates increased in all magnetic field angles. XRD analysis and TEM observation revealed the existence of BaSnO 3 particles with the size of about 30 nm in the YBCO film grown by the solution with tinacetylacetnates. The BaSnO 3 nano particles were distributed randomly in the film and were considered to act as 3-dimentional pinning centers. IntroductionREBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-δ (REBCO, RE: rare earth elements) superconductors have been expected to use in many electric power applications since they have high critical current densities (J c ) at a liquid nitrogen temperature (77.3K) under self-field. A metal organic deposition (MOD) process using trifluoroacetates (TFA) is expected as a promising method for REBCO films since this technique can provide the films in a cost-effective process with non-vacuum system [1][2][3][4]. In order to apply REBCO for electric power applications, J c should be enhanced in a magnetic field (B). Recently, researches of J c enhancement for REBCO films have been proceeded by introducing artificial pinning centers into the films. It has been reported that J c properties in magnetic fields were well improved for REBCO films with pinning centers such as RE 2 O 3 and BaZrO 3 nano compounds or Ce-Gd-O nanowalls by the MOD process using TFA salts [5][6][7][8][9]. On the other hand, we have been reported that BaSnO 3 nano rods acted stronger than BaZrO 3 as pinning centers in REBCO film grown by a pulsed laser deposition method [10].In this paper, we grow YBCO films by a MOD process using TFA starting solutions. Tin compounds such as SnO 2 nano particles and soluble organic salts of tin were added into the TFA starting solutions as pinning centers. The effects of tin-compounds as pinning centers for YBCO films were discussed.

No abstract