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Building a Social Neuroscience of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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The Neurobiology of Childhood

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences ((CTBN,volume 16))

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is an early onset neurodevelopmental disorder marked by impairments in reciprocal social interaction, communication, and the presence of repetitive or restricted interests and behaviors. Despite great phenotypic heterogeneity and etiologic diversity in ASD, social dysfunction is the unifying feature of ASD. This chapter focuses on understanding the neural systems involved in the processing of social information and its disruption in ASD by reviewing the conceptual background and highlighting some recent advances. In addition, work investigating an alternative interpretation of autistic dysfunction, problems with interconnectivity, and consequent difficulties with complex information processing are addressed.

McPartland, J., Tillman, R., Yang, D., Bernier, R. & Pelphrey, K. (in press). The social neuroscience of autism spectrum disorder. In F. Volkmar, R. Paul, S. Rogers & K. Pelphrey (Eds.), Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders (4th ed). New York: Wiley & Sons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, Yale University, 230 South Frontage Road, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA

    Kevin A. Pelphrey, Daniel Y.-J. Yang & James C. McPartland

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  1. Kevin A. Pelphrey
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  2. Daniel Y.-J. Yang
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  3. James C. McPartland
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Correspondence to Kevin A. Pelphrey .

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  1. McLean Hospital Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA

    Susan L. Andersen

  2. NIMH, Bethesda, USA

    Daniel S. Pine

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Pelphrey, K.A., Yang, D.YJ., McPartland, J.C. (2014). Building a Social Neuroscience of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Andersen, S., Pine, D. (eds) The Neurobiology of Childhood. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2013_253

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