Toward an interdisciplinary approach to understanding sensory function in autism spectrum disorder

Toward an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Sensory Dysfunction in Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Integration of the Neural and Symptom Literatures

Sensory processing differences have long been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and they have recently been added to the diagnostic criteria for the disorder. The focus on sensory processing in ASD research has increased substantially in the last decade. This research has been approached from two different perspectives: the first focuses on characterizing the symptoms that manifes...

The SVIP Study: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Autism Spectrum Disorder

Understanding sex bias in autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have long been noted to affect many more males than females, and accordingly, sex-specific factors have been hypothesized to increase males’ risk for, or protect females from, ASDs. However, no such factor has been definitively implicated in ASD etiology that can account for its male-biased prevalence, nor is it known whether the major drivers of sex-differentia...

Computational Approach to Understanding autism Spectrum disorders

Every year the prevalence of Autism Spectrum of Disorders (ASD) is rising. Is there a unifying mechanism of various ASD cases at the genetic, molecular, cellular or systems level? The hypothesis advanced in this paper is focused on neural dysfunctions that lead to problems with attention in autistic people. Simulations of attractor neural networks performing cognitive functions help to assess s...

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Seeing Is Not Understanding

Impairments in social and emotional skills are a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder. Recent research shows that structural and functional abnormalities within the neural system that matches observation and execution of actions--the mirror neuron system--may explain the social aspects of the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorder.