The amygdala theory of autism - PubMed (original) (raw)
Review
The amygdala theory of autism
S Baron-Cohen et al. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2000 May.
Abstract
Brothers (Brothers L. Concepts in Neuroscience 1990;1:27-51) proposed a network of neural regions that comprise the "social brain", which includes the amygdala. Since the childhood psychiatric condition of autism involves deficits in "social intelligence", it is plausible that autism may be caused by an amygdala abnormality. In this paper we review the evidence for a social function of the amygdala. This includes reference to the Kluver-Bucy syndrome (which Hetzler and Griffin suggested may serve as an animal model of autism). We then review evidence for an amygdala deficit in people with autism, who are well known to have deficits in social behaviour. This includes a detailed summary of our recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study involving judging from the expressions of another person's eyes what that other person might be thinking or feeling. In this study, patients with autism or AS did not activate the amygdala when making mentalistic inferences from the eyes, whilst people without autism did show amygdala activity. The amygdala is therefore proposed to be one of several neural regions that are abnormal in autism. We conclude that the amygdala theory of autism contains promise and suggest some new lines of research.
Similar articles
- Social intelligence in the normal and autistic brain: an fMRI study.
Baron-Cohen S, Ring HA, Wheelwright S, Bullmore ET, Brammer MJ, Simmons A, Williams SC. Baron-Cohen S, et al. Eur J Neurosci. 1999 Jun;11(6):1891-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00621.x. Eur J Neurosci. 1999. PMID: 10336657 - The amygdala, autism and anxiety.
Amaral DG, Corbett BA. Amaral DG, et al. Novartis Found Symp. 2003;251:177-87; discussion 187-97, 281-97. Novartis Found Symp. 2003. PMID: 14521193 - Developmental deficits in social perception in autism: the role of the amygdala and fusiform face area.
Schultz RT. Schultz RT. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2005 Apr-May;23(2-3):125-41. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2004.12.012. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2005. PMID: 15749240 Review. - The amygdala and autism: implications from non-human primate studies.
Amaral DG, Bauman MD, Schumann CM. Amaral DG, et al. Genes Brain Behav. 2003 Oct;2(5):295-302. doi: 10.1034/j.1601-183x.2003.00043.x. Genes Brain Behav. 2003. PMID: 14606694 Review. - Neuroanatomical substrates of social cognition dysfunction in autism.
Pelphrey K, Adolphs R, Morris JP. Pelphrey K, et al. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2004;10(4):259-71. doi: 10.1002/mrdd.20040. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2004. PMID: 15666336 Review.
Cited by
- The utility of patient specific induced pluripotent stem cells for the modelling of Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
Cocks G, Curran S, Gami P, Uwanogho D, Jeffries AR, Kathuria A, Lucchesi W, Wood V, Dixon R, Ogilvie C, Steckler T, Price J. Cocks G, et al. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2014 Mar;231(6):1079-88. doi: 10.1007/s00213-013-3196-4. Epub 2013 Jul 10. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2014. PMID: 23839283 Free PMC article. Review. - Adults vs. neonates: Differentiation of functional connectivity between the basolateral amygdala and occipitotemporal cortex.
Hansen HA, Li J, Saygin ZM. Hansen HA, et al. PLoS One. 2020 Oct 19;15(10):e0237204. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237204. eCollection 2020. PLoS One. 2020. PMID: 33075046 Free PMC article. - Polygenic risk for autism spectrum disorder affects left amygdala activity and negative emotion in schizophrenia.
Qin Y, Kang J, Jiao Z, Wang Y, Wang J, Wang H, Feng J, Jin L, Wang F, Gong X. Qin Y, et al. Transl Psychiatry. 2020 Sep 21;10(1):322. doi: 10.1038/s41398-020-01001-2. Transl Psychiatry. 2020. PMID: 32958750 Free PMC article. - Implications of Social Anxiety Symptoms in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Is There a Predictive Role of Interpersonal Sensitivity and Substance Abuse?
Carpita B, Cremone IM, Nardi B, Amatori G, Bonelli C, Massimetti E, Casagrande D, Pini S, Dell'Osso L. Carpita B, et al. Brain Sci. 2023 Nov 7;13(11):1559. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13111559. Brain Sci. 2023. PMID: 38002519 Free PMC article. - The systemizing quotient: an investigation of adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism, and normal sex differences.
Baron-Cohen S, Richler J, Bisarya D, Gurunathan N, Wheelwright S. Baron-Cohen S, et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2003 Feb 28;358(1430):361-74. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1206. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2003. PMID: 12639333 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Research Materials