The 'amygdala theory of autism' revisited: Linking structure to behavior

被引:60
作者
Dziobek, Isabel
Fleck, Stefan
Rogers, Kimberley
Wolf, Oliver T.
Convit, Antonio
机构
[1] NYU, Sch Med, Ctr Brain Hlth, New York, NY 10016 USA
[2] Univ Bielefeld, Dept Psychol, D-4800 Bielefeld, Germany
[3] Univ Cologne, Dept Neurosci & Rehabil, Cologne, Germany
[4] Nathan S Kline Inst Psychiat Res, Orangeburg, NY 10962 USA
关键词
Asperger syndrome; MRI; social cognition; theory of mind;
D O I
10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.02.005
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
The 'amygdala theory of autism' suggests a crucial role for the amygdala in the neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorders. However, to date evidence is lacking of a direct relationship between amygdaia measures and behavioral manifestations of autism in affected individuals. In 17 adult individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 17 well-matched controls we therefore assessed associations between MRI-derived amygdala volume and behavioral variables of emotion recognition and social cognition, as well as with core AS symptomatology. Results revealed that individuals with AS exhibited impairments in emotion recognition and social cognition compared to controls and also showed atypical relationships between amygdala volumes and overall head size. We found positive associations between emotional and social understanding and amygdala volume in the control group, but not in the AS group. In the AS group however, amygdala size was negatively related to diagnostic parameters, with smaller amygdala volumes involving higher levels of restricted-repetitive behavior domains. Our data seem to indicate that in AS the amygdala is not crucially involved in social and emotional understanding. It may, however, be a mediator for narrow interest patterns and the imposition of routines and rituals. Our data, in conjunction with current literature, seem to argue for a modification of the 'amygdala theory of autism'. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:1891 / 1899
页数:9
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