Social Cognition and Autism

Flashcards on Social Cognition and Autism

Having a bigger hippocampus might logically lead to better what?

Spatial Memory

What did Maguire et al. (2000) study?

Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers

What was the result of the 3 months of intense juggling practice in the Draganski et al (2004) study?

Modest increase in intraparietal sulcus

What is more important than anatomical plasticity in healthy adults?

Synaptic plasticity

What is Neurogenesis?

Growing new neurons

Where does adult neurogenesis occur?

Subventricular zone and Dentate gyrus of Hippocampus

How many new neurons are created in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus per day?

~700 neurons per day

What inhibits neurogenesis?

Stress

What is the evidence for the neurogenic hypothesis of Depression?

Reduced hippocampal volume and reduced neurogenesis

Besides medication, what else relieves symptoms of depression?

Exercise

What is cognition?

Thinking

What is Social Cognition?

What other people are thinking?

Give some examples of Social Orienting

Joint attention, considering another’s intentions,

What is the ability to understand that others have beliefs, desires, intentions, perspectives that are different from one’s own?

Theory of Mind

What condition is associated with 'mind blindness'?

Autism

When do people normally develop Theory of Mind?

Around age 3-4

What kind of tests are used to test for Theory of Mind?

False Belief Tests

What brain regions are involved in Theory of Mind?

Medial prefrontal cortex, Temporal-parietal junction (TPJ), Posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), Precuneus

In the example given, what will Kim use Theory of Mind for?

To find the plates

What test assesses the recognition of emotions from the eyes?

Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test

What is the prevailing idea about Autistic Spectrum Disorders?

Shift from 'disability' to difference

What is known about the cause of Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Some genetic component

What are the three persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, according to DSM-V criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Social-emotional reciprocity, non-verbal communication, developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships

According to the DSM-V, what two features must someone have in addition to social deficits for diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities and Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input

What are some common behaviors in ASD?

Insistence on sameness, repetitive movements, not responsive to verbal cues or eye contact

What are the main levels of impairment for Autism Spectrum Disorders?

Requiring very substantial support, Requiring substantial support, Requiring support

What are the characteristics of Asperger’s Syndrome?

No language delay and No clinically significant cognitive delay

What is Empathy?

The ability to sense, understand and share other peoples emotions

What are the two main types of empathy?

Cognitive empathy and Affective empathy

What are the characteristics of Cognitive empathy?

Reading body language or facial expressions and Imagining what other people are feeling

Cognitive empathy is typically Impaired in what condition?

Autism

Cognitive empathy is better in what conditions?

Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopaths

What are the characteristics of Affective empathy?

Appropriate emotional response to what someone else is feeling and Caring about how other people feel

Affective empathy is impaired in what conditions?

Antisocial Personality Disorder and Psychopaths

What are the main types of mental processing?

Empathising and Systemising

What is Systemising?

Understanding, predicting and constructing rule-based systems

What do people who are Systemising predominantly think about?

Objects (rather than people)

Autism is associated with what type of systemising?

Extreme Type S

What is the view of neurodiversity?

Autism is ‘hypersystematising’

What areas of work do autistic people excel at?

Systems, patterns and repetition

How does Brain size in Autism change throughout one's life from childhood to adulthood?

Starts off slightly larger (ages 3-10), Ends up slightly smaller in adulthood

Where differences occur between someone with autism and someone without?

Frontal and Temporal lobe and Cortical thickness

What is the main role of the amygdala?

Emotional memory (classical conditioning)

What is seen in the Cerebellum in ASD?

Reduced cerebellar size and number of cells

What is seen in the Cerebellum + ASD?

Autism

What does the cerebellum do?

Co-ordination of movement, Motor learning, Motor predictions, Narrowing range of motor options

How many neurons are in the cerebellum?

69 billion

What is Wide Gait, instability of trunk?

Ataxia

What is Inability to co-ordinate complex motor activity involving several muscle groups?

Dysmetria

What is Inability to perform co-ordinated smooth rapid alternating movements of the hands?

Dysdiadochokinesia

What are the deficits in cerebellar cognitive affective syndrome?

Executive function, linguistic processing, spatial cognition, affect regulation, and personality change

What are the characteristics of Dysmetria of Thought?

Cerebellum modulates behaviour around a homeostatic baseline, automatically, implicitly, and according to context.

What is The main brain region responsible for recognising faces?

Fusiform Gyrus

What is one of the key features of Attention to Faces in Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Reduced attention to faces

Where do people with ASD look when viewing faces?

More likely to focus on mouth (rather than eyes) and peripheral cues

What brain regions are responsible for Joint Attention?

Prefrontal Cortex

What brain regions are responsible for faces attention?

Fusiform Face Area

What brain regions are responsible for Theory of Mind?

Medial Prefrontal Cortex

What brain regions are responsible for Social Reward?

Orbitofrontal cortex

What brain regions are responsible for Social Pursuit/Orienting?

Superior Temporal Sulcus

What is Social Cognition like in Autism?

Lacking Cognitive Empathy (tho not Affective Empathy), Highly systematising, Many brain regions implicated

What is the session ID for the Vevox session?

125-954-501

Having a bigger hippocampus might logically lead to better what?

Spatial Memory

True or False: You are born with all the neurons that you will ever have?

False

Where do neurons migrate after originating in the subventricular zone?

To olfactory bulb

What cognitive symptoms are associated with Major Depressive Disorder?

Executive function, attention, memory, processing speed, psychomotor skills

Large (10x) increase in diagnoses in last 10-15 years

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Give some examples Repetitive movements observed in people that have ASD

spinning in a circle, fidget spinner

Impaired in autism

cognitive empathy

Opposite' to Systemising

Empathising

Autistic people better at recognising

Patterns

Longitudinal volumetric brain changes in autism spectrum disorder ages 6–35 years.

Lange et al 2015

Characteristics of brains in autism spectrum disorder: structure, function and connectivity across the lifespan.

Ha, S., Sohn, I. J., Kim, N., Sim, H. J., & Cheon, K. A. (2015).

When the cerebellum goes

Wrong

Reduced Activity in

Fusiform Face Area