amygdala dysfunction description

amygdala function

• left: positive and negative emotions

• right: negative emotions

• processed emotions like fear and anxiety

• connected to the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus and other areas

amygdala development

• nordahl

• found that from 2 years of age, there is a larger growth in amygdala volume in children with ASD (6-(%)

• the growth in volume occurs earlier in children with ASD and this may result in abnormalities in the neural organisation of the amygdala and damage its functioning

nordhal characteristics explanation

• difficulty maintaining friendship

• lack reciprocity

• not being able to identify social cues

amygdala dysfunction

• baron-cohen

• asd adults matched with control group with no asd. pictures with eyes and asked to identify the expression shown. brain activity recorded using fMRI scan

• asd group performed significantly worse than controls

• fMRI scans shows that the left amygdala was not activated in the ASD group but strongly in controls

baron cohen characteristics explanation

lack of social emotional reciprocity - meaning that amygdala function does not perform the same in someone with ASD, than a neurotypical person