Amygdala explanation

Ao1

The amygdala has been linked to autism

We have 2 amygdalae, one in each hemisphere and they are involved in motivation and emotional and social processing.

It has been hypothesised that this is faulty in autistic individuals.

The amygdala is interconnected with other areas in the brain such as the pre-frontal cortex, and the thalamus, which could explain why people with ASD experience overstimulation.

It has also been found that infants who go on to develop ASD had an amygdala that was 6-9% larger at age 2, leading to excess neural pathways that disrupt cognitive development.

Ao3 Supporting

Dager et al

With MRIs, it was found that between 6-12 months, there was a rapid growth in the amygdalae of those who go on to develop autistic characteristics.

Those with extreme growth had the most social processing issues in later life.

Ao3 Conflicting

Findings about the amygdala are inconsistent

Martha Hertbert et at found that there was a smaller amygdala growth in the early lives of those with ASD.

This explanation could be considered invalid, it is inconclusive if the amygdala is truly involved with ASD.

Ao3 Opposing Theory

Theory of Mind

Suggests people with ASD have mind-blindness, and cannot see from others perspectives in life causing the emotional and social issues.

This theory goes into more depth of the symptoms of ASD, suggesting the amygdala explanation is too reductionist, it oversimplifies the complex, individual-based symptoms of ASD to a universal biological cause.

Ao3 Usefulness

If a reliable link was found between the amygdala and ASD, it could lead to earlier diagnosis through screening, and therefore earlier treatment which could be benificial to society.

Could lead to drug treatments being developed, which is socially sensitive as it suggests people with ASD have a fault, and need a cure, which is not neurodiversity affirming.