Can Perception Affect Cognition? A Study of the Social Brain in Autism
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2013
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Haverford College. Department of Psychology
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Thesis
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eng
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Open Access
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Abstract
While many theories have been proposed to explain the neuroscience of autism-spectrum disorders (ASD), few have been conclusively proven or disproven. In this paper, we set out to test a closely related set of theories which claim that the roots of ASD in the brain are primarily perceptual in nature. To do so, we gathered fMRI data on a sample of children with ASD and typically developing controls while they watched videos of children playing with toys either together or apart. We then performed pychophysiological interaction analysis (PPI) to determine if connectivity between superior temporal sulcus (a region implicated in social perception) and ventromedial pre-frontal cortex (a region involved in theory of mind) in the social condition differed across groups. Additionally, eyetracking data was gathered while participants viewed the videos, and was analyzed along with neuroimaging data in a post-hoc multiple regression analysis. While no difference in STS-vmPFC connectivity was found in our data, interesting patterns of activation involving the mirror neuron system and the amygdala were found in both our PPI and post-hoc analyses. Interpretations of our findings and possible directions for future research are discussed.