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Systems Neuroscience and Rehabilitation pp 105–116Cite as

Toward a Cure Based on a Better Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impairments in social cognition and communications. By applying multidimensional scaling to the analysis of temporo-spatial gaze behaviors, we quantitatively demonstrated that normal control participants shared highly stereotypical gaze patterns while viewing socially relevant video stimuli, whereas children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) were variable in their gaze patterns. Many distant cortical areas has been implicated for such deficits of social ability. From these, we hypothesized that ASD derives from anomalous neural connections in their brain with long-range underconnectivity. In support of the hypothesis, we found a weakness of individuals with ASD in naming familiar objects moved behind a narrow slit, which was worsened by the absence of local salient features. Temporal integration of successive visual information during slit viewing involves a distributed cortical network, including higher visual areas and parietal association areas. Thus, the long-range underconnectivity implicated in the autistic brain may result in a deficit in visual temporal integration across these areas. Understanding how the inter-connections are impaired in individuals with ASD is essential for improving present methods for treatment, such as early intensive intervention using applied behavior analysis.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurophysiology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan

    Shigeru Kitazawa & Tamami Nakano

  2. CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi-shi, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan

    Tamami Nakano

Authors
  1. Shigeru Kitazawa
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  2. Tamami Nakano
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shigeru Kitazawa .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Systems Neuroscience Section Department of Rehabilitation for Brain Functions, Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities (NRCD), 4-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa, Saitama, 359-8555, Japan

    Kenji Kansaku (Chief) (Chief)

  2. Human Cortical Physiology and Stroke Neurorehabilitation Section, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) National Institutes of Health (NIH), 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1430, USA

    Leonardo G. Cohen (Chief) (Chief)

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© 2011 Springer

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Kitazawa, S., Nakano, T. (2011). Toward a Cure Based on a Better Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder. In: Kansaku, K., Cohen, L.G. (eds) Systems Neuroscience and Rehabilitation. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54008-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54008-3_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-53998-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-54008-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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