UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain

Hill, E.L.; Frith, U.; (2003) Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series B: Biological Sciences , 358 (1430) pp. 281-289. 10.1098/rstb.2002.1209. Green open access

[thumbnail of 6233.pdf]
Preview
PDF
6233.pdf

Download (201kB)

Abstract

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication as well as repetitive behaviours and restricted interests. The consequences of this disorder for everyday life adaptation are extremely variable. The general public is now more aware of the high prevalence of this lifelong disorder, with ca. 0.6% of the population being affected. However, the signs and symptoms of autism are still puzzling. Since a biological basis of autism was accepted, approaches from developmental cognitive neuroscience have been applied to further our understanding of the autism spectrum. The study of the behavioural and underlying cognitive deficits in autism has advanced ahead of the study of the underlying brain abnormalities and of the putative genetic mechanisms. However, advances in these fields are expected as methodological difficulties are overcome. In this paper, recent developments in the field of autism are outlined. In particular, we review the findings of the three main neuro–cognitive theories of autism: theory–of–mind deficit, weak central coherence and executive dysfunction.

Type: Article
Title: Understanding autism: insights from mind and brain
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2002.1209
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1209
Language: English
Keywords: Autism, Asperger syndrome, theory of mind, weak central coherence, executive dysfunction, phenotype
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/6233
Downloads since deposit
439Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item