amygdala dysfunction explanation Flashcards
(11 cards)
what is the amygdala?
consists of 13 collections of neurons located in the brain’s nedial temporal cortex.
- it is densely interconnected with other brain structures and regions such as hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus
this connection means the amygdala has a powerful influence on behaviours associated with motivation, emotinoal and social interaction
what did noardahl find?
the amygdala of children with ASD is 9% larger from two years of age than children without a diagnosis of ASD.
- but as ASD children get older, volume growth stalls but it continues in children without ASD so there is no difference in volume by late adolescence.
what is the link between frontal cortex and amygdala?
because the amygdala has a central role in influencing social behaviour, it is part of what is sometimes called the social brain in humans
what did baren-cohen find?
he applied the idea of the social brain to ASD
- the amygdala has many neural connections with the frontal/prefrontal cortex, which has a major role in processing social informatoin
- therefore, abnormal development of the amygdala in childhood has profound effects on the operation of the frontal/prefrontal cortex
this is a key cause of the main social and behavioural deficits found in ASD
what is the role of the amygdala in impaired social processing?
people with ASD often do not fully understand emotional expressions of others
- baren-cohen showed that this is due to amygdala dysfunction impairing social processing
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what did baren-cohen et al do?
showed ppts (with and without ASD) photographs of people making various facial expressions, showing eye areas only
- people with ASD found it difficult to choose the correct description of each expression from a choice of two
- FMRI scans showed that people with ASD has underactive left amygdala
what is the weakness that is is reductionist?
it fails to consider the theory of mind explanation for ASD which states that to interact and communicate socially, we have to be aware that other people are able to represent the world in their minds
- this means the theory is too weak to describe
what is the weakness that the research is socially sensitive?
labelling ASD as a biological disorder may lead to stereotyping or viewing autistic individuals as defective and might justify exclusion in schools if people assume biological deficits mean incapacity
what is a weakness that it oversimplifies the brain’s role in ASD?
many studies link ASD to specific areas like the amygdala, cerebellum or prefrontal cortex but ASD is a spectrum with caried symptoms, so focusing on one region may ignore how the brain’s areas interact with one another
- it also ignores the brains plasticity - the brain is highly adaptable especially in childhood
what is a strength of the explanation?
supported by clinical and neuroimaging studies
- baren-cohen used FMRI scans and found that individuals with ASD showed reduced activity in the amygdala when performing tasks involving facial expressions and emotional recognition.
how can it be applied?
this can be applied to treatment and informing interventions for individuals with ASD
- it can guide the development of targeted therapies such as social skills training or emotion recognition programs to improve the understanding of facial expressions and emotional cues
