Autism
Autism is a psychological disorder, defined in the DSM-IV. It is characterized by problems in three areas:
- Social interaction
- Communication
- Stereotypical behaviour patterns
A large amount of research into autism has been done in the past decennia. In this research, three cognitive theories play a large role: Theory of Mind, executive functions, and central coherence.
Theory of Mind
Theory of Mind refers to the ability to understand that others have mental states that can be distinguished from one's own. This so called "theory" is necessary to understand and predict behaviour of others. Theory of Mind is said to be an innate ability, though this ability develops until adulthood. The most widespread Theory of Mind task is the false belief task. In this task one has to recognize that another person might have a false belief. Typically developing children show this capability at age four. However, children with autism have often been shown to fail on false belief tasks, which could indicate that they have problems understanding that others do not know what they know. Other tasks that tap into Theory of Mind abilities are the recognition of emotions, understanding and use of mental states words such as "think" and know", the understanding that seeing something leads to knowing and joint attention. Even in young children with autism, deficits in Theory of Mind abilities or precursors can be found.
Though Theory of Mind offers some nice explanations for children with autism, many have criticized the way in which these abilities are measured. The problem is that many tasks require quite high verbal demands, meaning that children with linguistic problems also show problems on these tasks. Though many children with autism show Theory of Mind deficits as shown in tasks, many others have shown to be able to succeed on ToM tasks. However, these children DO show many Theory of Mind problems in real life situations. This way, the question would be what use it is to test these abilities in tasks. Lately, much research has focused on observation and testing Theory of Mind abilities in real life situations.
Origins of Theory of Mind
Many researchers have tried to find the evolutionary roots of Theory of Mind. The problem with this is that Theory of Mind can only be inferred from behaviour in the case of animals. Apes have shown some behaviours indicative of Theory of Mind. They can follow gaze, show self awareness, imitate others and seem capable of deceiving others. However, they have not been shown capable of false belief tasks, and do not show declarative communicative gestures. Recently, dogs and some bird species have also been added to the list of animals showing some Theory of Mind behaviours.
As to the origins of Theory of Mind, mirror neurons have recently been implicated. Mirror neurons can be found in the frontal lobes of the brain, and seem to fire upon performing an action AND watching somebody else perform an action. This process could potentially allow you to understand the intention of the observed action. However, research into this area is still developing.
Work in progress, check in later!
Executive Functions
Work in progress, check in later!
Central Coherence
Work in progress, check in later!