Asperger Through the Looking Glass: An Exploratory Study of Self-Understanding in People with Asperger’s Syndrome

Jackson, Paul; Skirrow, Paul; Hare, Dougal Julian

doi:10.1007/s10803-011-1296-8

Cited by 37 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…In evaluating the propensity to find internal vs external causes of events, our approach may deepen our knowledge also of those neurodevelopmental disorders where attentional control is defective (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorders, [72]; Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, [73]). Indeed, a testing tool that probes not only agency sensitivity but also agency propensity may be better suited to discover subtle agency dysfunctions related to attentional unbalance that may go unnoticed with traditional tests [20,74,75,76], and could be also useful to clarify conflicting data reported in the literature [77,78,79]. Additionally, gaze agency might be useful to investigate more generally the emergence and timeline development of the sense of agency in childhood [80,81,82].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

Grgič¹,

Crespi²,

de'Sperati³

2016

PLoS ONE

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We define gaze agency as the awareness of the causal effect of one’s own eye movements in gaze-contingent environments, which might soon become a widespread reality with the diffusion of gaze-operated devices. Here we propose a method for measuring gaze agency based on self-monitoring propensity and sensitivity. In one task, naïf observers watched bouncing balls on a computer monitor with the goal of discovering the cause of concurrently presented beeps, which were generated in real-time by their saccades or by other events (Discovery Task). We manipulated observers’ self-awareness by pre-exposing them to a condition in which beeps depended on gaze direction or by focusing their attention to their own eyes. These manipulations increased propensity to agency discovery. In a second task, which served to monitor agency sensitivity at the sensori-motor level, observers were explicitly asked to detect gaze agency (Detection Task). Both tasks turned out to be well suited to measure both increases and decreases of gaze agency. We did not find evident oculomotor correlates of agency discovery or detection. A strength of our approach is that it probes self-monitoring propensity–difficult to evaluate with traditional tasks based on bodily agency. In addition to putting a lens on this novel cognitive function, measuring gaze agency could reveal subtle self-awareness deficits in pathological conditions and during development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

Grgič¹,

Crespi²,

de'Sperati³

2016

PLoS ONE

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“…The relative lack of insight observed in many anxious youth with and without ASD (Johnson, Filliter, & Murphy, 2009; Lewin et al, 2010; Magnuson & Constantino, 2011) and/or difficulties with self-reflection among youth with ASD (Jackson, Skirrow, & Hare, 2012) may contribute to discrepant parent-child reports. For example, a child’s inability to access desired items or activities may lead to suicidal statements (e.g., “I wish I were dead”) and/or self-injurious behaviors, which may be endorsed by the parent as suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors, while not perceived as such by the child.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Phenomenology and Clinical Correlates of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Storch

Sulkowski

Nadeau

et al. 2013

J Autism Dev Disord

128

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This study investigated the phenomenology and clinical correlates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth with ASD (N=102; range=7–16 years). The presence of suicidal thoughts and behavior was assessed through the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Child and Parent Versions. Children and parents completed measures of anxiety severity, functional impairment, and behavioral and emotional problems. Approximately 11% of youth displayed suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Children with autism were more likely to have suicidal thoughts and behaviors whereas children with Asperger’s disorder were less likely. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors were associated with the presence of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Overall, results suggest that suicidal thoughts and behaviors are common in youth with ASD, and may be related to depression and trauma.

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“…The combinatorial assembling of FMs into innovative mosaics is made possible by the presence of “modifiers” (a concept borrowed from the pioneering work of Alan Turing, see Box 2) along the communication channels that can be made by synaptic contacts (chemical and/or electrical) or by extracellular fluid pathways in the brain where chemical signals can diffuse. Given the variety of tasks that the brain can perform, and particularly for the emergence of imagination in humans, a “combinatorial optimization” mechanism that is able to find the optimal assembly for a certain output from a finite set of brain circuits is probably in operation (Lawler, 2001) and may play a role also in prospection.On the basis of the above definition of imagination it is deduced that imagination is possible only if the subject is capable of a fully developed self-awareness (Hobson et al, 2006; Jackson et al, 2012). Several authors suggest that the so-called Von Economo neurons (VENs) are involved in the self-awareness (Evrard et al, 2012) hence it can be surmised that VENs play a role in imagination processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the basis of the above definition of imagination it is deduced that imagination is possible only if the subject is capable of a fully developed self-awareness (Hobson et al, 2006; Jackson et al, 2012). Several authors suggest that the so-called Von Economo neurons (VENs) are involved in the self-awareness (Evrard et al, 2012) hence it can be surmised that VENs play a role in imagination processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Neurobiology of Imagination: Possible Role of Interaction-Dominant Dynamics and Default Mode Network

et al. 2013

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This work aims at presenting some hypotheses about the potential neurobiological substrate of imagery and imagination. For the present purposes, we will define imagery as the production of mental images associated with previous percepts, and imagination as the faculty of forming mental images of a novel character relating to something that has never been actually experienced by the subject but at a great extent emerges from his inner world. The two processes appear intimately related and imagery can arguably be considered as one of the main components of imagination. In this proposal, we argue that exaptation and redeployment, two basic concepts capturing important aspects of the evolution of biological structures and functions (Anderson, 2007), could also be useful in explaining imagery and imagination. As far as imagery is concerned it is proposed that neural structures originally implicated in performing certain functions, e.g., motor actions, can be reused for the imagery of the virtual execution of that function. As far as imagination is concerned we speculate that it can be the result of a “tinkering” that combines and modifies stored perceptual information and concepts leading to the creation of novel “mental objects” that are shaped by the subject peculiar inner world. Hence it is related to his self-awareness. The neurobiological substrate of the tinkering process could be found in a hierarchical model of the brain characterized by a multiplicity of functional modules (FMs) that can be assembled according to different spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it is surmised that a possible mechanism for the emergence of imagination could be represented by modulatory mechanisms controlling the perviousness of “modifiers” along the communication channels within and between FMs leading to their dynamically reassembling into novel configurations.

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Asperger Through the Looking Glass: An Exploratory Study of Self-Understanding in People with Asperger’s Syndrome

Cited by 37 publications

References 15 publications

Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

Assessing Self-Awareness through Gaze Agency

The Phenomenology and Clinical Correlates of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The Neurobiology of Imagination: Possible Role of Interaction-Dominant Dynamics and Default Mode Network

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