The Social Neuroscience of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

This chapter reviews the neural systems subserving social information processing and their disruption in ASD. We focus on social perception, action understanding, and mental state reasoning, highlighting both conceptual background and recent advances. In addition, we review and discuss alternative accounts of the pathogenesis of autism, such as the role of atypical neural connectivity and its potentially detrimental effects on complex information processing. Building from current understanding of social neuroscience in ASD, we describe two key translational objectives for developing more effective strategies to promote well‐being in ASD in the future: developing assays for early detection of atypical brain function and formulating treatments to specifically target the brain systems hypothesized to underlie social and communicative impairments.