Adults with autism who have high intelligence quotients (IQ) are better at identifying the direction of biological motion than are those with lower IQ scores, according to a study published 3 May in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Children with autism who have older siblings score lower on tests that assess their understanding of the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others, compared with those who don’t have older siblings.
Few scientists have a career that spans as wide a spectrum in autism research as Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. And fewer still garner effusive compliments from those who don’t agree with them.
Of 72 newly elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, 7 work either directly on autism or in related areas, illustrating the growing intellectual breadth and depth of the field.
Children with autism who participate in a specialized drama program show improvements in face identification and theory of mind, the ability to infer what others are thinking, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Similarities between us and our closest ape relatives — chimpanzees and bonobos — have shaped our understanding of what it means to be human. The latest surprise is Teco, a young bonobo who shows behaviors that look suspiciously similar to those associated with autism.
Activity in the mirror neuron system may improve with age in people who have autism, according to a study published in February in Biological Psychiatry. The finding could help resolve contradictory reports on the involvement of mirror neurons in the disorder.
A new study shows that just a little bit of testosterone administered under the tongue can lower a woman’s skills at interpreting another person’s emotional state — especially if she has been exposed to high levels of testosterone in utero.
Several new studies challenge the ‘broken mirror’ hypothesis of autism, which suggests that defects in specialized brain cells called mirror neurons explain why people with the disorder find social interaction difficult.
