Evaluation

• Support from Clinical studies

  • Some studies have looked into the individuals who don't have ASD but have suffered damage to one or both amygdalas.
  • Kennedy et al (2009) studied SM. They discovered her preferred personal space for interactions was much closer than that of the control group
  • Whilst she felt perfectly comfortable in very close distances the controls found them very uncomfortable
  • Supports the theory as SM + others with amygdala damage exhibit social behaviour impairments similar to those seein in people with ASD
• Inconsistent findings

  • Research on the relationship between amygdala volume + the severity of ASD symptoms has yielded mixed results
  • Some studies in adults show increased volume in those with ASD, while others show decreased volume (Pierce et al 2001)
  • Similarly, in children different studies have reported contrasting findings with some showing smaller amygdala volume in participants with ASD compared to controls (Herbert et al 2003)
  • As a result, the role of the amygdala in ASD remains unclear
• Indirect rather than direct effects

  • Important for controlling fear and anxiety-related behaviours, like the body's response to stressful at situations
  • When the amygdala doesn't work properly, it can affect how people process fear and anxiety + this can impact their social skills
  • Some researchers like Ollendick et al (2009) proposed that anxiety is often observed in people with ASD
  • Indirect connection between amygdala function + difficulties in social behaviour as anxiety processing may be abnormal
• There isn't solid evidence to show that amygdala is more dysfunctional in ASD compared to other brain areas like hippocampus
• Paul et al (2010) looked at two women, one being SM, who had damage only to their amygdala but not other nearby brain regions
• These women did have some social behaviour issues, but it wasn't as severe as what's seen in clinically diagnosed ASD-amygdala function alone might not explain social behaviour challenges
• The role of brain in ASD is intricate + shouldn't be oversimplified by focusing solely on the amygdala
• Findings indicate the connection between multiple brain structures might not be involved in ASD
• Danger of oversimplification
• Headings

  1. Support from clinical studies
  2. Inconsistent findings
  3. Indirect rather than direct effects
  4. Danger of oversimplification