Amygdala dysfunction

• amygdala,a cluster of 13 nuclei in the medial temporal lobe
• neutral links to various brain regions(hypothalamus,prefrontal cortex and hippocampus)
• strongly influences entire brains activity and behaviours(related to motivation,emotions and social interactions)
• children with ASD their amygdala develops differently to those without
• Around the age of 2,children with ASD experience a larger than usual increase in their amygdala volume,6-9% more than usual
• In child without ASD,the volume increases later on in their childhood,by the time they become adults the their amygdala is the same as those with and without ASD
• The unique growth leads to irregularities in how the amygdala works,affecting its function
• Shen et al


  the amygdala grows much bigger between ages 6-22 months in children with ASD
• Brothers


  call the amygdala the 'social brain' in humans as it influences social behaviour
• Baron-cohen


  the amygdalas strong connections with the frontal cortex(decision-making,problem solving and understanding social cues),the abnormal development is a major factor in the social and behavioural difficulties shown by those with ASD
• Baron-Cohen et al


  conducted research on amygdala dysfunction,testing those with ASD recognising peoples facial expressions

  They compared a group of adults with ASD with a control group,showing them pictures of ppl eyes while measuring brain activity with fMRI scanner

  Those with ASD performed worse on the task,their left amygdala was not active but was highly active in the control group
• The left amygdala plays a role in understanding facial expressions
• The case of SM

  women that has no fear

  Urbach-wiethe disease,causes hardening of specific brain structures,stopping normal functioning

  Her IQ,memory and cognitive abilities are normal

  She has difficulty experiencing fear or identifying fearful expressions