Research: Neurofunctional Mechanisms in Autism

In this article, the authors propose that complex human behaviors, such as those seen in children with autism, are the result of abnormalities in multiple overlapping portions of the brain.

They suggest that, in addition to sexual intercourse, there are three social interactions that are critical for human survival. These are: 1) mother-child, 2) societal motor imitation (like hiding from a predatory animal), and 3) conversation. They hypothesize that the environment of the young child can either improve or aggravate symptoms of autism. This could at least partially explain the wide variations among children who have autism. For example, when a human engages in one of the social interactions listed above, two hormones (vasopressin and oxytocin) are released. These hormones reinforce the behavior and cause the person to be more likely to initiate or participate in the social interaction at the next opportunity. Thus, it would theoretically be possible to change a child's nervous system by placing the child in an extremely social and interactive environment from a very young age.