Autism as a disorder of prediction
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Sinha_Autism as.pdf
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Author(s)
Sinha, Pawan
Kjelgaard, Margaret McCaughin
Gandhi, Tapan Kumar
Tsourides, Kleovoulos
Cardinaux, Annie
Pantazis, Dimitrios
Diamond, Sidney
Held, Richard M.
Date Issued
October 2014
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Citation
Sinha, P., M. M. Kjelgaard, T. K. Gandhi, K. Tsourides, A. L. Cardinaux, D. Pantazis, S. P. Diamond, and R. M. Held. “Autism as a Disorder of Prediction.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (October 6, 2014).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
A rich collection of empirical findings accumulated over the past three decades attests to the diversity of traits that constitute the autism phenotypes. It is unclear whether subsets of these traits share any underlying causality. This lack of a cohesive conceptualization of the disorder has complicated the search for broadly effective therapies, diagnostic markers, and neural/genetic correlates. In this paper, we describe how theoretical considerations and a review of empirical data lead to the hypothesis that some salient aspects of the autism phenotype may be manifestations of an underlying impairment in predictive abilities. With compromised prediction skills, an individual with autism inhabits a seemingly “magical” world wherein events occur unexpectedly and without cause. Immersion in such a capricious environment can prove overwhelming and compromise one’s ability to effectively interact with it. If validated, this hypothesis has the potential of providing unifying insights into multiple aspects of autism, with attendant benefits for improving diagnosis and therapy.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416797111
