NEUROFUNCTIONAL MECHANISMS IN AUTISM

Behavioral impairments in autism are theorized to result from abnormal neuronal organization in brain development generating 4 systemically related neurofunctional impairments: (a) canalesthesia, wherein abnorm al hippocampal system function ''canalizes'' sensory records, disrupti ng integration of information; (b) impaired assignment of the affectiv e significance of stimuli, wherein abnormal amygdaloid system function disrupts affect association; (c) asociality, wherein impaired oxytoci n system function flattens social bonding and affiliativeness; and (d) extended selective attention, wherein abnormal organization of tempor al and parietal polysensory regions yields aberrant overprocessing of primary representations. This model proposes that complex human behavi ors may be guided by multiple overlapping neural mechanisms.