AUTISM - TOWARDS AN INTEGRATION OF CLINICAL, GENETIC, NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL, AND NEUROBIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

Autism consitutes one of the best validated child psychiatric disorder s. Empirical research has succeeded in delineating the key clinical ph enomena, in demonstrating strong genetic influences on the underlying liability, and in identifying basic cognitive deficits. A range of neu robiological abnormalities has also been found, although the replicabi lity of specific findings has not been high. An understanding of the c ausal processes leading to autism, and accounting for the marked varia bility in its manifestations, requires an integration across these dif ferent levels of enquiry. Although this is not yet possible, a partial integration provides a useful strategy for identifying key research q uestions, the limitations of existing hypotheses, and future research directions that are likely to prove fruitful. The research findings fo r each research level are critically reviewed in order to consider how to move towards an integration across levels.