Abstract
Neurocognitive and psychophysiological studies on pervasive developmental disorder(PDD), which includes autistic disorder and Asperger’s disorder, were reviewed and summarized. Studies using ERP and autonomic measures generally reported abnormalities of vigilance and attention in PDD. Behavioral studies on joint attention indicated impaired social attention. Results of neuroimaging studies on social processing suggested hypofunction of amygdala and face-related areas such as superior temporal sulcus and fusiform face area. There are some studies that reported hypoactivation of mirror neuron in the frontal lobe and orbitofrontal cortex in response to social stimuli. Thus results of these studies seem to suggest hypo- or atypical functioning of brainstem and limbic subcortical areas and neocortices related to social processing.
