2016 Volume 18 Issue 3+4 Pages 115-120
Self-other discrimination is a basic cognitive ability for social development. Here, I introduce part of our research findings focusing on brain functions and behavioral characteristics for self-other discrimination in children with autism spectrum disorder （ASD）. First, our near-infrared spectroscopy studies have shown that, during recognition of the self-face, healthy subjects showed increased activity of the right inferior frontal gyrus （IFG） compared to the left side, while ASD children did not show this lateral dominance. Moreover, these activities in the right IFG reflected ASD severity, such that more serious ASD characteristics corresponded with lower activity levels. These findings suggest that dysfunction in the right IFG responsible for self-other discrimination is one of the crucial neural substrates underlying ASD characteristics. Second, we performed behavioral studies to investigate preferences to social stimuli that can affect the development of self-other discrimination. We used motion-tracking systems to analyze child behaviors and have found that ASD children showed lower preferences for other people than normally developing children. Based on these research findings, we hypothesized a negative spiral model for atypical development of the social brain:1） ASD children show low preference for social stimuli;2） the lower preference leads to lack of experience in ASD children performing self-other discrimination;3） ASD children might show cognitive immaturity for self-other discrimination;4） ASD children experience more and more difficulty in self-other discrimination, and lose interest in social stimuli;and 5） this loss of interest and major difficulties cause lower preferences for social stimuli. We speculate that ASD children might experience atypical development of the social brain along this spiral.
