The Neuroscience of Autism

The Neuroscience of Autism provides a comprehensive accounting of autism spectrum disorders by integrating scientific findings from behavioral, cognitive and neurobiological research. The book begins by defining autism, identifying characteristics and prevalence, exploring its history, and then moving on to the cognitive and social bases of behavioral symptoms, the brain bases of behavioral and cognitive symptoms, and finally, intervention practices. It examines theoretical models such as weak central coherence, enhanced perceptual functioning, and the extreme male brain hypothesis.

Finally, the book addresses the increased attention on the brain connectivity model of autism, looking at the synchronization of brain activity across different brain areas, the causal influence of a brain region on another, and white matter cable connections in the brain.

• Delves into the increasing prevalence of autism in the United States
• Focuses on screening tools for early identification
• Discusses the neuroanatomical differences seen in individuals with autism
• Examines the inferences gained from functional MRI studies of autism
  

Rajesh Kana’s research focuses on social and cognitive affective neuroscience, neuroimaging, autism spectrum disorders, brain, and language. Dr Kana and his colleagues are the first to combine three different measures of the brain―anatomy, the connectivity between different brain regions, and levels of a neurochemical―to distinguish people with autism spectrum disorder from matched, typically-developing peers.