Hanna B. Cygan
Psychologia Rozwojowa, Tom 24, Numer 4, 2019, s. 9 - 20
https://doi.org/10.4467/20843879PR.19.019.11725Self-Representation in High-Functioning Autism – Review of Neuroimaging Experiments
Development of self-representation is vitally important for internalizing typical behavior and for building interpersonal relationships. Taking into account the neuronal underpinnings of cognitive functions, symptoms of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been related to impairments of neuronal systems underlying self-perception. The present paper reviews research implementing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to study the neural mechanisms of self-related information processing in persons with ASD. These experiments address the psychological aspects of self-representation associated with the appraisal of one’s own traits and of the symbolic, as well as physical, representation of self in response to the perception of one’s own name and face. Furthermore, results of a study that employed fMRI to assess the perception of changeability of personal traits across time among subjects with ASD are also included. The studies under review support the hypotheses of atypical neuronal mechanisms of cognitive self-representation and anomalous perception of social feedback in persons diagnosed with ASD.