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Published on: December 7, 2018
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Social cognition in autism and ADHD
1Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Department of Women's and Children's Health, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Curtin Autism Research Group, Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|January 20, 2025
Summary
Social cognition is altered in autism and ADHD, impacting social functioning. Interventions show promise, but research needs clearer definitions and consideration of environmental factors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Social cognition is vital for social functioning and is often impaired in neurodevelopmental conditions like autism and ADHD.
- Social cognition is complex, involving multiple subdomains (e.g., Theory of Mind, emotion recognition) and processing types (implicit/explicit, cognitive/affective).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize research on social cognition in autism and ADHD.
- To explore the nature of social cognition alterations, influencing factors, and intervention effects in these conditions.
Main Methods:
- This is a review article, synthesizing existing research findings.
- Analysis of studies comparing social cognition in individuals with autism and ADHD to neurotypical controls.
Main Results:
- Individuals with autism show robust, primarily implicit, social cognition alterations affecting core features.
- Individuals with ADHD exhibit intermediate social cognition performance, linked to executive function challenges.
- Social cognition improves with age in both conditions and is influenced by intellectual and verbal abilities.
Conclusions:
- Social cognition deficits are a key feature of autism and ADHD, with distinct underlying mechanisms.
- Interventions like social skills training and stimulant medication can improve social cognition test performance.
- The field requires better-defined constructs and tests, and a greater focus on environmental influences and interactional dynamics.
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