The Neuropsychology of Autism

The fields of autism and the fields of neuropsychology have grown tremendously in the past 40 years. This comprehensive volume draws together what is known about the neuropsychology of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from leaders in the field. It introduces the basics of clinical presentation, genetics, neurochemistry, and neuroanatomy in ASD, as well as a review of overarching neuropsychological theories. The book then presents detailed and up-to-date reviews of key neuropsychological functions, including language, memory, attention, social cognition, and sensory and motor functions. The final section of the book presents leading and novel theories about the full syndrome, and concludes with a summary of advances in the field and a blueprint for the next stage of research.

Deborah Fein, PhD, is a clinical neuropsychologist who has been doing autism research for 35 years at Boston University School of Medicine and at the University of Connecticut. She is currently Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health of the US government, and several private foundations. She has investigated numerous areas in autism, including biochemical abnormalities, brain waves, language and memory, cognitive skills, sensory abnormalities, outcome, early detection and theoretical issues concerning diagnosis. She has published well over 100 articles and chapters, mostly on autism, and she is the co-author of a recent book for teachers, "Autism in Your Classroom" as well as the widely used screening tool, "Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers". She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Clinical Neuropsychology, and the Science Advisory Board of Autism Speaks, and as Associate Editor of the journal Neuropsychology, and Secretary of the International Society for Autism Research.

Contributors
Foreword by Geraldine Dawson
Introduction

Part I. Fundamental Information about Autism Spectrum Disorders
1. Phenomenology of ASD: Definition, syndromes, and major features
Eva Troyb, Kelley Knoch and Marianne Barton
2. Genetics: Many roads to ASD
Brett. S. Abrahams
3. The Neuroanatomy of ASD
Martha R. Herbert
4. The Neurochemistry of ASD
David J. Posey, Zohra Lodin, Craig A. Erickson, Kimberly A. Stigler and
Christopher J. McDougle
5. Major current neuropsychological theories of ASD
Agata Rozga, Sharlet A. Anderson and Diana L. Robins

Part II. Neuropsychological Functions
6. Language in ASD
Elizabeth Kelley
7. Memory in ASD
Jill Boucher and Andrew Mayes
8. Attention and Working Memory in ASD
Brittany G. Travers, Mark. R. Klinger and Laura Grofer Klinger
9. Executive Functions in ASD
Inge-Marie Eigsti
10. Motor development and its relation to social and behavioral manifestations in children with ASD
Ericka L. Wodka and Stewart H. Mostofsky
11. Sensory functions in ASD
Tal Kenet
12. Social Cognition in ASD
Mikle South, Robert T. Schultz and Sally Ozonoff
13. Imitation in ASD
Costanza Colombi, Giacomo Vivanti and Sally J. Rogers
14. Implicit Learning in ASD
Inge-Marie Eigsti and Jessica Mayo
15. The Significance of IQ and Differential Cognitive Abilities for Understanding ASD
Robert M. Joseph
16. Clinical implications for assessment and treatment of ASD
Julie M. Wolf and Elizabeth Kelley

Part III. Frontiers of Neuropsychology and Autism
17. Systemizing and empathizing
Sally Wheelwright and Simon Baron-Cohen
18. Entrainment, mimicry and interpersonal synchrony
Marcel Kinsbourne and Molly Helt
19. Repetitive Movements and Arousal
Marcel Kinsbourne
20. Neural network models of context utilization
Ananth Narayanan and David Q. Beversdorf
21. Structural and Functional Brain Development in ASD: The Impact of Early Brain Overgrowth and Considerations for Treatment
Karen Pierce and L.T. Eyler
22. Neuropeptide and steroid hormones
Suma Jacob, Maria Demosthenous and C. Sue Carter
23. Redefining the Concept of Autism as a Unitary Disorder: Multiple Causal Deficits of a Single Kind?
Jill Boucher
24. Autism Endophenotypes are Not Unified by Gene Variants or Chromosome Number Variants
Lynn Waterhouse
25. A Whole Body Systems Approach to ASD
Martha Herbert
26. Future Directions in ASD Research
Deborah Fein, Isabelle Rapin and Katarzyna Chawarska