Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by communication and social difficulties as well as restricted interest patterns. Here we will discuss the main theories about autism that attempt to explain its origin .

Theories on autism

Although currently considered the origin of unknown autism, a multitude of theories, both psychological and biological, have been developed to explain it. Some are more supported than others. Let’s get to know them.

1. Psychological theories

Within these theories we find the following:

1.1. Theory of Mind

One of the theories about autism is which relates autism to the theory of mind (ToM), formulated by Simon Baron-Cohen. Such theories have been increasingly researched.

The theory of mind refers to the “ability of human beings to understand and predict the behavior of other people, their knowledge, their intentions and their beliefs.

The concept of ToM was introduced by Premack and Woodruf (1978), who carried out experiments with chimpanzees with the aim of understanding their capacity for understanding in relation to the human mind.

1.2. Neuropsychological theory

This theory speaks of an impairment of Executive Function in people with autism.

Fisher and Happé (2005) propose that the failures characteristic of autism are mainly caused by alterations in the frontal lobe . The frontal lobe is responsible for functions such as memory and the regulation of environmental stimuli, both visual and auditory. It is also involved in emotional regulation, impulse control and social behavior.

Furthermore, the frontal alterations are related to the executive functions , that is, the set of processes in charge of generating, monitoring and controlling action and thought. In addition, they include aspects of planning and execution of complex behaviours, working memory and inhibitory control.

When such functions have been evaluated in the population with autism, the results have suggested overall executive function failures and particular aspects proposed as causing ASD.

The overall disturbances in executive functioning have been observed in a high number of perseverations and failures to find effective strategies to achieve the goal ; for example, in the Wisconsin Card Ranking Test.

In relation to these findings, a possible prefrontal alteration together with subcortical dysfunctions has been proposed as the cause of typical symptoms of ASD in the social and cognitive areas.

1.3. Theory of the Weakening of Central Coherence

Another theory about autism is the theory proposed by Uta Frith in 2003, who proposes that autism is characterized by a specific deficit in the integration of information at different levels .

According to this theory, children with autism have difficulty making efficient comparisons, judgments, and conceptual inferences.

1.4. Hobson’s affective-social theory

Hobson’s theory (1995) states that cognitive and social deficits in autism are of an affective-social nature. Hobson defends the role of emotion in the development of interpersonal relationships as a primary deficit in people with autism . He suggests that people with autism show greater difficulty in understanding emotion, and that this negatively affects their social interactions.

Hobson studied the spontaneous language of autistic people to learn their first verbalizations about mental states, and found specific deficiencies in their ability to talk about states such as thinking, knowing and believing .

In short, Hobson proposes to rescue the importance of the interpersonal-affective disorders that are at the root of the problem of autism.

1.5. Baron-Cohen’s theory of mental blindness

According to this theory, which is closely related to the theory of mind, people with an autism spectrum disorder do not understand the intentions of others and experience anxiety when certain behaviors seem unpredictable to them , because they are unable to anticipate the facts.

Baron-Cohen proposes a delay in the development of the theory of mind, producing varying degrees of “mental blindness”.

This theory would explain the social and communication difficulties of people who are not neurotypical and by extension autistic. This limitation also occurs in a number of other pathologies such as schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, narcissistic behavior and people in a psychotic phase.

1.6. Extreme Male Brain Theory (Baron-Cohen)

This author proposes an excess of testosterone during pregnancy that ends up creating an excessively masculinized brain (good for systematizing and bad for empathizing). This has never been proven.

2. Biological theories

On the other hand, within the biological theories we find the following theories about autism:

2.1. Anatomical theories

Some authors have found injuries of the right hemisphere in autistic children , and have related it to alterations in the functions of speech and in affectations in non-verbal language. All this makes it difficult to understand different attitudes in others (for example, understanding sarcasm, irony or double meanings), as well as empathy and the power to infer and attribute aspects of others.

Thus, the right hemisphere has important implications for understanding perception, the emotional aspect, non-verbal language, face recognition and emotions.
Structural alterations have also been found in the amygdala and temporal lobe and the anterior cingulate cortex.

Specifically, the amygdala has been related to the regulation of emotions , especially feelings of anger and fear and the physiological reaction produced by these emotions. On the other hand, the previous cingulate enables people the “capacity to establish solutions to a novel problem by carrying out predictions of the consequences”.

2.2. Other biological theories

In addition to the above-mentioned anatomical theories we find: genetic hypotheses (Fragile X syndrome with autistic features), immunological (infectious processes, e.g. congenital rubella), metabolic (phenylketonuria), convulsive conditions (e.g. West’s syndrome), pre/per/post natal conditions and finally the hypothesis of hyperserotoninemia (excess serotonin in the cerebrospinal fluid).

Bibliographic references:

  • García, D. & Muñoz, P. (2000). Executive functions and school performance in primary education. An exploratory study. Revista Complutense de Educación, 11(1), 39-56.
  • Tirapu-Ustárroz, J., Pérez-Sayes, G., Erekatxo-Bilbao, M. & Pelegrín-Valero, C. (2007). What is the theory of mind? Journal of Neurology, 44, 479-489.
  • Gómez, I. (2010). Cognitive Science, Theory of Mind and Autism. Pensamiento Psicológico, 8(15), 113-124.
  • Liliana Calderón, L., Congote, C. , Richard, Sh. , Sierra, S. , Vélez, C. (2012). Contributions from the theory of mind and executive function to the understanding of autism spectrum disorders. CES Psychology Journal, 5(1), 77-90.