Conversely, knowledge of what is or is not abnormal in the brain of autistic individuals can help to generate and constrain hypotheses about neuropsychological functioning ( Bailey, Phillips, & Rutter, 1996 Pennington & Welsh, 1995). In particular, it has been argued that research delineating the core psychological deficits of autistic individuals can help elucidate the brain bases of autism ( Frith, 1989 Ozonoff, 1997a). The neuropsychological and brain levels of analysis can ideally inform one another. As such, neuropsychological constructs potentially provide a unifying explanation for a range of behaviors and symptoms that may otherwise appear disparate and unrelated. It attempts to link these two levels of analysis by mapping relationships between brain structures and the psychological and behavioral functions they serve. The neuropsychological level of explanation is intermediate between brain and behavior. These etiological factors are presumed to lead to abnormalities in the development of brain structures and processes that underlie the behaviors and symptoms that constitute autism. At the most basic level, e tiology concerns the genetic and possible environmental factors that cause autism. A complete explanatory framework for understanding autism would ultimately involve at least four levels of analysis: (1) etiology, (2) brain structures and processes, (3) neuropsychology, and (4) symptoms or behaviors (Pennington, 1991 Pennington & Welsh, 1995). Neuropsychological Frameworks for Understanding AutismĪlthough the current diagnostic criteria for autism ( APA, 1994 WHO, 1994) represent an important consensus on how to identify this complex syndrome, they constitute a descriptive account of the disorder.
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