Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons

by: John M Allman, Karli K Watson, Nicole A Tetreault, Atiya Y Hakeem

Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Vol. 9, No. 8. (August 2005), pp. 367-373.

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Abstract

Von Economo neurons (VENs) are a recently evolved cell type which may be involved in the fast intuitive assessment of complex situations. As such, they could be part of the circuitry supporting human social networks. We propose that the VENs relay an output of fronto-insular and anterior cingulate cortex to the parts of frontal and temporal cortex associated with theory-of-mind, where fast intuitions are melded with slower, deliberative judgments. The VENs emerge mainly after birth and increase in number until age 4 yrs. We propose that in autism spectrum disorders the VENs fail to develop normally, and that this failure might be partially responsible for the associated social disabilities that result from faulty intuition.

@article{citeulike:270830, abstract = {Von Economo neurons (VENs) are a recently evolved cell type which may be involved in the fast intuitive assessment of complex situations. As such, they could be part of the circuitry supporting human social networks. We propose that the VENs relay an output of fronto-insular and anterior cingulate cortex to the parts of frontal and temporal cortex associated with theory-of-mind, where fast intuitions are melded with slower, deliberative judgments. The VENs emerge mainly after birth and increase in number until age 4 yrs. We propose that in autism spectrum disorders the VENs fail to develop normally, and that this failure might be partially responsible for the associated social disabilities that result from faulty intuition.}, author = {Allman, John M. and Watson, Karli K. and Tetreault, Nicole A. and Hakeem, Atiya Y. }, citeulike-article-id = {270830}, doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.008}, journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences}, keywords = {autism, intuition, theory-of-mind}, month = {August}, number = {8}, pages = {367--373}, posted-at = {2005-08-01 18:18:56}, priority = {2}, title = {Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.008}, volume = {9}, year = {2005} }

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TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:270830 L3 - citeulike-article-id:270830 TI - Intuition and autism: a possible role for Von Economo neurons JF - Trends in Cognitive Sciences VL - 9 IS - 8 SP - 367 EP - 373 N2 - Von Economo neurons (VENs) are a recently evolved cell type which may be involved in the fast intuitive assessment of complex situations. As such, they could be part of the circuitry supporting human social networks. We propose that the VENs relay an output of fronto-insular and anterior cingulate cortex to the parts of frontal and temporal cortex associated with theory-of-mind, where fast intuitions are melded with slower, deliberative judgments. The VENs emerge mainly after birth and increase in number until age 4 yrs. We propose that in autism spectrum disorders the VENs fail to develop normally, and that this failure might be partially responsible for the associated social disabilities that result from faulty intuition. KW - autism KW - intuition KW - theory-of-mind AU - Allman, John AU - Watson, Karli AU - Tetreault, Nicole AU - Hakeem, Atiya PY - 2005/08// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.008 ER -

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