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Simon Baron-Cohen, is professor of Developmental Psychopathology in - Wikipedia

Simon Baron-Cohen, is professor of Developmental Psychopathology in - Wikipedia


Simon Baron-Cohen FBA[1] (born 15 August 1958) is professor of Developmental Psychopathology in the Departments of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is the Director of the University's Autism Research Centre,[2] and a Fellow of Trinity College.[3] He is best known for his work on autism, including his early theory that autism involves degrees of "mind-blindness" (or delays in the development of theory of mind); and his later theory that autism is an extreme form of the "male brain", which involved a re-conceptualisation of typical psychological sex differences in terms of empathizing–systemizing theory.

Contents

Education

Baron-Cohen completed a BA in Human Sciences at New College, Oxford, and an MPhil in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He did his PhD in Psychology at University College London under the supervision of Uta Frith.

Research areas

Baron-Cohen was a co-author of the first study to show that children with autism have delays in the development of a theory of mind (ToM) (Cognition, 1985).[4]
Baron-Cohen’s research over the subsequent 10 years provided much of the evidence for the ToM deficit, culminating in two edited anthologies (Understanding Other Minds, 1993, and 2000). His research group have linked the origins of the ToM deficit to joint attention (Brit J. Dev Psychol, 1987) and showed that absence of joint attention at 18 months is a predictor of later autism (British Journal of Psychiatry, 1992, 1996).[5] Based on these and other findings, he proposed a model of the development of ‘mindreading’ in his widely cited monograph (Mindblindness, 1995 MIT Press). Baron-Cohen has also conducted brain imaging work examining the autistic brain. These studies highlighted differences between the typical and autistic brain in the orbitofrontal cortex (Brit. J. Psychiatry, 1994) PMID 7866679 and the amygdala (Euro. J. Neuroscience, 1999), the latter leading him to propose the amygdala theory of autism (Neurosci. Behav. Rev. 2000). In 2010, with his former doctoral student Michael Lombardo, they showed that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex does not differentiate self from other in autism and accounts for variation in social deficits.[6] In 2011, with Lombardo, they also showed that the right temporoparietal junction was hypoactive in autism during ToM tasks and also accounted for variation in social deficits.[7]
In the late 1990s Baron-Cohen developed the hypothesis that typical sex differences may provide a neurobiological and psychological understanding of autism (the empathizing–systemizing theory). The theory proposes that autism is an extreme of the male brain (J. Cog. Neurosci, 1997; TICS, 2002). This led to him situating ToM within the broader domain of empathy, and to the development of a new construct (systemizing). The extreme male brain (EMB) theory of autism sees autism as being on a continuum with individual differences in the general population (sex differences). Baron-Cohen proposes that the cause of autism at a biological level may be hyper-masculinization. This hypothesis posits that certain features of autism (‘obsessions’ and repetitive behaviour, previously regarded as ‘purposeless’) as being highly purposive, intelligent (hyper-systemizing), and a sign of a different way of thinking. He wrote a popular book on the topic of sex differences and its relationship to autism (The Essential Difference, 2003).
Baron-Cohen launched the Cambridge Longitudinal Foetal Testosterone (FT) Project in the late 1990s, a research program following children of mothers who had amniocentesis. This aimed to study the effects of individual differences in FT on later child development. This is summarised in a technical monograph (Prenatal Testosterone in Mind, 2004 MIT Press). This study revealed that FT is negatively correlated with social and language development, and is positively correlated with attention to detail and a number of autistic traits (Brit. J. Psychology, 2009). His work studying FT led him to test the hyper-masculinization of autism at the psychometric level and in regard to developmental neurobiology (Science, 2005; PLOS Biology, 2011). The role of foetal testosterone in autism remains to be assessed in clinical cases, but gains some support from the recent discovery from Baron-Cohen's lab of androgen-related genes being associated with autistic traits, empathy, and Asperger's Syndrome (Autism Research, 2009), and from the finding that a precursor to testosterone (androstenedione) is elevated in autism (Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2011). With Mike Lombardo he conducted the first study in humans of where FT influences grey matter in the brain (J. Neuroscience 2012). He is currently collaborating with the Danish Biobank to test if FT is elevated in people who go on to develop autism.
Baron-Cohen has developed software for special education (Mindreading)[8] and an animation series to teach children with autism to recognise and understand emotions (The Transporters)[9] both of which were BAFTA nominated and have been scientifically evaluated to show that they have benefit to emotional and social learning in autism. Baron-Cohen's work was applied to intervention in the book "Teaching Children With Autism To Mindread" (Wiley, 1997).
Baron-Cohen has worked in another research area: synaesthesia, a neurological condition in which a sensation in one modality (e.g., hearing) triggers a perception in another modality (e.g., colour). He and his colleagues were the first to develop the Test of Genuineness (Perception, 1987) and suggest that synaesthesia is the result of a breakdown in modularity (Perception, 1993). They were also the first to confirm the existence of synaesthesia using neuroimaging (Brain, 1995 and Nature Neuroscience, 1999) and to demonstrate that it is a heritable condition, conducting the first genetic study of synaesthesia (Perception, 1996; American Journal of Human Genetics, 2009).
Baron-Cohen is co-editor in chief of the journal Molecular Autism.[10] and is Chair of the NICE Guideline Development Group for adults with autism.

Media

Baron-Cohen appeared on Private Passions, on 13 April 2008, the biographical music discussion programme hosted by Michael Berkeley on BBC Radio 3.[11]
He was featured on the BBC news page calling for an ethical debate on the issue of a prenatal test for autism, arguing it is important to debate this in advance of such a test existing, given the pace of biomedical research in autism.[12] In an article in 2000 (Development and Psychopathology) Baron-Cohen argued that high-functioning autism or Asperger Syndrome need not just lead to disability, but can also lead to talent.[13] He has found over 25 years that the media largely report his work accurately but in March 2009, he wrote a piece in New Scientist on the misrepresentation over his group's research into foetal testosterone in typically developing children.[14]
He has appeared in many television science documentaries, one example being Brainman in which he diagnosed Daniel Tammet (who has extreme memory) with both synaesthesia and Asperger Syndrome.
In 2008 Baron-Cohen assessed Gary McKinnon, the British computer hacker who had been accused of breaking into 97 United States military and NASA computer networks in 2001 and 2002, and diagnosed him as having Asperger Syndrome.
He appeared in TIME Magazine, featuring his 'assortative mating' theory of autism.[15]

Personal life and awards

Baron-Cohen was awarded the Spearman Medal from the British Psychological Society (BPS), the McAndless Award from the American Psychological Association, the May Davison Award for Clinical Psychology from the BPS, and the Presidents Award from the BPS. He was President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science Section for Psychology in 2007, and was Vice President of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) for 2009-11. He is also a Vice President of the National Autistic Society (UK). He is a Fellow of the BPS, the BA, and the Association of Psychological Science.
Baron-Cohen is the son of Judith and Vivian Baron-Cohen. He is married to Bridget Lindley[16] and together they have three children: independent film maker Sam Baron, Robin Lindley-Baron, and songwriter Kate Baron.[17] His brothers are film director Ash Baron Cohen and Dan Baron Cohen (International Drama and Education Association). His sisters are Suzannah Baron Cohen and acupuncturist Aliza Baron Cohen. His cousins include computer scientist Amnon Baron Cohen, composer and musician Erran Baron Cohen, comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen,[18][19] composer Lewis Furey, film producer Daniel Louis, playwright Richard Greenblatt, University of Washington chemistry professor Seymour Rabinovitch, University of Montana Japanese professor Judith Rabinovitch, and film-director Mark Robson.

Selected publications

Books

Baron-Cohen's single authored books:
  • Baron-Cohen, S (1995) Mindblindness: an essay on autism and theory of mind. MIT Press/Bradford Books.
  • Baron-Cohen, S (2003) The Essential Difference: men, women and the extreme male brain. Penguin/Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-7139-9671-5
  • Baron-Cohen, S (2008) Autism and Asperger Syndrome: The Facts. OUP.
  • Baron-Cohen, S (2011) Zero Degrees of Empathy: A new theory of human cruelty. Penguin/Allen Lane. This appears under a different title in the US:
  • Baron-Cohen, S (2011) The Science of Evil: On empathy and the origins of human cruelty. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-02353-0
His multi-authored and edited books include:
  • Baron-Cohen, S, and Bolton, P, (1993) Autism: the facts. Oxford University Press.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Tager-Flusberg, H, and Cohen, D.J. (eds,) (1993) Understanding other minds: perspectives from autism. Oxford University Press.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, & Harrison, J, (eds: 1997) Synaesthesia: classic and contemporary readings. Blackwells.
  • Baron-Cohen S, ed. (1997). The maladapted mind: classic readings in evolutionary psychopathology. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press/Taylor Francis Group. ISBN 0-86377-460-1. Retrieved 21 January 2011</ref>
  • Howlin, P, Baron-Cohen, S, Hadwin, J, & Swettenham, J, (1999). Teaching children with autism to mind-read. Wiley.
  • Robertson, M, & Baron-Cohen, S, (1998) Tourette Syndrome: The facts. Oxford University Press.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Tager-Flusberg, H, & Cohen, D, (eds. 2000). Understanding other minds: perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience. Oxford University Press.
  • Baron-Cohen, S & Wheelwright, S, (2004) An exact mind. Jessica Kingsley Ltd. Artwork by Peter Myers.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Lutchmaya, S, & Knickmeyer, R, (2005) Prenatal testosterone in mind: Studies of amniotic fluid. MIT Press/Bradford Books.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Tager-Flusberg, H, and Cohen, D.J. (eds,) (2007) Understanding other minds: perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience – 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press.
  • Hadwin, J, Howlin, P, & Baron-Cohen, S, (2008) Teaching children with autism to mindread: a handbook. Wiley.

Papers

Baron-Cohen has authored over 250 peer-reviewed papers, including:
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Leslie, A.M., & Frith, U, (1985) Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind?” Cognition, 21, 37-46.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Wyke, M, & Binnie, C, (1987) Hearing words and seeing colours: an experimental investigation of a case of synaesthesia. Perception, 16, 761-67.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Allen, J, & Gillberg, C, (1992) Can autism be detected at 18 months? The needle, the haystack, and the CHAT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 839-843.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, (1994) How to build a baby that can read minds: Cognitive mechanisms in mindreading. Cahiers de Psychologie Cognitive/ Current Psychology of Cognition, 13, 513-552.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Ring, H, Moriarty, J, Shmitz, P, Costa, D, & Ell, P, (1994) Recognition of mental state terms: a clinical study of autism, and a functional neuroimaging study of normal adults. British Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 640-649.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Cox, A, Baird, G, Swettenham, J, Drew, A, Nightingale, N, Morgan, K, & Charman, T, (1996) Psychological markers of autism at 18 months of age in a large population. British Journal of Psychiatry, 168, 158-163.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Jolliffe, T, Mortimore, C, & Robertson, M (1997) Another advanced test of theory of mind: evidence from very high functioning adults with autism or Asperger Syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 813-822.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Wheelwright, S, Stott, C, Bolton, P, & Goodyer, I, (1997) Is there a link between engineering and autism? Autism, 1, 101-108.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Ring, H, Wheelwright, S, Bullmore, E, Brammer, M, Simmons, A, & Williams, S, (1999) Social intelligence in the normal and autistic brain: an fMRI study. European Journal of Neuroscience, 11, 1891-1898.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Ring, H, Bullmore, E, Wheelwright, S, Ashwin, C, & Williams, S, (2000) The amygdala theory of autism. Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews, 24, 355-364.
  • Connellan, J, Baron-Cohen, S, Wheelwright, S, Ba’tki, A, & Ahluwalia, J, (2000) Sex differences in human neonatal social perception. Infant Behavior and Development, 23, 113-118.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, & Wheelwright, S, Skinner, R, Martin, J, & Clubley, E, (2001) The Autism-Spectrum Quotient: Evidence from Asperger Syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists, and mathematicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 5-17.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, (2002) The extreme male brain theory of autism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6, 248-254.
  • Lutchmaya, S, Baron-Cohen, S, & Raggatt, P, (2002) Foetal testosterone and eye contact in 12-month-old infants. Infant Behaviour and Development, 25, 327-335.
  • Nunn, J, Gregory, L, Morris, R, Brammer, M, Bullmore, E, Harrison, J, Williams, S, Baron-Cohen, S, and Gray, J, (2002) Functional magnetic resonance imaging of synaesthesia: activation of colour vision area V4/V8 by spoken words. Nature Neuroscience, 5, 371-375.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, & Wheelwright, S, (2004) The Empathy Quotient (EQ). An investigation of adults with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism, and normal sex differences. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 163-175.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Knickmeyer, R, & Belmonte, M (2005) Sex differences in the brain: implications for explaining autism. Science, 310, 819-823.
  • Chapman, E, Baron-Cohen, S, Auyeung, B, Knickmeyer, R, Taylor, K & Hackett, G (2006) Foetal testosterone and empathy: evidence from the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes’ Test’. Social Neuroscience, 1, 135-148.
  • Auyeung, B, Baron-Cohen, S, Chapman, E, Knickmeyer, R, Taylor, K & Hackett, G, (2009) Foetal testosterone and autistic traits. British Journal of Psychology, 100, 1-22.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Scott, F, J, Allison, C, Williams, J, Bolton, P, Matthews, F, E, & Brayne, C, (2009) Autism Spectrum Prevalence: a school-based U.K. population study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 194, 500-509.
  • Chakrabarti, B, Dudridge, F, Kent, L, Wheelwright, S, Hill-Cawthorne, G, Allison, C, Banerjee-Basu, S, & Baron-Cohen, S, (2009) Genes related to sex-steroids, neural growth and social-emotional behaviour are associated with autistic traits, empathy and Asperger Syndrome. Autism Research, 2, 157-177.
  • Asher, J, Lamb, J, A, Brocklebank, D, Cazier, J-B, Maestrini, E, Addis, L, Sen, M, Baron-Cohen, S, & Monaco, A, P, (2009) A whole-genome scan and fine-mapping linkage study of autidory-visual synthethesia reveals evidence of linkage to chromosomes 2q24, 5q33, 6p12 and 12p12. The American Journal of Human Genetics, 84, 279-285.
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Golan, O, & Ashwin, E, (2009) Can emotion recognition be taught to children with autism spectrum conditions? Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, Special Issue, 364, 3567-3574.
  • Auyeung, B, Taylor, K, Hackett, G, & Baron-Cohen, S, (2010) Fetal testosterone and autistic traits in 18 to 24-month-old children, Molecular Autism, 1:11.
  • Chura, L, Lombardo, M, Ashwin, E, Auyeung, B, Chakrabarti, B, Bullmore, E, T, & Baron-Cohen, S, (2010) Organizational effects of fetal testosterone on human corpus callosum size and asymmetry. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 35, 122-132.
  • Golan, O, Baron-Cohen, S, Ashwin, E, Granader, Y, McClintock, S, Day, K, & Leggett, V, (2010) Enhancing emotion recognition in children with autism spectrum conditions: an intervention using animated vehicles with real emotional faces. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 269-279.
  • Lombardo, M, Chakrabarti, B, Bullmore, E, Sadek, S, Pasco, G, Wheelwright, S, Suckling, J, MRC AIMS Consortium & Baron-Cohen, S, (2010) Atypical neural self-representation in autism. Brain, 133, 611-624.
  • Lombardo, M, Chakrabarti, B, Bullmore, E, & Wheelwright, S, Sadek, S, Suckling, J, MRC AIMS Consortium & Baron-Cohen, S, (2010) Shared neural circuits for mentalizing about the self and others. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 277, 1623-1635.
  • Wheelwright, S, Auyeung, B, Allison, C, & Baron-Cohen, S, (2010) Defining the broader, medium and narrow autism phenotype among parents using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). Molecular Autism,1, 10.
  • Lombardo, M, Chakrabarti; B, Bullmore, E, MRC AIMS Consortium and Baron-Cohen, S, (2011). Specialization of right temporo-parietal junction for mentalizing and its relation to social impairments in autism. NeuroImage 2011 Feb 26 [Epub ahead of print].
  • Baron-Cohen, S, Lombardo, M, Auyeung, B, Ashwin, E, Chakrabarti, B, & Knickmeyer, R, (2011) Why are Autism Spectrum Conditions more prevalent in males? Public Library of Science Biology. 9, 1-10 And Supplementary Material to ‘Why are autism spectrum conditions more prevalent in males?’.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Seven Cambridge academics elected as Fellows of The British Academy". Cambridge University. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  2. ^ Autismresearchcentre.com
  3. ^ ARC people: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, Director Autism Research Centre. Retrieved on 2008-02-16
  4. ^ Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U (1985). "Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind'?" (PDF). Cognition 21 (1): 37–46. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8. PMID 2934210. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  5. ^ CHAT - The Checklist for Autism In Toddlers. University of Washington. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  6. ^ Lombardo MV, Chakrabarti B, Bullmore ET, Sadek SA, Pasco G, Wheelwright SJ, Suckling J, MRC AIMS Consortium, Baron-Cohen S. Atypical neural self-representation in autism. Brain. 2010;133(2):611–624. doi:10.1093/brain/awp306. PMID 20008375.
  7. ^ Lombardo MV, Chakrabarti B, Bullmore ET, MRC AIMS Consortium, Baron-Cohen S. Specialization of right temporo-parietal junction for mentalizing and its relation to social impairments in autism. Neuroimage. 2011;56(3):1832–1838. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.02.067. PMID 21356316.
  8. ^ Mind Reading. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  9. ^ Home page. The Transporters. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  10. ^ Molecular Autism
  11. ^ Radio 3: "Private Passions".
  12. ^ "Autism test 'could hit maths skills'". BBC News. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  13. ^ Boseley, Sarah (2009-01-12). "Is autism screening close to reality?". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  14. ^ "Media distortion damages both science and journalism". New Scientist.
  15. ^ Autism's Lone Wolf, TIME Magazine (August 29th, 2011)
  16. ^ Biography for Simon Baron-Cohen at the Internet Movie Database
  17. ^ http://www.myspace.com/katebaronmusic
  18. ^ "Time Out with Nick Cohen". New Statesman. 26 February 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  19. ^ Maia Szalavitz (May 30th, 2011). Q&A: Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen on Empathy and the Science of Evil. Time Magazine.

External links

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