Brain and Genetic Mechanisms of Socio-Emotional Functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Abstract

The development of socio-emotional functioning is a complex process that occurs over a protracted time period and requires coordinating affective, cognitive, and social faculties. At many points in development, the trajectory of socio-emotional development can be deleteriously altered due to a combination of environmental insults and individual vulnerabilities. The result can be psychopathology. However, researchers are just beginning to understand the neural and genetic mechanisms involved in the development of healthy and disordered socio-emotional functioning. In this dissertation, I propose a translational developmental neuroscience framework to understand socio-emotional functioning in both healthy and disordered populations. I then apply this framework to healthy socio-emotional development and autism spectrum disorders, selectively reviewing current literature in light of the framework. Next, three pieces of original research serve as examples of research on socio-emotional functioning in autism spectrum disorders guided by the framework: The first study examines the influence of a genetic variant (5-HTTLPR) on habituation of a socio-emotionally relevant brain structure, the amygdala, in autism spectrum disorders. The second study compares interactions of the amygdala with other areas in the brain in the context of a socio-emotional task and in the absence of a task in autism spectrum disorders. The third study examines the influence of the same genetic variant on another socially-relevant brain network, the default network. Lastly, I examine ways that the framework can help to identify future directions of research on socio-emotional development.