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Neurophysiologic Studies

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Autism

Abstract

A striking deficiency in the physiologic modulation of sensory stimuli can be inferred from clinical observation of autistic behavior (Ornitz, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1974; Goldfarb, 1961, 1963; Bergman & Escalona, 1949). All sensory modalities are affected and the faulty modulation of sensory input may be manifest as either a lack of responsiveness or an exaggerated reaction to sensory stimuli (Goldfarb, 1961, 1963). This faulty modulation of sensory input is an intrinsic feature of the autistic behavioral syndrome. This is demonstrated by the responses of parents of 74 young (mean age 45.2 months) autistic children to a standard set of questions about their child’s development. Tables 1 through 3 list some of the most predominant symptoms reported by the parents in the behavioral categories of autistic disturbances of relating, perception, and motility* and indicate the percent of this population of autistic children who were reported to exhibit each behavior. It can be seen from these tables that symptoms in the category of autistic disturbances of the modulation of sensory input occur at high frequencies as do symptoms in the category of autistic disturbances of relating. Furthermore, the occurrences of many of these symptoms are highly correlated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mental Retardation and Child Psychiatry Division, Department of Psychiatry, and Brain Research Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, 90024, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Edward M. Ornitz

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  1. Edward M. Ornitz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London, London, England

    Michael Rutter

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Division of Health Affairs, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Eric Schopler

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© 1978 Plenum Press, New York

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Ornitz, E.M. (1978). Neurophysiologic Studies. In: Rutter, M., Schopler, E. (eds) Autism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0787-7_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0787-7_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-0789-1

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