Early Visual Processing Abnormalities Related to Schizophrenia and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Year: 2015
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Introduction This chapter focuses on techniques that have been used to investigate early visual processing abnormalities related to two specific types of neuropsychiatric disorders - schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. The term “neuropsychiatric” is often used to describe these disorders because the psychiatric symptoms are thought to be a consequence of abnormalities in the anatomy and physiology of the brain. These disorders are also frequently described as neurodevelopmental because both are thought to arise from abnormalities in both prenatal and postnatal brain development. While these are not the only psychiatric disorders that researchers have examined with respect to early visual processing, there is a large and broad body of literature on early visual processing abnormalities in these particular disorders. In addition, the research on these abnormalities is representative of the research methods generally used in the study of perceptual disorders. Most researchers have defined schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is now in its fifth edition (DSM-V; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Briefly, the DSM-V defines schizophrenia as a cluster of symptoms that includes some combination of hallucinations, delusions, disorganized behavior and/or speech, affective flattening, poverty of speech, social withdrawal, and cognitive impairment (among others). In contrast, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is defined by impairment in two primary areas: Impaired social communication and interaction: deficits in nonverbal communication, lack of social/emotional reciprocity, deficits in forming, maintaining, and understanding relationships; and, Restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities: inflexible adherence to nonfunctional routines, highly restricted fixated interests, stereotyped and repetitive motor mannerisms, hyper- or hyposensitivity to sensory input.
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2499687867