New research suggests people with autism may not have as much difficulty imagining the thoughts of others as previously believed.
The brains of people with autism can infer what others think, contrary to a commonly held view that says they find it hard to imagine another’s thoughts, a new theory by UNSW Sydney psychologists suggests.
However, although people with autism may be able to grasp what another person is thinking, they may have more difficulty afterwards in detecting differences between their own and other people’s thoughts.
In an article published recently in the journal Psychological Bulletin, researchers from UNSW and Ghent University in Belgium outlined a new theory about the cognitive processes that occur as humans interact with each other.
The researchers reframe the available evidence about the ability to understand another’s thoughts and emotions – known in psychology as ‘Theory of Mind’. While the ‘Theory of Mind’ idea suggested that one needs to primarily infer others’ thoughts in order to understand them, the new theory highlights the importance of comparing one’s own to others’ thinking instead.
Through a systematic review and critical analysis of more than 50 neurological imaging studies, the researchers found that one of the main areas of the brain that we use to understand others is active when detecting differences between what one thinks, and what others think.
Called the temporoparietal junction, this brain region is often found to be less active in people with autism. After re-assessing findings from 35 years of Theory of Mind research in autism, the researchers argue that the brain in people on the spectrum may be able to grasp what others think, but then may have a harder time processing the degree to which others think differently from themselves.
Dr Eliane Deschrijver, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University visiting UNSW, says during any social interaction between humans, one can conceive the other’s mental state.
“As you talk with someone, your brain may need to detect whether this person is in alignment with what I think, or not – to what extent is this person thinking like me?,” Dr Deschrijver says.
