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Neurodevelopmental Disorders Affecting Sociability: Recent Research Advances and Future Directions in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams Syndrome

  • Pediatric Neurology (W Kaufmann, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

In this review, we summarize current knowledge and hypotheses on the nature of social abnormalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and Williams syndrome (WS).

Recent Findings

Social phenotypes in ASD and WS appear to reflect analogous disruptions in social cognition, and distinct patterns of social motivation, which appears to be reduced in ASD and enhanced in WS. These abnormalities likely originate from heterogeneous vulnerabilities that disrupt the interplay between domain-general and social domain-specific cognitive and motivational processes during early development. Causal pathways remain unclear.

Summary

Advances and research gaps in our understanding of the social phenotypes in ASD and WS highlight the importance of (1) parsing the construct of sociability, (2) adopting a developmental perspective, (3) including samples that are representative of the spectrum of severity within ASD and WS in neuroscientific research, and (4) adopting transdiagnostic treatment approaches to target shared areas of impairment across diagnostic boundaries.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-3734, USA

    Giacomo Vivanti & Taralee Hamner

  2. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-3734, USA

    Giacomo Vivanti, Taralee Hamner & Nancy Raitano Lee

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  1. Giacomo Vivanti
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  2. Taralee Hamner
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  3. Nancy Raitano Lee
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Correspondence to Giacomo Vivanti.

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Giacomo Vivanti, Taralee Hamner, and Nancy Raitano Lee each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

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Vivanti, G., Hamner, T. & Lee, N.R. Neurodevelopmental Disorders Affecting Sociability: Recent Research Advances and Future Directions in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Williams Syndrome. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 18, 94 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-018-0902-y

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