Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl
the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects,
then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and
observations.
Today's article posits a reason why autistic people may sometimes be less social overall than neurotypical people. Humans, as you may be aware, are tribal creatures. Generally speaking, we're happier with some social interaction in our lives. That's actually the point of small talk, I theorize: it's not really about the weather (or sports, or whatever), it's about feeling connected to other people.
Well, so these particular brain scans, done at Stanford, suggest that part of the reason these types of social interaction are rewarding... doesn't apply as much to autistic people. Inside the brain, there's a particular brain pathway that activates when the person engages in social situations. This makes the interaction rewarding, even if the specific content of the interaction is neutral. Autistic brains, apparently, don't react the same ways as neurotypical brains... and don't light up as much.
This suggests the inherent reward for being social is also somewhat muted... which might help explain why autistic people sometimes aren't as social naturally. If you're a kid, and something isn't fun, you generally don't do it unless forced. Your mileage may vary, but having met more autistic people as I got older, I've noticed a lot of us aren't really the social butterfly type. I'd assumed that had more to do with environmental factors... after all, the vast majority of us were bullied, some rather mercilessly. And it's not like the rest of life is super-easy, either. Misunderstandings abound, even if you're fully verbal and "look normal."
But maybe I shouldn't be surprised. A lot of things in psychology end up being a mix of nature (like genetics) and nurture (like what kind of childhood you had).
In my specific case, I think it's probably safe to say my brain doesn't reward me as much, if at all, for social interactions. I often come away from small talk and other minor social interactions agonizing over what I said, and how it might be taken the exact wrong way. It's a very unfun experience, and so I tend to not engage in small talk unless addressed thusly or unless it seems extremely awkward if I don't. As a child, I tended to prefer a book to a person. As an adult, I tend to "suffer through" social interaction rather than "enjoy" it. It's gotten easier as I aged, probably because I've now had lots of practice. It's still not what I'd consider a "fun" activity.
Today's article posits a reason why autistic people may sometimes be less social overall than neurotypical people. Humans, as you may be aware, are tribal creatures. Generally speaking, we're happier with some social interaction in our lives. That's actually the point of small talk, I theorize: it's not really about the weather (or sports, or whatever), it's about feeling connected to other people.
Well, so these particular brain scans, done at Stanford, suggest that part of the reason these types of social interaction are rewarding... doesn't apply as much to autistic people. Inside the brain, there's a particular brain pathway that activates when the person engages in social situations. This makes the interaction rewarding, even if the specific content of the interaction is neutral. Autistic brains, apparently, don't react the same ways as neurotypical brains... and don't light up as much.
This suggests the inherent reward for being social is also somewhat muted... which might help explain why autistic people sometimes aren't as social naturally. If you're a kid, and something isn't fun, you generally don't do it unless forced. Your mileage may vary, but having met more autistic people as I got older, I've noticed a lot of us aren't really the social butterfly type. I'd assumed that had more to do with environmental factors... after all, the vast majority of us were bullied, some rather mercilessly. And it's not like the rest of life is super-easy, either. Misunderstandings abound, even if you're fully verbal and "look normal."
But maybe I shouldn't be surprised. A lot of things in psychology end up being a mix of nature (like genetics) and nurture (like what kind of childhood you had).
In my specific case, I think it's probably safe to say my brain doesn't reward me as much, if at all, for social interactions. I often come away from small talk and other minor social interactions agonizing over what I said, and how it might be taken the exact wrong way. It's a very unfun experience, and so I tend to not engage in small talk unless addressed thusly or unless it seems extremely awkward if I don't. As a child, I tended to prefer a book to a person. As an adult, I tend to "suffer through" social interaction rather than "enjoy" it. It's gotten easier as I aged, probably because I've now had lots of practice. It's still not what I'd consider a "fun" activity.
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