Why are many autistic people keen on watching advertisements, news, scientific and educational films, weather forecasts, etc., but have little interest in movies, TV series, etc.?

First, let’s understand the question itself. Since the behavioral subject in question is "many autistic people", it is impossible to do a case assessment, and at the same time, it is impossible to concretely observe, record and quantify the target behavior, so that behavioral analysis cannot be done. To take a step back, even if a relevant case is taken out for behavioral analysis, the result obtained should not be the answer expected by the questioner.

So as far as I understand, the questioner wants to understand the reasons for the behavior mentioned in the question through the analysis of the perpetrator (that is, some autistic people). Then my answer will focus on the analysis of the perpetrator.

1. From the perspective of diagnostic standards, currently autism spectrum disorder (hereinafter referred to as ASD) still needs to be diagnosed through the behavioral observation system provided by the corresponding diagnostic manual (such as DSM). Although this diagnostic method It has shortcomings such as vagueness and strong subjectivity, but its significance at the current stage of development is undeniable. This is the fruit of the development of ASD intervention from psychoanalysis to evidence-based practice.

Let’s take a look at the diagnostic criteria for ASD in DSM-5 related to this topic (although these criteria have been quoted frequently and exposed recently, I still think it is necessary to include the original text write it out):

A.Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.

2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures: to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.

3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

Try to translate the key points.

Diagnostic Criterion 1: Persistent social communication and interaction disorders in a variety of situations.

The symptoms are as follows:

1. Defects in social-emotional interaction ability, such as abnormal social style, inability to maintain conversations, difficulty in sharing interests and communicating emotions and emotions with others, inability to initiate or respond to social interactions correctly, etc., degree Different;

2. Obstacles in non-verbal communication, such as the inability to integrate oral and non-verbal communication methods, the inability to use or understand social cues such as eye contact and body language, etc., to varying degrees; < /p>

3. Difficulties in understanding, developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, such as the inability to actively adjust behavior patterns to adapt to corresponding situations, difficulty in engaging in imaginary games or making friends, lack of interest in others, etc., to varying degrees.

B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypies, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).

2. Insistence on sameness , inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take the same route or eat the same food every day).

3. Highly restricted, fixed interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).

4. Hyper-or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).

1. Stereotyped and repetitive body movements, manipulation of objects or use of words, such as waving hands non-stop, obsessed with arranging toys in lines, repetitive spoken language, primitive spinning in circles, running non-stop, etc.;

2. Rejecting any slight changes, adhering to a fixed daily process, ritualized spoken or non-verbal behaviors, such as uneasy reactions to subtle changes, rigid thinking patterns, Only eating the same food every day;

3. Narrow interests with abnormal intensity and concentration, such as playing with thread for a day;

4. Feeling too slow or too sensitive , or have abnormal reactions to a certain type of feeling, such as not caring about pain, being obsessed with certain auditory, visual, tactile or olfactory stimulation, and having abnormal interest in light, such as staring at the sun and being happy to see tears.

The above two diagnostic criteria roughly summarize the behavioral characteristics of people with ASD, and these characteristics can be used to respond to the questions in the question.

For example, the difficulty in understanding social cues makes certain movies or TV shows that are connected with social interactions between people not "watchable" for some people with ASD; another example is that some people with ASD They may develop stronger image thinking ability than weak language and pattern thinking abilities, and weather forecasts and advertising can obviously provide them with more suitable opportunities to develop this ability. These are just two examples. The situations of different ASD individuals are definitely different, so I won’t go into details here.

2. From the perspective of neuroscience I am just interested in neuroscience, but it is not a professional field. As I said at the beginning, it is just a matter of soy sauce and a starting point. Neuroscience research related to autism should currently focus mainly on neuroimaging research on autism. In particular, the application of this research in autism diagnosis has achieved some results, although there is still a longer way to go.

First of all, it needs to be made clear: the relationship between a certain behavioral characteristic of ASD people and an abnormal pattern of the brain has two characteristics: one is the heterogeneity of the cause, and the other is the heterogeneity of the behavior. .

The former means that people with the same behavioral characteristics may not necessarily show the same abnormal patterns in their brains. Specifically for this issue, it means two ASD people who also like to watch advertisements but not movies. , their brain abnormality patterns may be completely different. At the current level of research, for example, the disappearance of the image on the TV screen may be because the picture tube is broken or the signal is interrupted or because of a power outage. What is also certain is that a large number of brain functions are not tied to any specific source, but are connected to larger neural networks.

The latter means that different autistic people with the same abnormal brain pattern may not necessarily have exactly the same behavior.

After clarifying these two points, another point that needs to be pointed out is that when explaining a certain behavioral characteristic (for example, the behavior in the question) from the perspective of neuroscience, if you want to explain it clearly, you still need to start from the perspective of neuroscience. Research from an individual perspective. Here is just one example. For example, research has found that some people with ASD may have excessive connections in local brain areas. For example, the famous Temple Grandin’s brain’s inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and inferior longitudinal fasciculus are much wider than ordinary people, and this Two fiber tracts are connected to visual functions. Related to this, Temple has strong visual thinking ability.

References: 1. "Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Children", Peking University Press, edited by Li Dan and Li Fang 2. DSM5

3. "Brain Connectivity and High Functioning Autism" ,Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

4. "The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across The Spectrum", Temple Grandin, written by Richard Panek, translated by Yan Yuan, Huaxia Publishing House

In addition, neuroscience For research on ASD, please refer to @This Is Not Tina’s column:

Author: Tony Hu

Source: Zhihu