A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue
Traditional psychological research has often treated inter-subject variability as statistical noise (even, nuisance variance), focusing instead on averages rather than individual differences. This approach has limited our understanding of the substantial heterogeneity observed in neuropsychiatric di...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Personality Neuroscience |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513988625000021/type/journal_article |
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| author | Wenda Liu Agnieszka Pluta Caroline J. Charpentier Gabriela Rosenblau |
| author_facet | Wenda Liu Agnieszka Pluta Caroline J. Charpentier Gabriela Rosenblau |
| author_sort | Wenda Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Traditional psychological research has often treated inter-subject variability as statistical noise (even, nuisance variance), focusing instead on averages rather than individual differences. This approach has limited our understanding of the substantial heterogeneity observed in neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this introduction to a special issue on this theme, we discuss recent advances in cognitive computational neuroscience that can lead to a more systematic notion of core symptom dimensions that differentiate between ASD subtypes. These advances include large participant databases and data-sharing initiatives to increase sample sizes of autistic individuals across a wider range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our perspective helps to build bridges between autism symptomatology and individual differences in autistic traits in the non-autistic population and introduces finer-grained dynamic methods to capture behavioral dynamics at the individual level. We specifically focus on how cognitive computational models have emerged as powerful tools to better characterize autistic traits in the general population and autistic population, particularly with respect to social decision-making. We finally outline how we can combine and harness these recent advances, on the one hand, big data initiatives, and on the other hand, cognitive computational models, to achieve a more systematic and nuanced understanding of autism that can lead to improved diagnostic accuracy and personalized interventions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea0ca8c8de51428b8c41750b7c0a9380 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2513-9886 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Personality Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea0ca8c8de51428b8c41750b7c0a93802025-08-20T02:16:55ZengCambridge University PressPersonality Neuroscience2513-98862025-01-01810.1017/pen.2025.2A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special IssueWenda Liu0Agnieszka Pluta1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4684-1919Caroline J. Charpentier2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7283-0738Gabriela Rosenblau3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6122-0857Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, George Washington University and Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USAFaculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, PolandDepartment of Psychology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA Brain and Behavior Institute, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USADepartment of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute, George Washington University and Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USATraditional psychological research has often treated inter-subject variability as statistical noise (even, nuisance variance), focusing instead on averages rather than individual differences. This approach has limited our understanding of the substantial heterogeneity observed in neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this introduction to a special issue on this theme, we discuss recent advances in cognitive computational neuroscience that can lead to a more systematic notion of core symptom dimensions that differentiate between ASD subtypes. These advances include large participant databases and data-sharing initiatives to increase sample sizes of autistic individuals across a wider range of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Our perspective helps to build bridges between autism symptomatology and individual differences in autistic traits in the non-autistic population and introduces finer-grained dynamic methods to capture behavioral dynamics at the individual level. We specifically focus on how cognitive computational models have emerged as powerful tools to better characterize autistic traits in the general population and autistic population, particularly with respect to social decision-making. We finally outline how we can combine and harness these recent advances, on the one hand, big data initiatives, and on the other hand, cognitive computational models, to achieve a more systematic and nuanced understanding of autism that can lead to improved diagnostic accuracy and personalized interventions.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513988625000021/type/journal_article |
| spellingShingle | Wenda Liu Agnieszka Pluta Caroline J. Charpentier Gabriela Rosenblau A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue Personality Neuroscience |
| title | A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue |
| title_full | A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue |
| title_fullStr | A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue |
| title_full_unstemmed | A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue |
| title_short | A computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism: Introduction to Special Issue |
| title_sort | computational cognitive neuroscience approach for characterizing individual differences in autism introduction to special issue |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513988625000021/type/journal_article |
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