SOCIAL ACTORS

Scorpion0x17 said:

[quote][/quote]

disagree that children dont have social roles,

to me it seems social development is driven by brain chemistry in childhood,

autistics get less of a buzz from social interaction, role playing and projecting their mind onto other people and things,

therefore they dont practice these skills (distractions ?) so much and seem odd.

I'm not so sure that's the case, Easy.

From things I've reads in the past in appears that the neurotypical brain is wired to adopt the norms of social behaviour irrespective of their value to the individual.

So, it is not driven by reward, rather the NT brain is hardwired to mirror the behaviours of those that surround them.

That is, social behaviour, for neurotypicals, is 'instinctive', not 'learned'.

And, it seems that, because the Autistic brain lacks, or is impaired in, this wiring, such norms of social behaviour are not instictive and must be learned.

I sort of agree with you, I think instinctive behaviour is programmed by brain chemistry.

For example, the tendency of some dogs to bark at the postman is caused by a neurochemical buzz that means they enjoy it and think it is fun and socially good behaviour. Different breeds of dog that have less of a buzz from barking at the postman and more of an ability for the frontal cortex to control behaviour in response to stimualtion from the primitive "lizard brain" can be trained not to bark.

My understanding is brain function is very adaptable, and the wiring develops due to different stimuli, for example children who never practice speech due to environment or culture will not develop their speech skills to the same degree, in that sense its not hardwired.

Its not that the NT brain sees social behaviours as more valuable, my theory is that the NT brain releases more chemicals (serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin etc) in response to social stimuli. I expect these stimuli are fairly primitive, for example hearing human voices or touch.

Scorpion0x17 said:

[quote][/quote]

disagree that children dont have social roles,

to me it seems social development is driven by brain chemistry in childhood,

autistics get less of a buzz from social interaction, role playing and projecting their mind onto other people and things,

therefore they dont practice these skills (distractions ?) so much and seem odd.

I'm not so sure that's the case, Easy.

From things I've reads in the past in appears that the neurotypical brain is wired to adopt the norms of social behaviour irrespective of their value to the individual.

So, it is not driven by reward, rather the NT brain is hardwired to mirror the behaviours of those that surround them.

That is, social behaviour, for neurotypicals, is 'instinctive', not 'learned'.

And, it seems that, because the Autistic brain lacks, or is impaired in, this wiring, such norms of social behaviour are not instictive and must be learned.

I sort of agree with you, I think instinctive behaviour is programmed by brain chemistry.

For example, the tendency of some dogs to bark at the postman is caused by a neurochemical buzz that means they enjoy it and think it is fun and socially good behaviour. Different breeds of dog that have less of a buzz from barking at the postman and more of an ability for the frontal cortex to control behaviour in response to stimualtion from the primitive "lizard brain" can be trained not to bark.

My understanding is brain function is very adaptable, and the wiring develops due to different stimuli, for example children who never practice speech due to environment or culture will not develop their speech skills to the same degree, in that sense its not hardwired.

Its not that the NT brain sees social behaviours as more valuable, my theory is that the NT brain releases more chemicals (serotonin, endorphins, oxytocin etc) in response to social stimuli. I expect these stimuli are fairly primitive, for example hearing human voices or touch.