Weak central coherence theory and autism spectrum disorders

By default, we tend to process objects in our environment globally. On the other hand, when looking for an object and putting all our efforts into finding it, we do so taking as reference a global image of it. In this way, we do not look for it by its individual parts, but rather, in our semantic system, it is represented by its entirety. This is because of an executive function known as central coherence. Below we explain its characteristics.

In the same way, When we observe an object for the first time, we observe its representation globally. and not each of the parts that make it up. For example, if we observe the faces of our loved ones, we observe them as part of a whole, and not in isolation, the nose, the mouth, etc. This is thanks to central coherence.

However, some studies tell us that This does not occur, for example, in people who have autism spectrum disorder or some condition in executive functions. This is why neuroscience has paid attention to the theory of weak central coherence theory.

The theory of weak central coherence

This theory was formulated by Uta Frith in 1989; Joliffe and Baron Cohen in 1999, and emerged for explain the difficulty that people with ASD have in integrating information into a single coherent “whole”. People with autism, or autism spectrum disorders, are characterized by fragmented processing; Your attention tends to focus on the small details.

According to Dr. Frith, People with ASD have difficulties developing interpretations of situations by reading the intentions of the participants, based on eye movements, hand movements and contextual clues.

Furthermore, there is the disadvantage that, by stopping at the isolated parts – instead of the whole -, they play at a disadvantage and take longer to see, for example, the entirety of an image. It is as if they were going from the particular to the general.

The neuropsychological evaluation

The importance of neuropsychological evaluation to know if there is an alteration in the central coherence system is a valuable aid for diagnosis. So, The tendency to focus on details can be evaluated as a special ability of ASD, to the detriment of the globalizing capacity of central coherence.

This special ability to focus on details is assessed in the “masked figures” task or in the cube subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scales. The abilities savants They represent a very particular cognitive style.

This has been observed in the neuropsychological evaluation of drawing: these people tend to start the drawings with the details, filling in the parts with detail, one by one, instead of starting with a central sketch.

However, this theory does not explain the entire clinical picture characteristic of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); Therefore, researchers suggest using it as an explanatory theory of cognitive processing focused on details.

Complementary theories

A complementary theory is the “executive dysfunction model.” Although this model does not respond to the complete set of ASD symptoms, it does explain some characteristics such as lack of flexibility, difficulties in planning and generating new ideas, or the presence of repetitive behaviors.

These types of abilities have to do with executive functions. Recently, researchers such as Rosenthal (2013) found an increase in the manifestations of executive deficit in older children.

Thus, neuropsychological intervention should be carried out from an early age, in these areas or deficits in executive functions in order to minimize the effects of the alteration. In the same way that the neurobiological perspective has shown that there is a breadth and diversity of genetic factors associated with ASD, from the neuropsychological approach it is accepted that a single deficit does not explain the heterogeneity of the disorder.

On the other hand, the theory of social cognition deficit is supported by the idea that people with ASD have an alteration in the ability to represent their own and other people’s mental states, as well as difficulty in putting themselves in the place of others, such as and how this theory explains.

For all this, From the theory of weak central coherence this type of attention to details could be seen as a different cognitive processing and not as a deficit. In reality, this processing focused on details allows these people to make valuable contributions that would not be available to people with a more normative way of processing information..

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