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Simon Baron-Cohen

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Simon Baron-Cohen
NationalityBritish
Alma materNew College, Oxford
King's College London
University College London
Known forAutism research
AwardsKanner-Asperger Medal 2013 (WGAS)
Scientific career
FieldsPsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of Cambridge
Doctoral advisorUta Frith

Simon Baron-Cohen FBA is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is the Director of the University's Autism Research Centre, and a Fellow of Trinity College. He is best known for his work on autism, including the theory that autism involves degrees of mind-blindness (or delays in the development of theory of mind, known as TOM) and his later theory that autism is an extreme form of what he calls the "male brain", which involved a re-conceptualisation of typical psychological sex differences in terms of empathizing–systemizing theory.

Personal life and education

Baron-Cohen completed a BA in Human Sciences at New College, Oxford, and an MPhil in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He completed a PhD in Psychology at University College London; his doctoral research was in collaboration with his supervisor Uta Frith.

Baron-Cohen's cousin is Sacha Baron Cohen.

Professional

According to Time magazine, Baron-Cohen worked in the 1980s in a program for autistic children; "by the time he received his Ph.D. ...  had begun pioneering research into the specific kind of social deficit typical of autistic kids. He showed that such children had difficulty developing a 'theory of mind': the ability to perceive that other people have thoughts, perceptions and feelings different from their own."

Time magazine called Baron-Cohen a "kind of pop-science hero" with a "willingness to go out on a limb", saying his "flair for such creative if controversial theories has brought him worldwide renown".

Autism

Baron-Cohen developed the Autism Spectrum Quotient; neuroscientist Francesca Happé questioned whether questionnaires Baron-Cohen uses produce objective enough results to be useful, and psychologist Uta Frith said that "rigorous studies are still missing".

Baron-Cohen was lead author in 1985 of the first study of children with autism and delays in the development of a theory of mind.

Systemising-empathising

A decade later, Baron-Cohen had begun to think that a cognitive profile he termed empathising-systemising, associated with math, science and technology skills, existed in families with autism spectrum disorders; he suspected that if individuals with a "systemising" focus were selecting each other as mates, they would be more likely to have children with autism. He postulated that individual with autistic traits were marrying and having more children than ever before. He said that, "In essence, some geeks may be carriers of genes for autism: in their own life, they do not demonstrate any signs of severe autism, but when they pair up and have kids, their children may get a double dose of autism genes and traits. In this way, assortative mating between technical-minded people might spread autism genes."

Time magazine said that his views on systemizing traits had "earned him the ire of some parents of autistic children, who complain that he underestimates their families' suffering". Time said that while research from Washington University in St. Louis, MO did not support the assortive mating theory, a survey of children in the Netherlands had "breathed new life" into Baron-Cohen's theory. His theory that high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome can lead to talent was explored in a talk at the Wired 2012 Conference.

Foetal testosterone and "extreme male brain"

Baron-Cohen's work in systemizing-empathisizing led him to investigate whether higher levels of foetal testosterone explain the increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorders among males; his theory is known as the "extreme male brain" theory of autism. A 2003 article published in Nature summarizes his proposals as: "the male brain is programmed to systemize and the female brain to empathize, and ...nbsp;Asperger's syndrome represents the extreme male brain".

Critics say hat because his work has focused on higher-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders, his work requires independent replication with broader samples. A Nature article published in 2011 says, "Some critics are also rankled by Baron-Cohen's history of headline-grabbing theories — particularly one that autism is an 'extreme male' brain state. They worry that his theory about technically minded parents may be giving the public wrong ideas, including the impression that autism is linked to being a 'geek'."

Special education software

Baron-Cohen developed the Mindreading software for special education, which was nominated for an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). His lab developed The Transporters, an animation series to teach children with autism to recognise and understand emotions; it was also nominated for a BAFTA award.

Synaesthesia

Baron-Cohen and colleagues discovered the first evidence that experiences in synaesthesia remain consistent over time; they also found synaesthesia to be measurable via neuroimaging techniques. His team has investigated whether synaesthesia is connected to autism.

Organizations

Baron-Cohen is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the British Academy, and the Association for Psychological Science. He is a BPS Chartered Psychologist.

He is co-editor in chief of the journal Molecular Autism.

He serves as Vice President of the National Autistic Society (UK), and was the 2012 Chair of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guideline Development Group for adults with autism.

Recognition

Baron-Cohen was awarded the 1990 Spearman Medal from The British Psychological Society (BPS), the McAndless Award from the American Psychological Association, the 1993 May Davidson Award for Clinical Psychology from the BPS, and the 2006 Presidents' Award from the BPS. He was awarded the Kanner-Asperger Medal in 2013 by the WGAS (Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Autismus-Spektrum) as a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to autism research.

Media

In 2008, Baron-Cohen confirmed the Asperger syndrome diagnosis of Gary McKinnon, the British computer hacker accused of breaking into United States military and NASA computer networks, and appeared in Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme hosted by Michael Berkeley on BBC Radio 3.

He appeared in the 2005 Science Channel documentary Brainman about Daniel Tammet.

He presented a 2012 TEDx talk on the causes of cruelty at Parliament UK entitled "The erosion of empathy".

Selected publications

Single-authored books

  • Mindblindness: an essay on autism and theory of mind. MIT Press/Bradford Books. 1995. ISBN 978-0262023849.
  • The essential difference: men, women and the extreme male brain. Penguin/Basic Books. 2003. ISBN 978-0-7139-9671-5.
  • Autism and Asperger syndrome. Facts. Oxford University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0198504900.
  • Zero degrees of empathy: a new theory of human cruelty. Penguin/Allen Lane. 2011. ISBN 978-0713997910.
    Zero degrees of empathy is published in the US as The science of evil: On empathy and the origins of human cruelty, ISBN 978-0-465-02353-0

Other

  • Baron-Cohen S, Tager-Flusberg H, Lombardo MV, ed. (2013). Understanding other minds: perspectives from social cognitive neuroscience (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  • Hadwin J, Howlin P, Baron-Cohen S (2008). Teaching children with autism to mindread: a handbook. Wiley.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Baron-Cohen S, Lutchmaya S, Knickmeyer R (2005). Prenatal testosterone in mind: studies of amniotic fluid. MIT Press/Bradford Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S (2004). An exact mind. Jessica Kingsley Ltd.
  • Baron-Cohen S, Tager-Flusberg H, Cohen DJ, ed. (2000). Understanding other minds: perspectives from developmental cognitive neuroscience (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198524458.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  • Baron-Cohen S, Harrison J, ed. (1997). Synaesthesia: classic and contemporary readings. Blackwells.
  • Baron-Cohen S, ed. (1997). The maladapted mind: classic readings in evolutionary psychopathology. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press/Taylor Francis Group. ISBN 0-86377-460-1.

Selected journal articles:

  • Baron-Cohen S, Leslie AM, Frith U (1985). "Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind"?". Cognition. 21 (1): 37–46. PMID 2934210. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Skinner R, Martin J, Clubley E (2001). "The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ): evidence from Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism, males and females, scientists and mathematicians". J Autism Dev Disord. 31 (1): 5–17. PMID 11439754. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S, Hill J, Raste Y, Plumb I (2001). "The "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test revised version: a study with normal adults, and adults with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism". J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 42 (2): 241–51. PMID 11280420. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

The Essential Difference

Time magazine said Baron-Cohen "most dramatically wandered into fraught territory in 2003, when he published the book The Essential Difference, which called autism a manifestation of an extreme 'male brain'--one that's 'predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems,' as opposed to a 'female brain,' one that's 'predominantly hard-wired for empathy'--and ended up on the wrong side of the debate on science and sex differences."

A book review published in the journal Nature, wrote:

"The book is written for a general audience, and it is easy and enjoyable to read ... However, it is not the place to look for a comprehensive overview of empirical research in the field of either sex differences in personality or Asperger's syndrome ... The idea that males are more interested in systemizing than females merits serious consideration ... It is unquestionably a novel and fascinating idea that seems likely to generate a rich empirical body of literature as its properties are tested. The second part of the theory—that females are more empathic than males—is more problematic."

Colleagues Isabelle Rapin and Helen Tager-Flusberg expressed reservations about the theory;

Some researchers think it is an audacious leap to go from maleness to autism. Isabelle Rapin ... finds Dr. Baron-Cohen's theory "provocative" but adds that "it does not account for some of the many neurological features of the disorder, like the motor symptoms , the sleep problems or the seizures." Others worry that the term "extreme male brain" could be misinterpreted. Males are commonly associated with "qualities such as aggression," says Helen Tager-Flusberg ... "What's dangerous is that's the inference people will make: Oh, these are extreme males."

A review in New Scientist wrote that "Baron-Cohen helpfully sums up his thesis on page one of The Essential Difference: 'The female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems.' Clearly, this takes some standing up, and by the end he has only partly succeeded. More convincing is his assertion that autism is a result of the extreme male brain. A thought-provoking take on the minds of men and women."

A review in Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, characterized The Essential Difference as "very disappointing" with a "superficial notion of intelligence", concluding that Baron-Cohen's major claims about mind-blindness and systemizing–empathizing are "at best, dubious".

A review in The Spectator argues that "Autism is coming in from the cold, and the Cambridge academic and therapist Simon Baron-Cohen has made a major contribution to its rehabilitation. The theory that Baron-Cohen has developed and defended over several years is that autism is a kind of 'mindblindness' ... The management of the higher functioning forms of autism is a major social problem, to which Baron-Cohen has made a perceptive, magisterial and compelling contribution in this book."

See also

References

  1. ^ "Awardees". Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft Autismus-Spektrum (WGAS). Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  2. ^ "Seven Cambridge academics elected as Fellows of The British Academy". Cambridge University. 2009-07-17. Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  3. ^ "ARC people: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen". Autism Research Center, University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  4. "ARC researchers, collaborators and staff". Autism Research Center, University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  5. Bishop DV (2008). "Forty years on: Uta Frith's contribution to research on autism and dyslexia, 1966-2006". Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 61 (1): 16–26. doi:10.1080/17470210701508665. PMC 2409181. PMID 18038335. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. "Time Out with Nick Cohen". New Statesman. 2007-02-26. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  7. ^ Szalavitz, Maia (2011-05-30). "Q&A: Psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen on empathy and the science of evil". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  8. ^ Warner, Judith (2011-08-29). "Autism's lone wolf". Time. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  9. ^ Buchen L (2011). "Scientists and autism: When geeks meet". Nature. 479 (7371): 25–7. doi:10.1038/479025a. PMID 22051657. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ Saxe, Rebecca (2008-05-09). "1985 paper on the theory of mind". SFARI: Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  11. ^ Baron-Cohen, Simon (2012-11-09). "Are geeky couples more likely to have kids with autism?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  12. Steadman, Ian. "Watch Simon Baron-Cohen's full Wired 2012 talk about autism". Wired.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  13. ^ Benenson JF (2003). "Sex on the brain". Nature. 424 (6945): 132. doi:10.1038/424132b.
  14. "Mind Reading: Frequently Asked Questions: Who developed it?". Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  15. "New Media Production" (Press release). RGB Research Limited. Retrieved 2013-12-18.
  16. "BAFTA nomination for university autism film" (Press release). University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  17. Carpenter S (March 2001). "Everyday fantasia: The world of synesthesia". 32 (3). American Psychological Association. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. Briggs, Helen (2013-11-19). "Study links synaesthesia to autism". BBC News. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  19. ^ "Chartered Psychologist emphasises the importance of empathy". The British Psychological Society. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  20. "Reflecting on a lifetime of achievement: Uta Frith". Association for Psychological Science. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  21. "Molecular Autism: brain, cognition and behavior". BioMed Central Ltd. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  22. "Vice presidents". National Autistic Society. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  23. "Autism: recognition, referral, diagnosis and management of adults on the autism spectrum". National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  24. "Spearman medal". The British Psychological Society: History of Psychology Centre. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
  25. "Boyd McCandless Award: Past recipients: 1990". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  26. "Previous winners: May Davidson Award". The British Psychological Society. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  27. "Presidents' Award for distinguished contributions to psychological knowledge". The British Psychological Society: History of Psychology Centre. Retrieved 2013-12-31.
  28. "Profile: Gary McKinnon". BBC News. 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  29. "Private Passions". BBC. 2008-04-13. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  30. Heffernan, Virginia. "A savant aided by the sparks that he sees inside his head". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-01-02.
  31. "Simon Baron-Cohen: The erosion of empathy". TED Conferences LLC. Retrieved 2013-12-28.
  32. ^ McGough, Robert (16 July 2003). "Is the autistic brain too masculine?". Wall Street Journal. p. B1.
  33. Bond, Michael (2003-05-24). "Gender on the brain". New Scientist. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  34. Levy, Neil (2004). "Book review: Understanding blindness". Phenomenology and the cognitive sciences. 3 (3): 315–24. doi:10.1023/B:PHEN.0000049328.20506.a1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |subscription= ignored (|url-access= suggested) (help)
  35. Lawson-Tancred, Hugh (2003-06-14). "What little boys and girls are made of". p. 67. Retrieved 2013-12-29.

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