Common Endophenotypes: The Role of Anxiety Disorders In Understanding the Neurobiology of ASD

Amygdala deficits figure prominently in research on anxiety disorders, as well as research on ASD.  It is therefore surprising that there are so few studies examining the role of anxiety in mediating amygdala findings in ASD. This presentation will review the literature on the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on amygdala and the regulation of amygdala by prefrontal cortex.  Literature on amygdala dysfunction in ASD will also be reviewed, including emerging data on the relationship between anxiety symptoms and this dysfunction.  The integration of findings from anxiety disorders point to a model of "socio-emotional" function in ASD that subsumes negative affect as well as abnormal social information processing.