u/_Romula_

I think you might be confusing proxy voting for vouching

You think racism is funny? Wtf?

Or just the actual owner...

This isn't new, unfortunately

For this study fMRI was the best choice considering what the researchers were investigating

But thanks for your chat GPT AI response, it was really useful /s

fMRI is the best high-resolution proxy for measuring actual neuronal activation scientists currently have at their disposal. EEG measures actual electric activity, but has much poorer resolution and would not be useful for this type of study.

We know that regions of the brain that are active consume more glucose and other blood-based resources, and thus require higher blood flow. fMRI is an incredibly useful, well-validated, and universally accepted tool for indirectly measuring activation that cannot be measured directly. Its main limitation is time-lag (1-4 seconds), but that is an easy variable to account for in analyzing fMRI results.

That is not what the study is about at all.

This study is about the actual meaning of words, not tone or subtext. And it is also not about communication between NT or ND persons.

This study is about differences in brain activation when hearing or reading emotion words in sentences.

It found that children with autism responded less than children without autism to statements with positive or negative emotion words in them (e.g. happy or upset, respectively) in a part of the brain that is associated with emotional & language processing. The researchers also compared to a control group of sentences without emotion words.

Please read the actual study before commenting incorrect and unfounded assumptions.

I personally don't think it will add to that argument, rather, it is showing that there are functional differences in the brains of autistic and non-autistic children when it comes to processing sentences with emotion words in them.

This study found that children with autism responded less than children without autism to statements with positive or negative emotion words in them (e.g. happy or upset, respectively) in a part of the brain that is associated with emotional & language processing. The researchers also compared to a control group of sentences without emotion words, finding no difference in brain activation patterns.

I appreciate your self-reflective and self-aware anecdote because I think you are brilliantly showing what this research finding might look like in practice: you have compassion, but struggle to readily access or utilize it compared to others without autism. It seems that this struggle may be directly related to your brain simply not activating as much when emotion words are being used, thus making it harder for you to access and utilize your ability to empathize and be compassionate.

It is literally a difference in brain function, and absolutely no moral weight should be attached to it.

I hope I have come across as sympathetic as I intend to be because I really do appreciate you sharing your anecdote.

That is a very good avenue for further research. And to see whether there are statistically significant differences in persons with autism who do or do not have co-morbid alexithymia.

This study is about the actual meaning of words, not tone or subtext.

It found that children with autism responded less than children without autism to statements with positive or negative emotion words in them (e.g. happy or upset, respectively) in a part of the brain that is associated with emotional & language processing. The researchers also compared to a control group of sentences without emotion words.

Please read the actual study before commenting incorrect and unfounded information.

Please read the study. The study is not about tone or subtext. You are making unfounded assumptions and clearly have not read the study. The person you replied to was correct in the example sentences they gave.

This is absolutely, unequivocally not what the study is measuring.

That probably indicates a mismatch between tone and content. That said, it is not what this study is measuring.

Again, this study is not about tone or subtext. Please look at the example phrases commented below.

Oh, I am very aware of medical misogyny! It's still disappointing to see it happening now, especially when there is a lot of literature on the lack of study of ND girls and wome and the need for more girls and women to be included in studies (for both autism and ADHD). I feel like we should be better than we are :(

Aw, thank you, that's very kind.

This is an excellent point. One example is tone of voice: for most people without autism tone is imbued with meaning and plays an important role in verbal communication, whereas for many people with autism tone is not considered a way to communicate and is often not imbued with meaning.

One group is using words alone, while the other is using words, gestures, and tone of voice. In a way it is like two different dialects: yes there is general intelligibility, but a degree of meaning is not being mutually understood.

This creates challenges in communication between the two groups because they have different ways of communicating what they mean.

It's also frustrating for both groups. Empathy for each other, while being flexible and adaptive in communication styles for both groups is the best way to try to communicate more effectively.

Those who have severe communication challenges, up to and including being non-verbal, often have difficulty communicating with anyone. It is a spectrum of challenges and supports need to be tailored to the individual. Pretending they don't exist at all is unhelpful and a form of erasure for those who struggle more.

Sure! This comment has examples from the study.

Well that's disappointing

Good point, but this isn't about tone. It's about sentences with emotional meaning in the words themselves being less processed by children with autism

Good point, but this isn't about subtext. It's about sentences with emotional meaning in the words themselves being less processed by children with autism

Yes, communication & social challenges are well-known features of autism that exist on a spectrum from non-verbal and severe to very mild or not present.

That's not what the study is about at all. It's about sentences with emotional meaning in the words themselves being less processed by children with autism

That's not what the study is about at all. It's about sentences with emotional meaning in the words themselves being less processed by children with autism