Autism Spectrum Conditions are neurodevelopmental conditions diagnosed on the basis of both social and non-social symptoms; namely, difficulties in communication and relationships, unusually narrow interests, and strongly repetitive, restrictive patterns of behaviour and sensory sensitivities. Until the recent revision of its diagnostic criteria, the dominant view of autism as primarily a “social” condition led to sensory symptoms being largely overlooked.
We are constantly bombarded by sensory stimuli in our environments, a process which goes awry in Autism Spectrum Conditions. While it has been hypothesized that sensory differences may contribute to cognitive strengths such as superior attention to detail, it is also recognized that it may lead to high levels of anxiety due to “sensory overload”.
For her PhD at the Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, Nazia uses a variety of cognitive neuroscience techniques, from behavioural experiments to brain imaging, to investigate how autistic individuals process sensory information. She looks forward to sharing findings from this work.
All staff, students, senior members and alumnae are warmly invited to attend the pudding seminars, which are taking place online. For details of the link, please email enquiries@newn.cam.ac.uk.