Department for Research and Development, Kempenhaeghe, Expertise Centre for Epileptology, Sleep Medicine and Neurocognition, PO Box 61, 5590 AB, Heeze, The Netherlands.
J Neurodev Disord. 2013 Jun 4;5(1):14. doi: 10.1186/1866-1955-5-14.
Working memory is a temporary storage system under attentional control. It is believed to play a central role in online processing of complex cognitive information and may also play a role in social cognition and interpersonal interactions. Adolescents with a disorder on the autism spectrum display problems in precisely these domains. Social impairments, communication difficulties, and repetitive interests and activities are core domains of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and executive function problems are often seen throughout the spectrum. As the main cognitive theories of ASD, including the theory of mind deficit hypotheses, weak central coherence account, and the executive dysfunction theory, still fail to explain the broad spectrum of symptoms, a new perspective on the etiology of ASD is needed. Deficits in working memory are central to many theories of psychopathology, and are generally linked to frontal-lobe dysfunction. This article will review neuropsychological and (functional) brain imaging studies on working memory in adolescents with ASD. Although still disputed, it is concluded that within the working memory system specific problems of spatial working memory are often seen in adolescents with ASD. These problems increase when information is more complex and greater demands on working memory are made. Neuroimaging studies indicate a more global working memory processing or connectivity deficiency, rather than a focused deficit in the prefrontal cortex. More research is needed to relate these working memory difficulties and neuroimaging results in ASD to the behavioral difficulties as seen in individuals with a disorder on the autism spectrum.
工作记忆是一种受注意力控制的临时存储系统。它被认为在复杂认知信息的在线处理中起着核心作用，也可能在社会认知和人际互动中发挥作用。患有自闭症谱系障碍的青少年在这些领域确实存在问题。社会障碍、沟通困难、重复的兴趣和活动是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的核心领域，执行功能问题在整个谱系中经常出现。由于包括心理缺陷假说、弱中心连贯理论和执行功能障碍理论在内的自闭症谱系障碍的主要认知理论仍然无法解释广泛的症状，因此需要一个新的自闭症谱系障碍病因学视角。工作记忆缺陷是许多精神病理学理论的核心，通常与额叶功能障碍有关。本文将回顾自闭症谱系障碍青少年的工作记忆的神经心理学和（功能）脑成像研究。尽管仍存在争议，但结论是，在工作记忆系统中，自闭症谱系障碍青少年通常存在特定的空间工作记忆问题。当信息更加复杂且对工作记忆的要求更高时，这些问题会增加。神经影像学研究表明，工作记忆处理或连通性存在更广泛的缺陷，而不是前额叶皮层的特定缺陷。需要更多的研究将这些自闭症谱系障碍中的工作记忆困难和神经影像学结果与个体在自闭症谱系中的行为困难联系起来。
