Scientists have produced evidence that self-awareness is a big problem for people with autism.

    Sophisticated scans showed the brains of people with autism are less active when engaged in self-reflective thought.

    The findings provide a neurological insight into why people with autism tend to struggle in social situations.

    The study, by the University of Cambridge, appears in the journal Brain.

    Navigating social interactions with others requires keeping track of the relationship between oneself and others

    Michael Lombardo

    University of Cambridge

    Autism has long been considered a condition of extreme egocentrism.

    But research has shown the problem is people with the condition have trouble thinking about, and making sense of, themselves.

    The researchers used functional magnetic resonance scans to measure brain activity in 66 male volunteers, half of whom had been diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder.

    The volunteers were asked to make judgements either about their own thoughts, opinions, preferences, or physical characteristics, or about someone else's, in this case the Queen.

    By scanning the volunteers' brains as they responded to these questions, the researchers were able to visualise differences in brain activity between those with and without autism.

    They were particularly interested in part of the brain called the ventromedial pre-frontal cortex （vMPFC） - known to be active when people think about themselves.

    The researchers found this area of the brain was more active when typical volunteers were asked questions about themselves compared with when they were thinking about the Queen.

    However, in autism this brain region responded equally, irrespective of whether they were thinking about themselves or the Queen.

    Researcher Michael Lombardo said the study showed that the autistic brain struggled to to process information about the self.

    He said: "Navigating social interactions with others requires keeping track of the relationship between oneself and others.

    "In some social situations it is important to notice that 'I am similar to you', while in other situations it might be important to notice that 'I am different to you'.

    "The atypical way the autistic brain treats self-relevant information as equivalent to information about others could derail a child's social development, particularly in understanding how they relate to the social world around them."

    Dr. Gina Gómez de la Cuesta, of the National Autistic Society, described the study as "interesting".

    "We know many people with autism do want to interact with others and make friends but have difficulty recognising or understanding other people's thoughts and feelings.

    "This research has shown that people with autism may also have difficulty understanding their own thoughts and feelings and the brain mechanisms underlying this."

    科學家有證據顯示，通常患有孤僻癥的人，都在自我認識上有嚴重的問題。

    人類大腦復雜的問題，顯示那些患有孤僻癥的人，在忙碌的時候大腦的活動很少。

    這項發現為我們解釋了為什么患有孤僻癥的人，在社會工作情況下都那么努力。

    這項研究是由劍橋大學開發的，被登載在Brain雜志上。

    孤僻癥一直是被社會所關注的一種極端的唯我主義。

    但是研究卻顯示，此類的問題是個人的，個人在社會中遇到問題所想所感知而引起的。

    研究者使用磁共振對腦電波進行細微的檢查，有66位男性自愿者參加，研究顯示其中近一半的人，都被診斷出有孤僻癥傾向。

    自愿者們被進行細微的盤問，包括他們的思想，觀點，行為，或者是身體特征。

    經過如此的對自愿者大腦的檢查，反映出一個問題-那些比較容易反映大腦活動的人，更不容易患上孤僻癥。

    他們對大腦的活動格外的有興趣。被稱為VMPFC,也就是人們所知道的當人們，想他們自己的時候。

    然而，人類大腦的思維是平衡的，不管他們在想自己還是在想女王。

    科學家Michael Lombardo說，這項研究顯示了，孤僻癥的大腦，會努力的為自己收集信息。

    他說："科學的航行是為了跟蹤他人的需求，保持，你我的友好關系。"

    "在很多社會群體中，顯示出，我跟你是相似的，這一點很重要，而在另一種情況下，顯示出，我與你的不同，又很重要。"

    Gina 醫生，形容此響研究非常，有趣。

    我們知道很多人都患有孤僻癥，他們交友很困難，或者不能明白別人的想和感受。"

    "此項研究可以通過機器顯示那些患有孤僻癥的人，他們的思維和感受。"