Simon Baron-Cohen: biography of this psychologist and researcher

The field of autism has been studied for many years, as it is an increasingly diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorder. One of the greatest researchers of him is Simon Baron-Cohen, British psychologist author and co-author of theories such as "Theory of Mind" and "The autistic male brain."

In this article we will see through a biography of Simon Baron-Cohen who this psychologist is, what is his trajectory and what has he discovered in relation to this complex and interesting disorder.

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Summary biography of Simon Baron-Cohen

Simon Baron-Cohen is a British psychologist, PhD in Psychology, who was born on August 15, 1958 in London (England). He currently also works as a developmental professor of psychopathology, at the University of Cambridge; specifically, in the Department of Psychiatry and Experimental Psychology.

Also, Simon Baron-Cohen he also researches neurodevelopmental disorders (such as autism), and is Director of the Center for Autism Research

(Autism Research Center - ARC), as well as a member of Trinity College (University of Cambridge).

Regarding his training, the psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen completed a Master's degree in Human Sciences from the New College Oxford, as well as an MSc in Clinical Psychology from King's College Institute of Psychiatry in London.

Subsequently, he completed a PhD in Psychology at University College London. His doctoral thesis supervisor was Uta Frith, a leading developmental psychologist, also an expert on autism.

Technology and special education

Before delving into the famous theories of Simon Baron-Cohen, we will explain that this psychologist has also been interested in new technologies and their use in disorders such as autism.

Thus, Baron-Cohen developed a software intended for children with learning difficulties or neurodevelopmental disorders (ie, a special education program), called "Mindreading." In addition, he also designed an animated series to teach to recognize and understand emotions, aimed at children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Baron-Cohen's Theories of Autism

Thus, Simon Baron-Cohen has done a lot of work in the field of autism (also in his research). In fact, Baron-Cohen developed various theories about autism. The first of his theories speaks of a certain "mental blindness" characteristic of autism, understanding mental blindness as certain delays in the development of the theory of mind.

1. Theory of Mind (TdM)

Theory of Mind (ToM), developed by Simon-Baron Cohen, Uta Frith, and Alan Leslie in 1985, attempts to explain the communication deficits present in autism, as well as the interaction deficits social. In addition, this theory forms the first diagnostic criterion for autism disorder in the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders).

What is Theory of Mind (TdM)? This is the ability of people without autism or another disorder (that is, “neurotypical” people) to represent the mental states of others, in his own mind. That is, it implies understanding that others have different states, and that these may be different from ours.

This ability usually appears in the early stages of child development, and consolidates around 4 or 5 years (at 7 years practically all children have it developed). ToM helps us pick up on social cues from our environment and interpret them. In people with autism, said capacity is altered (it is deficient), and may even not exist (although there are also degrees). However, luckily it is a capacity that can be worked on.

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2. male brain theory

Subsequent to this theory, Simon Baron-Cohen also postulates another: through it he maintains that autism consists of an extreme form of "male brain". This theory is called “Theory of the male brain” or “Theory of empathy-systematization”.

This theory maintains that there are “two great types of brains”, male and female.. The masculine are easy to systematize, recognize and analyze patterns, and the feminine show greater ease for empathy and to better tune in with the emotional state of others.

Thus, according to the Male Brain Theory, people with autism have a more masculine (in fact, extreme masculine) brain, since their systematization skills are overdeveloped (versus empathy skills, more emotional).

It was in the late 1990s when Simon Baron-Cohen developed this hypothesis. This hypothesis tried to explain the differences between the two sexes, and analyzed them from a neurobiological and psychological point of view.

Autism Research

One of Simon Baron-Cohen's most outstanding investigations is the one in which he shows that Children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show a certain delay in the development of the Theory of Mind (TdM), previously described. In fact, this research we are talking about was the first study carried out in relation to this subject, and Simon Baron-Cohen was co-author of it.

Baron-Cohen continued to do research on this topic, eventually publishing two anthologies, entitled "Understanding Other Minds" (1993 and 2000).

Other aspects that this author analyzed, together with his work team, were joint care (or shared care) of children with ASD. Let us remember that joint attention is the ability to share the focus of our attention towards an object or activity, together with another person, at a precise moment.

Thus, the studies by Simon Baron-Cohen and his research team related this ability to a deficit in Theory of the Mind of children with autism, postulating that said deficit has its origin in the absence of attention joint. Specifically, they suggested that the absence of it at 18 months was one of the indicators of a later autism.

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the autistic brain

As we can see, Simon Baron-Cohen has focused on studying the mind and brain of people with autism. Some of his studies suggest that there are certain differences in autistic brains compared to the brains of people without autism.

These differences lie mainly in two brain structures: amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. In fact, in relation to these findings, Baron-Cohen proposed another of his theories; This particular one is called the “amygdala theory of autism.”

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Right temporoparietal junction

One of Simon Baron-Cohen's findings in relation to the autistic brain was in 2011, when he demonstrated (together with his partner Michael Lombardo) that a structure specific brain, the right temporoparietal junction, remained hypoactivated (in the brain of autistic children) during tasks that allowed studying the Theory of Mind.

In addition, the differences found in this brain structure were also related to variations in the social deficit of these children.