Simon Baron-Cohen

Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD, is a renowned British psychologist and director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. He is a professor of developmental psychopathology in the departments of psychiatry and experimental psychology at Cambridge, and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

Research areas

Baron-Cohen has proposed several seminal concepts in understanding autism and in developmental behavioural neuroscience, that include theory of mind, assortative mating, eye direction detection, empathizing and systemizing as personality dimensions, and extreme systemizing as a possible feature underlying the autistic brain. He has also discovered that fetal testosterone is correlated with traits that in autism are extremes of normal variation (such as eye contact or language development).

Related Topics:
Autism - Theory of mind - Assortative mating - Autistic - Brain - Testosterone

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As a psychologist, Baron-Cohen is interested in the developmental psychology of theory of mind. He brought together findings from primate behavioural literature and philosophy of other minds to suggest, along with Uta Frith and Alan Leslie, that autistic children might be exhibiting a theory of mind impairment. He has also suggested the existence of an 'Eye Direction Detector' module in the brain, that enables human beings to attribute mental states and complex emotions to others. He is strongly influenced by the cognitive neuroscience approach to psychology, but also writes books aimed at providing information about complex neurological problems with profound psychological consequenses, such as autism and Tourette's syndrome for carers, health professionals and others.

Related Topics:
Developmental psychology - Theory of mind - Primate - Philosophy - Uta Frith - Alan Leslie - Cognitive neuroscience - Psychology - Neurological - Tourette's syndrome

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Baron-Cohen's research projects include:

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• Prenatal testosterone and autism
• Genetics of autism spectrum disorders (AS)
• fMRI studies of AS
• Teaching emotions via DVD-ROM
• Toddler study of autism
• Cognitive talents and deficits in people with AS
• Screening for AS in primary schools
• Diagnosis of AS in adulthood
• Early screening for AS