Brain’s information processing hierarchy shift in autism

Cognition can be described as a sequence from sensory/perceptual processing toward integrative, transmodal, and sociocognitive operations, which is mirrored in macroscale cortical hierarchical organization. 

The diverse behavioral phenotype of autism can be described in terms of imbalances in these hierarchies, in particular in a shift from social toward nonsocial information-processing bias.

Increasing findings from neuroimaging and connectomics research suggest an atypical organization of brain network hierarchies in autism at both the structural and functional levels.

By adopting a system-level perspective on neural information processing, a hierarchical reference frame can consolidate seemingly inconsistent and regionally heterogeneous findings in autism.

Hierarchical accounts may also help in bridging molecular, network, and behavioral facets of autism, thereby integrating micro- and macroscale mechanisms.

https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(25)00087-7

https://sciencemission.com/brain%E2%80%99s-information-processing-hierarchy