Autism and the Basal Ganglia: Repetition, Sameness, & Habits

In this episode, we delve into defining the Autistic Phenotypes, emphasizing that while these traits are straightforward to identify, understanding their depth and impact requires integrating real-life data and personal experiences. We explore the characteristics of repetitive behaviors, habits, restricted interests, and a rigid adherence to schedules, which are pivotal to the Autistic Phenotypes. We will also discuss the Basal Ganglia pathways, specifically how the direct and indirect pathways influence these behaviors, touching upon how these neural connections relate to both the strengths (Superpowers) and challenges (Superdeficits) faced by individuals on the spectrum.

Our discussion extends into the biological and social aspects of autism, examining how the inherent biology of autism can lead to comfort within oneself, yet creates struggles when forced into societal norms. We'll address the notion of conflict within the nervous system, explaining how it responds reflexively to disruptions in established patterns or expectations. The episode will also cover the neurological underpinnings of autism, including the roles of dopamine, GABA, and the substantia nigra in modulating behaviors and habits. We'll connect these insights to the adaptive responses or the lack thereof, which are central to understanding why individuals with Autism might resist changes in routines or show intense focus on specific interests. Practical implications and the historical context from early Autism studies by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger are revisited, offering a comprehensive view on how these traits manifest in real-life scenarios and affect social interactions

00:00 Understanding Autistic Phenotypes: Repetitive behaviors, restricted interests, and adherence to schedules. Basal Ganglia & strengths (superpowers) and challenges (superdeficits).

05:23 Neurological Mechanisms: Basal Ganglia's pathways (direct and indirect) & Autistic behaviors. Repetitive actions, learning, and habit formation; dopamine, excitation and GABA; Stemming and the discomfort with unpredictability in social contexts.

10:39 "Motivation", Movement, and Social Interaction: "Motivation" and motor movements & the basal ganglia & Autism; Social interactions & unpredictable, significant challenges & predictability. The segment also links these neurological pathways to DSM criteria for autism, highlighting the interrelation between motor and social behaviors.

15:55 Neuroplasticity and Adaptation: Neuroplasticity & the repeated strengthening of neural connections shape Autistic traits; adaptive responses managed by the prefrontal cortex, and resisting changes or adhere to routines.

20:52 Biological Energy: brain's energy management for learning and habit formation works in Autism; acetylcholine for focus, dopamine for persistence

X: https://x.com/rps47586

Hopp: https://www.hopp.bio/fromthespectrum

YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGxEzLKXkjppo3nqmpXpzuA

TikTok: (I don't love it) https://www.tiktok.com/@fromthespectrumpodcast

email: [e-mail]

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Defining the Autistic Phenotypes is not difficult.

(00:06):
Understanding it and bringing real-life data and experiences can bring these Autistic Phenotypes into power.
For today's episode, we will discuss repetitive behaviors, habits, restricted interest, and inflexible adherence to schedules.

(00:30):
We will expand on the Bezo-Ganglia pathways and learn more about the Autistic Phenotype.
These traits are significant for the Autistic Phenotypes. They are easy to observe from the outside,
and sources of significant abilities, the superpowers, and sources of disabilities, the super deficits.

(01:00):
Two things. If society neglects these two things, the struggles of the Autistic Phenotypes will continue.
Perpetuating factors here. One, the biology that gives us autism allows us to be comfortable within ourselves.

(01:21):
And two, the Delta of the Autistic Phenotype and the amount of being forced into social norms determines the struggles.
I cannot say this enough. People hate conflict. And here, be careful defining conflict.

(01:43):
It is when something offends our beliefs, offends our capacity to think and makes sense of something.
We hate that. That is conflict in the nervous system and the living organism will respond as a reflexive action to that event.

(02:06):
Those reflexive responses are a major goal of the nervous system. It just wants to respond. It does not want to work.
We love to get to an answer that makes sense to us and think, that must be it. Or that is it.

(02:27):
When people are working with autism, they need to watch themselves and this encompasses many systems from our micro system to a meso system, an exo system, and a macro system.
All levels, all interactions of the Autistic Phenotype.

(02:48):
Sticking to the theme of understanding the Autistic Phenotype, let's parse out the traits. A brief recap on the basal ganglia.
The two inputs are the cadet nucleus and the pudiman. These are two input areas. These two structures make up the dorsal striatum.

(03:12):
Relays include the subthalamic nucleus and the globus pallidus external.
And the outputs include the globus pallidus internal and substantia nigra reticulata.
These two areas, the globus pallidus internal and substantia nigra reticulata are similar.

(03:37):
The substantia nigra compacta is a modulator.
The direct pathway, our go-side and the indirect pathway, our no-go-side, are involved in this.
The basal ganglia, especially the dorsal striatum, are critical for learning and shifting into habits.

(04:01):
And of course, the basal ganglia is motor movements, for motivations and quotations, motivations meet movements.
A brief recap on the direct pathway. Excitatory D1 dopamine are used and the dorsal striatum sends inhibitory signals to the globus pallidus internal

(04:28):
and substantia nigra reticulata, which then frees up the thalamus.
During the indirect pathway, the dopamine is inhibitory, D2-like, and the dorsal striatum sends signals to the globus pallidus external

(04:49):
and then it recruits the subthalamic nucleus.
The globus pallidus external is inhibitory, which inhibits the subthalamic nucleus.
This is a so-called disinhibition, which is going to sound confusing.
This excites the subthalamic nucleus and when active, it excites the globus pallidus internal and substantia nigra reticulata.

(05:23):
Okay, a lot of autism are captured here, the entire criteria B.
And way before any of the questionable DSM language and disorder classifying this phenomena, a lot of autism is restricted repetitive behaviors.

(05:45):
So repetitive behaviors.
Starting with motor movements, it is important to know the basal ganglia with learning and memory and reward learning and habits.
So stemming, these are actions that are satisfying the circuitry running through the basal ganglia and it captures comfort and calming.

(06:15):
Stamming at 44 stemming still occurs.
Not as frequently, but it does happen and mostly happens during arousal, excitation, being excited, the sympathetic nervous system, which is the excitation, the arousal, the go side of the central nervous system.

(06:40):
You must remember the excitation inhibition in balance, especially, especially now that we have covered the dopamine role in the basal ganglia, the direct pathway and indirect pathway.
And, and the role of GABA in this role, our inhibition neurotransmitter.

(07:06):
The substantia nigra compacta for the dopamine and the substantia nigra reticulata for providing GABA to these go, no go areas.
Remember the nervous system constantly does actions to satisfy itself.

(07:28):
It is motivated to return to comfort.
Remember the motivations and movements converge.
And remember, motivation here is in quotations.
Remember the EI imbalance, excitation inhibition imbalance and how the direct pathway and indirect pathway are attempting to coordinate movements.

(07:56):
This is stereotypy as well, sometimes stereotypy.
The definition of stereotypy is a misnomer.
It says, purposeless behavior.
People that define that lacks understanding and critical thinking as always.

(08:18):
In circuitry, these behaviors are somewhat similar to OCD in a corticostreatal thalamic loop, which is precisely that pathway we've discussed recently over a few episodes.
The more the neurons connect, the more they become preferred.

(08:40):
Preferred by the nervous system, not from the perspective of the human being.
Remember addictions.
Addictions is the easiest example.
It's easy because it is very extreme, very strong.
Remember morphology.

(09:02):
These connections grow, they thicken in size.
And these connections make us who we are.
This is how motivation has a different definition than what you would define it as.
Remember the goal of the living organism and the nervous system of building habits.

(09:26):
Learning is shifted into habit with repetition.
Acting without thinking is this.
This frees up energy.
The foremost goal of the brain is keeping the organism alive while conserving energy.
The metabolic bank accountant.

(09:48):
We can split learning and habits into different areas of the dorsal striatum as well.
Goal directed and deliberate action.
Performing in action and expecting an outcome is more dorsal medial striatum.
So a little bit more cadet.

(10:09):
Habit forming is more dorsal lateral striatum.
So more pudiman.
The dorsal striatum is responsible for action selection.
And in large part, it depends on the signals from the cortex.

(10:32):
In this situation, the sensory input and processing.
And I do this.
In this situation, this environment, I do this.
We all do.
This explains all of us.
We have rule sets.
Remember the internal calculators.
Sensation and perception equals this action item.

(10:58):
It is learning, memory, habit of the environment, and or how the living organism feels.
It is a sensory processing.
It is the motivation of the living organism and the actions.
All of this stuff lives in the nervous system.

(11:20):
With motor movements, that is the number one goal of the central nervous system is to move the living organism.
The basal ganglia is where motivation and movements converge.
Remember what is unpredictable.
Socialness.

(11:41):
The outside world.
With the biology that makes us innate and neuroplasticity and repetition keeps us there.
More strengthening that motivation of the nervous system.
You know about criteria A, the social communication and interaction problems.

(12:05):
You might not consider how criteria B implicates this.
In addition to speech and language, circuitry.
Running through the basal ganglia, these pathways providing implications to criteria A problems.
Keep in mind the habits and our nervous system wants this.

(12:31):
We might not want it.
But these molecules, these chemicals, systems, connections and so forth, they are dumb.
Dumb I said.
They just want to respond.
They don't want to work.
But when we do attach enjoyment and pleasure, our definition of motivation, a typical definition.

(12:58):
So the things we want and like.
This allows us to persist.
Now this is the dopamine.
And we have no trouble with excitation dopamine.
And we mark these repetitions, these interests with significant signals and connections.

(13:20):
More morphology.
More increased preference.
More repetition and sameness.
A cyclical loop.
This circuitry provides B3.
Restricted, fixated interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus.

(13:43):
And with the lack of adaptive responses.
This introduces the circumscribed and perseverative factors in B3.
The areas most responsible for people to have adaptive responses.
Those connections straight into the basal ganglia, the input area of the dorsal striatum.

(14:07):
These inputs from the cortex, specifically the medial prefrontal cortex and the interior cingulate cortex.
Often considered in the medial prefrontal cortex.
These provide us adaptive responses, remember from the autism and adaptive responses episode.
The medial prefrontal cortex and the interior cingulate cortex lead the way.

(14:33):
When we are in adaptive responses, when we are conducting these, we are conducting our behavior.
We are navigating the world with adaptive responses, this so-called top-down processing.
This is the whole mechanism of top-down processing.
The medial prefrontal cortex, along with other areas of the prefrontal cortex, lead the way.

(14:59):
They orchestrate these downstream behaviors we are talking about here in the subcortical areas.
And this explains rigid thinking as well.
The black and white thinking.
Literal thinking.
Get it? This circuitry, this biology, gives us these behaviors.

(15:22):
An underrated and probably unknown component of B2.
Excessive adherence to routines.
Ritualized patterns or behavior.
Or excessive resistance to change.
Okay, more lack of adaptive responses.

(15:44):
So the medial prefrontal cortex that includes the interior cingulate cortex, down to the dorsal striatum.
This is not important.
It is not important that you know this, but what you need to know is, we hate unpredictable schedules.
Because we need to know.

(16:06):
We must know when we will be able to get back to our interest.
When will this socialness end?
How much energy am I going to need?
And can I persist in these social environments?
When can I get back to those repetitive interests and habits?

(16:32):
Remember language in Leo Kander's 1943 and Hans Asperger's 1944.
This was the case then, and it still is the case.
In other words, don't mess with our interest and fixations.
Those kids back in the Kander papers and that Asperger paper, they learn to kind of just attend to the social requirements.

(17:04):
Get it over with, and then they can get back to their fixations and their interest.
They learn to do this.
If we have to be attentive in the social setting, if we're forced into these social settings,
which is going to happen because that is how human life operates.

(17:27):
If we cannot fully attend to our interest and fixations,
this causes a problem.
How much time is needed from me, from us?
What time can I get back to my interest and fixations?
Remember it's still a prediction machine.

(17:50):
The brain is a prediction machine and it's allocating energy.
How much energy is required for this task that I do not like?
Remember the internal calculator with the locus cirrhilius and the glial cell, the astrocytes.
Effort and energy versus outcome.

(18:11):
In social settings, the astrocytes will come in fast for the autistic phenotype and shut off that neural energy
that's giving us so much effort without providing any outcome.
There's no pleasure, so we cannot persist.
Those children in those early papers on autism, the first papers on autism,

(18:37):
those children learn to interact so they can get back to their preference, their innate internal world,
return to their interest and fixations.
Now you should get why, now you should understand the autistic phenotype in these situations a little bit better.

(18:59):
This is the reason being forced into these various roles of social norms.
The so-called social norms are not enjoyable, not preferred.
They are quite frankly harmful.
Remember the internal calculator. Remember this moving forward as you are interacting with autism and the autistic phenotype.

(19:26):
Remember to check yourself.
And remember the internal calculator here that we all have.
The internal calculator that provides quit versus persist, effort versus outcome.
Dopamine is modulating this. It requires neural energy.

(19:50):
Everything requires neural energy, so epinephrine and nor epinephrine, which is the locus ceruleus that we just talked about.
And then acetylcholine channels the neural energy. It focuses it.
Acetylcholine is focus.

(20:11):
And this is learning. Learning requires epinephrine nor epinephrine for the energy being able to attend.
And then the acetylcholine to focus that energy.
Then the dopamine allows us to persist.
So the substantia nigra compacta.

(20:33):
The basoganglia input and modulator.
Okay, the more enjoyable, attached, or if there are contingencies, maybe there are external or internal contingencies, two different things there.
But they share the same objective. The more we can stay on task.

(20:58):
A side note, this loosely explains psychostimulants.
This is what those medications are doing and why they are now so popular, especially for school-aged children.
The connections of sameness, schedules, repetitions, various repetitions, restrictions, and abnormal fixations, and intensity live here.

(21:30):
This, both directly and indirectly, implicates the social communication and interaction skills and the criteria as well.
Through altered neurobiology, connections, circuitry, and so forth, in addition to neuroplasticity.

(21:51):
So two things there. The autistic phenotype strengthens.
It is easy to define these traits. The autistic phenotypes.
However, making sense of these and bringing examples into life, real life, brings these phenotypes into power.

(22:17):
If you are listening to the episode or listening to the podcast, please feel free to leave a review or rating.
In podcasting, reviews, ratings, and downloads are huge, and I very much appreciate your feedback.
You can catch me on X at RPS 47586, where we can talk anything about autism.

(22:40):
I very much appreciate your interaction.
You can check out the Hoplink, so you can have links to all of the shows in the podcast, and contact information.
You can email me, info.fromthespectrum.com, and thank you for listening to From the Spectrum podcast.