Social difficulty brain area found?

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The part of the brain that was affected, the gyrus of the anterior cingulate cortex, plays a complex role in social interaction, affecting emotional intelligence and social cognition. Most significantly to the research, the gyrus signals to the rest of the brain when another person is surprised by something unexpected. Called a "social prediction error," Balsters states that it is essential to basic human interaction.

Researchers have suspected for many years that the gyrus of the anterior cingulate cortex was involved in ASD, but Balsters called this the first piece of clinical evidence proving the theory. Professor Michael Fitzgerald, with the Autism Society of Ireland, called Balsters' findings "promising" and "important" but speculated that other parts of the brain besides the gyrus were involved in ASD.