Investigating the Social Phenotype
in Williams Syndrome:
Methodological Challenges
-
1
Boston University School of Medicine, United States
The earliest descriptions of individuals with WS remarked on their unusual sociability, interest and engagement with other people, especially strangers. For the past 15 years researchers have focused their investigations on elucidating this aspect of the WS phenotype addressing several key questions: Is the social phenotype unique to WS? How can we define the social phenotype of WS? What are the cognitive mechanisms that underlie the social phenotype? What is the neurobiological basis of the social phenotype? Is the social phenotype related to other components of the WS phenotype? What are the developmental origins of the social phenotype?
As research has progressed, the picture of social functioning in WS has become more complex. Early on studies focused on the social component of the WS phenotype as a unique “strength” arguing that in WS theory of mind was spared, in contrast to autism. More recently, the pendulum has swung in the other direction: not only is theory of mind impaired in WS, in many respects the social adaptive skills of people with WS have been viewed by some researchers as being quite impaired, in ways similar to what is seen in autism spectrum disorders.
In this presentation, I will focus on four key issues related to research on the social phenotype of WS:
(1) How should we formulate hypotheses about the social phenotype? Discussion will focus on defining hypotheses in terms of strengths or weaknesses; relative or absolute sparing or impairment.
(2) What behavioral measures are best suited to investigating the social phenotype in WS? Discussion will focus on the use of explicit and implicit measures; measures that confound assessing social processing with language or other general cognitive skills; use of different types of social stimuli (e.g., pictures; video; real world people); use of different types of measures (behavioral performance; eyetracking; physiological measures).
(3) How can cognitive neuroscience contribute to our understanding of the social phenotype in WS? Discussion will focus on the remarkable studies that have been conducted as well as limitations in use of cognitive neuroscience approaches with this population.
(4) How have developmental studies advanced our understanding of the social phenotype in WS? Discussion will focus on what kinds of developmental changes in social behavior are seen, and whether in this respect, WS is a developmental disorder.
In the final segment of the presentation I will explore future directions in research on the social phenotype in WS.
Conference:
12th International Professional Conference on Williams Syndrome, Garden Grove,CA, United States, 13 Jul - 14 Jul, 2008.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
SESSION 7: Social Cognition and Social Phenotype of Williams Syndrome
Citation:
Flusberg
HT
(2009). Investigating the Social Phenotype
in Williams Syndrome:
Methodological Challenges.
Conference Abstract:
12th International Professional Conference on Williams Syndrome.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.07.023
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Received:
30 Apr 2009;
Published Online:
30 Apr 2009.
*
Correspondence:
H. T Flusberg, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States, htagerf@bu.edu