The first is the amygdala which is generally associated with the regulation of emotions and aggression. When the amygdala is removed from an animal, the behavior of the animal is similar to that of an autistic person. Also, the amygdala is linked with response to sensory stimuli. Bibby expands this statement in her essay with the example of face cells. Face cells are found in the amygdala and also in the superior temporal sulcus.
Autistic individuals avoid eye contact.
This is linked to face recognition because when forced to maintain eye contact, the autistic begins to act aggressively. Face cells enable humans to identify dangerous situations and then the appropriate signals are sent to various brain structures to cause the appropriate response. In the case of autism, the person begins a fight response. This becomes the conditioned response but the autistic recognizes the negative effects such as a feeling of vulnerability and tries to prevent similar reactions by avoiding eye contact which diminished the development of social skills and language. The second structure of the limbic system that is abnormal in the autistic brain is the hippocampus.