ABSTRACT
This volume grew out of an exciting workshop on neurocognitive deficits in children, with special emphasis on the most current methods for studying localization of cognitive functions in the brain and the stability. of these patterns and their biological substrates with age and development. As an introduction to the autism section,' it seems most useful to provide a historical perspective on the autism syndrome, on its official diagnostic classification, and on psychobiological research on autism. Because there have been such striking advances in the scientific methodology for studying some of the biological substrates of cognitive functions, a historical perspective may offer some guidelines for assessing which research prospects and strategies may provide better understanding and treatment in the future.
