Hippocampal contributions to social and cognitive deficits in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by hallmark impairments in social functioning. Nevertheless, nonsocial cognition, including hippocampus-dependent spatial reasoning and episodic memory, is also commonly impaired in ASD. ASD symptoms typically emerge between 12 and 24 months of age, a time window associated with critical developmental events in the hippocampus. Despite this temporal overlap and evidence of hippocampal structural abnormalities in ASD individuals, relatively few human studies have focused on hippocampal function in ASD. Herein, we review the existing evidence for the involvement of the hippocampus in ASD and highlight the hippocampus as a promising area of interest for future research in ASD. Social interaction, spatial reasoning, and memory are supported by the hippocampus and impaired in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but these functions remain understudied in neuroimaging research in ASD.There is evidence of altered hippocampal structure and function in ASD.Hippocampal maturation and ASD symptom-onset display coinciding developmental timelines.Impaired hippocampal-mediated cognitive mechanisms and policies such as cognitive mapping, affordance perception, and model-based planning may contribute to ASD phenotypes.Future neuroimaging research should explore hippocampal functioning in ASD, particularly as a potential neural basis for impairments in social interaction in ASD.