Abstract
ASD is a prevalent and heterogeneous developmental disorder affecting all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and consists of a broad range of severity, etiology, and behavioral symptoms. Common features of ASD include but are not limited to repetitive behaviors, obsessive interests, and anxiety. The amygdala is one of the various brain regions that tend to be pathological in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although neuroscientists view the amygdala as the core of the neural system that regulates behavioral responses to anxiogenic and threatening stimuli, many previous studies and literature reviews on the amygdala’s alterations in individuals with ASD have reported inconsistent findings; anatomical and related socio-emotional differences detected between individuals with and without ASD are highly age-dependent. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), structural MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) will be included to provide insights into the neuroanatomical substrates of ASD across development, with a focus on amygdala volumes, cell densities, and connectivity.