May 28, · Researchers have known that genes contribute to autism since the s, when a team found that identical twins often share the condition. Since then, scientists have been racking up potential genetic culprits in autism, a process that DNA-decoding technologies have accelerated in Autism Research: Nothing About Me Without Me. This is a joint presentation by the World Autism Organisation and ARI. About the speaker: Psychologist, lecturer and author, Wenn Lawson, Ph.D. has run his own business for 22 yrs. At 2 yrs, he was misdiagnosed as intellectually disabled, at school of being incapable of doing as he was told, at 17 Oct 15, · The results support earlier research that saw enlarged heads and brains in a fraction of autistic people: Their cortex seems to expand too quickly in infancy and early childhood, even before autism traits can be detected behaviorally. During late childhood, neurotypical brains continue to grow in size; in adulthood, they begin to shrink
Brain structure changes in autism, explained | Spectrum | Autism Research News
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition. Although it is diagnosed based on the presence of two core behaviors — restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, research on autism, as well as difficulties with social interactions and research on autism — those traits are thought to arise because of alterations in how different parts of the brain form and connect to one another.
Studies of brain structure often turn up dissimilar results — there is great variety across individuals in general. But some trends have begun to emerge for subsets of autistic people. They may also point to research on autism treatments for particular subtypes of autism. Which brain regions are known to be structurally different between autistic and non-autistic people?
Studies that make use of a brain-scanning technique called magnetic resonance imaging MRI have highlighted a few brain regions that are structurally distinct in people with autism. Children and adolescents with autism often have an enlarged hippocampusthe area of the brain responsible for forming and storing memories, several studies suggest, but it is unclear if that difference persists into adolescence and adulthood 12.
The size of the amygdala also seems to differ between people with and without autism, although researchers from different labs have turned up conflicting results. Some find that people with autism have smaller amygdalae than people without autism, or that their amygdalae are only smaller if they also have anxiety 3.
Others have found that autistic children have enlarged amygdalae early in development and that the difference levels off over time 24. Autistic people have decreased amounts of brain tissue in parts of the cerebellumthe brain structure at the base of the skull, according to a meta-analysis of 17 imaging studies 5, research on autism.
Scientists long thought the cerebellum mostly coordinates movements, but they now understand it plays a role in cognition and social interaction as well.
This difference tracks with alterations to a single type of neuron during development, a study suggests. How do these structural differences change during development? Some infants who are later diagnosed with autism have unusually fast growth in certain brain regions, according to multiple studies 678. Compared with their non-autistic peers, autistic children have significantly faster expansion of the surface area of their cortex from 6 to 12 months of age.
In the second year of life, brain volume increases much faster in autistic children than in their non-autistic peers.
The results support earlier research that saw enlarged heads and brains in a fraction of autistic people: Their cortex seems to expand too quickly in infancy and early childhood, even before autism traits can be detected behaviorally.
During late childhood, neurotypical brains continue to grow in size; in adulthood, they begin to shrink. By contrast, the brains of some people with autism start to shrink prematurelybefore their mids, research on autism. Some children who are later diagnosed with autism also have excess cerebrospinal fluid — the liquid that surrounds the brain — compared with their non-autistic peers, which may contribute to having an enlarged head. Those with the most fluid tend to also have the most prominent autism traits later in life 7.
The excess fluid appears as early as 6 months of age and persists through age 3 9. What about the structure of the connections between brain regions? A solid body of evidence suggests that research on autism matter, the bundles of long neuron fibers that connect brain regions, is also altered in people with autism. Researchers typically infer the structure of white matter by using a technique called diffusion MRIwhich measures the flow of water throughout the brain.
The corpus callosum contains many of the long-range connections that extend throughout the brain; the fact that disrupting those connections may lead to autism traits supports the connectivity theory of autism. Preschoolers with autism show significant differences in the structure of multiple white-matter tractsaccording to a study, research on autism. Autistic toddlers and adolescents, too, research on autism alterations in white matter throughout the brain 11 Are there sex differences in the brain structure of people with autism?
Identifying sex research on autism in autism remains challenging because fewer girls than boys are diagnosed with autism, says Mark Shenresearch on autism, research on autism professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Still, a few recent studies have turned up hints of sex differences in the brain in autism. A study showed that the amygdala is more affected in autistic girls than in autistic boys An enlarged amygdala is associated with more severe emotional problems specifically in autistic girlsaccording to other work.
White-matter changes in preschoolers with autism also differ by sex: Autistic girls have an increased measure of structural integrity in their corpus callosum compared with non-autistic girls, whereas that measure is lower in autistic boys than in non-autistic boys Other structural differences, such as the rate of brain growth and amount of cerebrospinal fluid, appear similar between the sexes 69.
Why is brain research on autism in autism important to study? Though not every baby who is later diagnosed with autism will have excess brain fluid at 6 months of age, and not every autistic adult has an underdeveloped corpus callosum, learning more about these subtypes can help researchers develop biologically based treatments for individuals with autism.
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Psychiatry Epub ahead of print PubMed et al. Psychiatry 69PubMed et al. NaturePubMed et al, research on autism. BrainPubMed et al. Autism Res. Lancet Psychiatry 5PubMed et al. Autism Dev. PsychiatryPubMed et al. Autism 1136 PubMed et al. Psychiatry Cogn.
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Oct 15, · The results support earlier research that saw enlarged heads and brains in a fraction of autistic people: Their cortex seems to expand too quickly in infancy and early childhood, even before autism traits can be detected behaviorally. During late childhood, neurotypical brains continue to grow in size; in adulthood, they begin to shrink Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (RASD) publishes high quality empirical articles and reviews that contribute to a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at all levels of description; genetic, neurobiological, cognitive, and behavioral. The primary focus of the journal is to Read more May 20, · blogger.com provides access to direct therapeutic and educational support for children across the United States as well as additional online resources for children and parents, including helpful blog posts, educational and sensory sensitive videos, upcoming autism-related conferences and events, and autism-related news stories
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