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Close Topic OptionsToddler Brain Difference Linked To Autism
Toddler Brain Difference Linked Autism - Psychology, Special Needs, Health - Posted: 21st Jun, 2016 - 5:54pm
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Toddler Brain Difference Linked To Autism
Based on this research, the brain of a baby with autism is "Normal" as soon as they're born but at a certain moment and for some reason, the amygdala (Area linked to ability to process faces as friend or foe) starts growing in autistic kids.
QUOTE (CNN) -- The size of a specific part of the brain may help experts pinpoint when autism could first develop, University of North Carolina researchers report.
Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that the area of the brain called the amygdala was, on average, 13 percent larger in young children with autism, compared with control group of children without autism. In the study, published in the latest Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers scanned 50 toddlers with autism and 33 children without autism at age 2 and again at age 4. The study adjusted for age, sex and IQ.
"We believe that children with autism have normal-sized brains at birth but at some point, in the latter part of the first year of life, it [the amygdala] begins to grow in kids with autism. And this study gives us insight inside the underlying brain mechanism so we can design more rational interventions," said lead study author Dr. Joseph Piven.
A normal-sized amygdala helps a person process faces and emotions, behavior commonly known as joint attention.
"When you see a face, you scan it, identify if it's friend or foe and make a decision about whether to move forward or avoid it," said Dr. Barry Kosofsky, chief of neurology at Cornell Medical Center, who was not affiliated with the study.
UNC researchers conducted diagnostic assessments, in addition to the MRI scans, to monitor the children's behavior. They found toddlers with a large amygdala also had joint attention problems.
"We would basically try to get the child to look one way, we'd turn and point to a clock and see whether or not the child would notice it," explained Piven. "The 2-year-olds without autism would see your face, see where you are looking and join you but the children with autism, with large amygdalas, would not…
Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that the area of the brain called the amygdala was, on average, 13 percent larger in young children with autism, compared with control group of children without autism. In the study, published in the latest Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers scanned 50 toddlers with autism and 33 children without autism at age 2 and again at age 4. The study adjusted for age, sex and IQ.
"We believe that children with autism have normal-sized brains at birth but at some point, in the latter part of the first year of life, it [the amygdala] begins to grow in kids with autism. And this study gives us insight inside the underlying brain mechanism so we can design more rational interventions," said lead study author Dr. Joseph Piven.
A normal-sized amygdala helps a person process faces and emotions, behavior commonly known as joint attention.
"When you see a face, you scan it, identify if it's friend or foe and make a decision about whether to move forward or avoid it," said Dr. Barry Kosofsky, chief of neurology at Cornell Medical Center, who was not affiliated with the study.
UNC researchers conducted diagnostic assessments, in addition to the MRI scans, to monitor the children's behavior. They found toddlers with a large amygdala also had joint attention problems.
"We would basically try to get the child to look one way, we'd turn and point to a clock and see whether or not the child would notice it," explained Piven. "The 2-year-olds without autism would see your face, see where you are looking and join you but the children with autism, with large amygdalas, would not…
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Post Date: 21st Jun, 2016 - 5:54pm / Post ID: #
NOTE: News [?]
Autism Linked Difference Brain Toddler
New brain map could enable novel therapies for autism, Huntington's disease
Scientists have mapped an uncharted portion of the mouse brain to explain which circuit disruptions might occur in disorders such as Huntington's disease and autism. They looked at the connections of a part of the brain responsible for motor learning, the dorsal striatum. Researchers said they are the first to create the most comprehensive map of connections between the dorsal striatum and the cerebral cortex that is available for any mammal. Ref. Source 6q.
TOPIC: Toddler Brain Difference Linked To Autism