Recent studies into Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have found a lack of synchronization (“connectivity”) between different parts of the brain that normally work in tandem. But other studies have found the exact opposite – over-synchronization in the brains of those with ASD. Now, new research published in Nature Neuroscience suggests that the various reports – […]
Research published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine suggests that regardless of cultural background, circumcised boys may run a greater risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The risk, according to the Danish researchers who conducted the study, is particularly high for infantile autism before the age of five. The study, involving […]
Neuroscientists say that the brains of autistic children generate significantly more information in a resting state, a discovery that helps explain the most typical characteristic of autism – withdrawal into one’s own inner world. The researchers, from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Toronto, have published their intriguing findings in the journal Frontiers […]
Antidepressants and other psychoactive medications in water affect the gene expression profiles of fish in a way that mimics the gene expression patterns associated with autism spectrum disorder, say researchers at Idaho State University. The findings are based on work with fathead minnows and appear in the journal PLoS ONE. Identifying environmental triggers for autism […]
US medical researchers have published their list of the top 10 chemicals believed to be implicated in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Compiled by medicos from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the report also calls for increased research to identify other suspect environmental toxins and the […]
The bacterium Sutterella was found to be present at remarkably high levels in the gastrointestinal tracts of children with autism and scientists at Columbia University are pondering what the connection might be. The intriguing study, published in the journal mBio, notes that children with autism frequently have gastrointestinal problems, but the underlying reason that autism […]
Rodents exposed to a common serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant just before and after birth exhibited brain abnormalities and behaviors – such as novelty avoidance and social impairment – commonly associated with autism. The research suggests that taking antidepressants during pregnancy might be one factor contributing to the dramatic rise in autism spectrum disorders in […]
Researchers from the University of Missouri have found distinct differences between the facial characteristics of children with autism compared to those of typically developing children. Because the face and brain develop in tandem, with each influencing the other, the researchers believe their findings could further our understanding of the origins of autism. “There is no […]
Cambridge University researchers have found that autism diagnoses are more common in IT-rich regions, a finding that has important implications for service provision in those regions and also for the “hyper-systemizing” theory of autism. The researchers, led by Simon Baron-Cohen, Director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, hypothesized that autism spectrum […]
The brain’s mirror neuron system enables us to better understand and anticipate the actions of others, leading researchers to posit that autism may come about because of a crippled mirror neuron architecture. But new research published in Biological Psychiatry shows that individuals with autism eventually develop a very robust mirror neuron network. “While most of […]
