Autism – Brain of
Autistic Males have Less Neurons for Emotions
July 19th, 2006
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Autism |
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A study has linked
the autistic brains in males as having reduced amounts of neurons in the
region that is related to emotional and socializing skills. This study
was first reported in the July 19th issue of The Journal of
Neuroscience.
The abnormality is
found in the amygdala and especially in the lateral nucleus region of
the brain. This region of the brain is the major center for processing
emotions and is also connected to areas of the brain that is used for
higher cognitive functions.
"These new
findings, based on cell counting, complement other independent studies
that suggest amygdala abnormalities likely contribute significantly to
the primary core deficit in social function that defines this disorder,"
said Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom, MD, professor of pediatric neurology at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Authors Cynthia
Schumann, PhD, of the University of California, San Diego, and David
Amaral, PhD, director of the M.I.N.D. Institute at the University of
California, Davis researched postmortem individual’s brains, both
autistic and non-autistic. The scientists looked at the amygdala of
nine autistic male brains and 10 age-matching non-autistic males. They
counted and measured the neurons and found that neurons were less in the
amygdala of the autistic male brains.
There is a paradox
that showed during the use of magnetic resonance imaging which showed
young males with autism had an abnormally large volume in the amygdala.
This was surprising to the scientists to find that there were fewer
neurons in the autistic amygdala.
Schumann thinks
possibly that the amygdala was always functioning with less neurons in
the autistic brain. It could also be a degenerative process that may
cause a loss of neurons as a child with autism ages. Another
possibility is that patients with autism often have a heightened level
of stress and anxiety that may lead to loss of neurons over time.
Further research needs to be conducted in order to pinpoint the exact
reason the autistic brain has fewer neurons in the amygdala.
"We're in the very
early stages of understanding autism and its neurological pathologies,"
said Amaral. "It's clearly a process with many steps, and at least we
are now one step further."
Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication
Books on Autism
Keywords and misspellings: autism asperger asberger
autizm autistic speach delay vocabulary brain functions differences in
comprehending emotions behaviour social behaviours socializing
socialization difficulties |
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