autism tagged posts

Unusually weak neural responses (yellow spot) in the anterior cingulate cortex: autistic people find it hard to imagine themselves in somebody else’s position. Credit: Joshua Balsters / ETH Zurich

Brain researchers at ETH Zurich and other universities have shown for the first time that a region of the brain associated with empathy only activates very weakly in autistic people. This knowledge could help to develop new therapies for those affected by autism. Professor Nicole Wenderoth and her senior scientist Joshua Balsters have used fMRI from autistic adolescents to discover unusual activity in a particular region of the brain, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).

The researchers were aware that activity in this part of the brain is coupled with the “theory of mind”, which makes it possi...

Stimulation of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Enhances Adaptive Cognitive Control: A High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Study Oyetunde Gbadeyan, Katie McMahon, Marco Steinhauser and Marcus Meinzer Journal of Neuroscience 14 December 2016, 36 (50) 12530-12536; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2450-16.2016

A cutting edge, non-invasive brain stimulation technique could improve cognitive control for people with conditions such as schizophrenia and autism, ADHD. Researchers at The University of Queensland’s Centre for Clinical Research have found the technique – which applies high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation to a particular area of the brain – improves cognitive and conflict control.

PhD candidate Oyetunde Gbadeyan said the study provides th...

Researchers used a common photocopy machine to measure the lengths of the index and ring fingers of 42 women. Half of these women were asked to solve different mental tasks after they had been given a drop of testosterone on their tongue. The goal was to determine the differences in how men’s and women’s brains work, and the significance of finger length and testosterone levels. Credit: Carl Pintzka / Kolbjørn Skarpnes, NTNU.

It is well-known that adults whose index finger is shorter than their ring finger were exposed to greater amounts of testosterone when they were in the womb. Both women and men with this characteristic are – on average – better equipped to solve mentally demanding 3D rotation tasks as adults...

Salk researchers have turned the skin cells of people with autism spectrum disorder into neurons. These cells show specific defects compared with those neurons derived from healthy people, including diminished ability to form excitatory connections with other neurons (indicated by red and green dots in the neuron). Credit: Salk Institute

The brains of some people with autism spectrum disorder grow faster than usual early on in life, often before diagnosis. A new study co-led by Salk Institute scientists has employed a cutting-edge stem cell technique to unravel the mechanisms driving the mysterious phenomenon of excess brain growth, which affects as many as 30% of people with autism...