Scans reveal autistic brains contain unique,...

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28 Jan 2015, 9:25 am

Scans reveal autistic brains contain unique, and highly idiosyncratic connections

When it comes to connectivity, unlike the fairly uniform brains of people without autism, the brains of people with autism are entirely unique. Each one functions with an idiosyncratic array of increased and reduced levels of connectivity, depending on where you look.

http://www.sciencealert.com/in-people-w ... dy-reveals

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eggheadjr
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28 Jan 2015, 1:13 pm

Ah-ha! I just knew I was different

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qFox
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28 Jan 2015, 1:21 pm

There has been a lot of promising research on this before, another founding was that people with autism had abnormal interconnections with the visual and audial cortex to other parts of the brain. This explains that the majority of those with autism experience very heavy sensations towards certain sounds or visuals. Perhaps within a decade there can be a preliminary diagnosis for autism simply based on a brain scan, this would help a lot in giving early specialized care to children who have this condition.

B19
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28 Jan 2015, 2:05 pm

Thank you for posting this. I have been concerned for some long time now about the reductionist hype coming from some neuroscientists, and they tend to be the ones grabbing the headlines and getting the big funding from Autism Speaks.

No single neurological fMRI profile "proves" someone is on the spectrum, as the reductionists have claimed and keep on claiming, and no doubt will keep on claiming as long as there are motivations to do so.

There has been little attention to the studies which refute the reductionist headline-hogging claims which are often posted on WP too, so a double thank you for some balance at last.

mr_bigmouth_502
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28 Jan 2015, 2:16 pm

Hopefully I never have to get brain surgery then, lest they butcher some of the unique connections mine has.

ASPickle
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28 Jan 2015, 2:58 pm

B19 wrote:

While a single fMRI may not "prove" it, it sounds like there's a discernible difference between the ASD brains and the control brains, with a very small variation between different control brains and a considerable variation amongst ASD brains. If that's the case, we could be getting closer to being able to at least have a reasonable fMRI test for someone being on the spectrum... just not fully knowing where on the spectrum they lie.

Also, for those wanting to see the original article at ARS Technica: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/01/the-connections-in-autistic-brains-are-idiosyncratic-and-individualized/

(Edited to fix link)

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Loborojo
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28 Jan 2015, 3:03 pm

B19 wrote:

You are most welcome, Veteran.

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slave
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28 Jan 2015, 11:07 pm

Loborojo wrote:

Great link!
Thanks!

mrspotatohead
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28 Jan 2015, 11:12 pm

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

Hopefully I never have to get brain surgery then, lest they butcher some of the unique connections mine has.

good point...

Kenya
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28 Jan 2015, 11:44 pm

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

Hopefully I never have to get brain surgery then, lest they butcher some of the unique connections mine has.

Can I get an Amen up in here?

auntblabby
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28 Jan 2015, 11:51 pm

they thought i was mentally ret*d so they subjected me to an EEG at about 11 years of age, they found my brainwaves to be abnormal [low voltage] but not sufficient for any treatment real or theoretical. let's just say I was an outlier.

goldfish21
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29 Jan 2015, 1:14 am

Very interesting article. Thanks for sharing.

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r84shi37
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29 Jan 2015, 11:26 am

B19 wrote:

No single neurological fMRI profile "proves" someone is on the spectrum, as the reductionists have claimed and keep on claiming, and no doubt will keep on claiming as long as there are motivations to do so.

Is this why we can't just use brain scans for a quick and easy diagnosis? I always wondered why we didn't do that except maybe because it's expensive.

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untilwereturn
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29 Jan 2015, 1:59 pm

Loborojo wrote:

So, basically, we ARE all special snowflakes.

B19
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29 Jan 2015, 2:22 pm

r84shi37 wrote:

B19 wrote:

Is this why we can't just use brain scans for a quick and easy diagnosis? I always wondered why we didn't do that except maybe because it's expensive.

Basically, yes. Experience can change not only how the brain functions, but also its structure - eg the hippocampus can shrink under prolonged intensive stress. The brain is not static, like the heart. Neuroplasticity also means that the brain can recover functions that have been adversely affected. And the brain works holistically - which is a problem for the reductionists who have focused on this bit or that bit in isolation.

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29 Jan 2015, 8:23 pm

Obviously I can't say for certain, but this article makes me wonder if one of the things that affects how these connections are formed is gut flora. I've read other articles that mentioned elevated levels of certain chemicals in autistics that are excreted by gut bacteria. It's possible that intestinal dysbiosis doesn't just exacerbate ASD symptoms - it may be responsible for the brain's "different wiring" if chemicals from an imbalanced gut do have that sort of "drug effect" on the brain as it develops.

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