UNIVERSITY OF EXETER Autism enhances characteristics such as loyalty and focus which help those with the condition at work and in their relationships with others, experts have found. A study examining the lives of autistic adults shows the traits which come with having the condition can be useful, but also a burden. Those who took part in the research said they are able to...
Tag: <span>Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)</span>
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Meta-analysis highlights important challenges in cognitive processing for adults with ASD
The first comprehensive, systematic review and meta–analysis of adults with autism shows that despite having an intact IQ, these adults have medium to large impairments in four key social- and non-social cognitive domains: theory of mind, emotion perception and knowledge, processing speed, and verbal learning and memory. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The results may help create a roadmap for treating autism in adults, a population...
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Music improves social communication in autistic children
Engaging in musical activities such as singing and playing instruments in one-on-one therapy can improve autistic children’s social communication skills, improve their family’s quality of life, as well as increase brain connectivity in key networks, according to researchers at Université de Montréal and McGill University. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The link between autism spectrum disorder...
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Six simple, positive ways to engage with someone with autism
“You’ve met one person with autism, then you’ve met one person with autism.” This saying is an important reminder among all who live and work with people with autism that each person living with the condition is indeed distinct, said Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, professor and director of the autism research centre in the Division of Developmental Pediatrics at the...
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Brain scans yield more clues to autism
July 17, 2018, by Amy Norton, HealthDay Reporter (HealthDay)—Children with autism show abnormalities in a deep brain circuit that typically makes socializing enjoyable, a new study finds. Using MRI brain scans, researchers found that kids with autism showed differences in the structure and function of a brain circuit called the mesolimbic reward pathway.That circuit, located...
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Humanoid Robot Teaches Autistic Kids to Recognize Emotions
Children with autism often seem to want to socialize with robots more than humans, something that researchers at MIT want to harness as a pathway for therapy. The team, partnering with others at Chubu University in Japan and Imperial College London, have given a popular humanoid robot, called NAO, the ability to see what the kids playing...
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Autism therapy: Brain stimulation restores social behavior in mice
A magnified image of a mouse cerebellar section shows multiple layers. New research shows this part of the brain may be a target for treating autism through brain stimulation. Scientists are examining the feasibility of treating autistic children with neuromodulation after a new study showed social impairments can be corrected by brain stimulation. The...
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Study may point to new treatment approach for ASD
Using sophisticated genome mining and gene manipulation techniques, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) have solved a mystery that could lead to a new treatment approach for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Their findings, reported last month in the Journal of Neuroscience, broke new ground: for the first time a variation in a gene called ITGB3...
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Induced pluripotent stem cells show astrocyte-neuron impact on brain pathology in autism
Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to model autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers at the University of São Paulo, Brazil and University of California, San Diego have revealed for the first time that abnormalities in the supporting cells of the brain, called astrocytes, may contribute to the cause of the disorder. The findings, published...
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Promise seen in possible treatment for autism spectrum disorder
In searching for a potential therapeutic for autism spectrum disorder, researchers have found that R-Baclofen reverses cognitive deficits and improves social interactions in two lines of 16p11.2 deletion mice. Human chromosome 16p11.2 deletion syndrome is caused by the absence of about 27 genes on chromosome 16. This deletion is characterized by intellectual disability; impaired...