Autism. Study Suggests Autism-Prevention Strategy. French scientists have announced that an FDA-approved drug, given to pregnant rodents just before delivery, prevented the development of autism-like signs in their offspring.
The drug, bumetanide, has already shown some effectiveness in early clinical trials in autistic children. The new study, in the Feb. 7 issue of Science, hints that bumetanide could largely block the development of autism if administered around the time of birth-although, even if that were the case, scientists first would have to find a way to determine which babies should be so treated.
"We know that the earlier you diagnose and the earlier you treat, the more likely success will be," said Yehezkel Ben-Ari, a scientist at Aix-Marseille University who led the research team. The GABA switch Aside from the therapeutic implications, the findings suggest that an important cause of autism disorders, and perhaps the major cause, is a delay in a developmental phenomenon known as the "GABA switch.
" Brain Responses to Words in 2-Year-Olds with Autism Predict Developmental Outcomes at Age 6. Abstract Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects social behavior and language acquisition.
ASD exhibits great variability in outcomes, with some individuals remaining nonverbal and others exhibiting average or above average function. Cognitive ability contributes to heterogeneity in autism and serves as a modest predictor of later function. We show that a brain measure (event-related potentials, ERPs) of word processing in children with ASD, assessed at the age of 2 years (N = 24), is a broad and robust predictor of receptive language, cognitive ability, and adaptive behavior at ages 4 and 6 years, regardless of the form of intensive clinical treatment during the intervening years. The predictive strength of this brain measure increases over time, and exceeds the predictive strength of a measure of cognitive ability, used here for comparison.
Breakthrough in Autism Research Shows Critical Role Social Interaction Plays in Early Learning - Thrive By Five WA. June 5th, 2013 by Paul Nyhan A breakthrough in autism research holds both the potential for earlier diagnosis of the disorder and a better understanding of the important role social interactions play in early childhood development.
The new study from the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS) found brain activity among toddlers with autism can predict later cognitive, linguistic and adaptive development. These findings could help clinicians diagnose children with autism at 1 year old or younger, which would allow for earlier and more effective treatment of the mysterious neurodevelopmental disorder, which has no clear or identified cause. For the early learning world, the research is the latest to show how social interactions can speed language development among babies. Infants use social cues, such as tracking adults’ eye movements to learn the names of things, and must be interested in people to learn in this way. Early brain responses to words predict developmental outcomes in children with autism. May 29, 2013 The pattern of brain responses to words in 2-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder predicted the youngsters’ linguistic, cognitive and adaptive skills at ages 4 and 6, according to a new study.
The findings, published May 29 in PLOS ONE, are among the first to demonstrate that a brain marker can predict future abilities in children with autism. A 2-year-old in the study sits on his mother’s lap playing with toys while having his brain responses to words recorded.Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, UW “We’ve shown that the brain’s indicator of word learning in 2-year-olds already diagnosed with autism predicts their eventual skills on a broad set of cognitive and linguistic abilities and adaptive behaviors,” said lead author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences.
“This is true four years after the initial test, and regardless of the type of autism treatment the children received,” she said. Breakthrough in Autism Research Shows Critical Role Social Interaction Plays in Early Learning - Thrive By Five WA. Jeremy Sicile-Kira's High School Commencement Speech. Full Episode Video. Qantas never crashed. University of Florida Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. 2007-08 Distinguished Lecturer Series. Videos and audio are now exclusively available in the new MIND Institute Media Player.
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" These webcasts are intended for personal, non-commercial use. Presenter: Deborah Fein, Ph.D. Affiliation: University of Connecticut Date: June 11, 2008 Synopsis: Click for Abstract 4PM Lecture: Can Children with Autism "Recover? " Presenter: Christopher J. Affiliation: Indiana University. Asperger's Syndrome Documentary. The Woman Who Thinks Like a Cow - part 1. Autism Every Day.mov. Living Arrangements for the Developmentally Disabled, Inc. Visionaries and Voices - home page. What Is Autism? Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT™) ASD Video Glossary. Autism Symptoms. Autism Autistic Siblings.