Health

Brain study
by Claudia Sonea

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. Largely it is inherited and its genetics are complex and hard to detect. Until recent its causes were considered to be agents that cause birth defects, childhood vaccines, etc. However, Dr Manzar Ashtari of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania in collaboration with other researchers have discovered that the main cause is that children with autism have fewer mirror neurons" brain cells that govern empathy and learning by observation. The Ashtari's research team released the study on Thursday and they said they used a novel imaging technique called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), which tracks the movement of water molecules in the brain, thus being able to highlight subtle but potentially significant changes in the volume of gray matter in the brains of its research subjects. Amazingly they discovered that autistic children have increased grey matter in the brain. Usually the grey matter is correspondent of higher intelligence, but in the case of autistic children, the situation is different due to the fact that it does not function properly, stated Ashtari at a meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Despite the fact that autistic people have more grey matter, they also have fewer mirror neurons (brain cells that are activated when an individual performs an action, experiences an emotion or sensation, and witnesses the same). The myth of Raymond has been blown away (Tom Cruise's brother from the movie Rain Man). Unfortunately, autism affects many parts of the brain, while its causes are poorly understood. The new study does not bring anything that might help them, yet, but in time it could help other researcher to find a way of getting them out of the dark. Let's show our support to all parents that discover their most precious treasures are suffering such a difficult disease. Be strong!

related story: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20071129/thl-us-science-medical-autism-0b0437e_1.html

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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posted by Blog TechSource @ 7:11 AM