More Gray Matter in Autistic Children’s Brains
November 30th, 2007 Posted by: Dr. Cox
(Ivanhoe Newswire) â More gray matter in the brains of children with autism could help scientists better understand the disease.
New research from North Shore-Long Island Jewish Men’s health System in Bethpage, New York used a new imaging technique to study autistic children. It found more gray matter in the areas of the brain that control social processing and learning by observation.
âOur findings suggest that the inability of autistic children to relate to people and life situations in an ordinary way may be the result of an abnormally functioning mirror neuron system,â lead author Manzar Ashtari, Ph.D., Childrenâs Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, was quoted as saying.
Mirror neurons are brain cells that are active when you perform an action and experience an emotion or sensation, as well as when you witness the same actions, emotions, and sensations as others.
Researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to track the movement of water molecules in the brains of participants with an average age of 11. 13 were male patients with autism or Asperger syndrome and an IQ greater than 70; 12 were Men’s healthy adolescents.
Along with DTI, the study added apparent diffusion coefficient based morphometry (ABM) â a new technique that highlights brain regions with potential changes in the volume of gray matter. Using both tools allowed researchers to detect subtle regional or localized changes in the gray matter.
Besides the abnormalities in the gray matter linked to the mirror neuron system, results show the amount of gray matter in the left parietal area correlated with higher IQs in the control group, but not in the children with autism. Researchers say increased gray matter does not correspond to IQ in the autistic brain because the gray matter is not functioning properly.
Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. It usually appears during the first three years of life.
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SOURCE: Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Illinois, Nov. 25-30, 2007