Question: what is the; neuroscience of autism spectrum disorder??

Asked by niamh12 to Peter on 26 Aug 2013. This question was also asked by cciiaarraa, narwhalelite001, adriendubois.

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  1. Photo: Peter EnticottPeter Enticott
    answered on 26 Aug 2013:

    This is a big question. There are a huge numbers of parts of the brain that have been linked to autism, from the frontal lobe to the amygdala to the cerebellum. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find an area of the brain that hasn’t been linked to autism! There’s also evidence for different neurotransmitters (or “chemical messengers”) being affected in autism. What I guess it all points to is problems in the way that brain cells communicate with one another. A lot of people these days consider autism a disorder of “neural connectivity,” which refers to how well the different parts of the brain talk to one another.

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Comments

  1. Photo: SarahSarah
    commented on 27 Aug 2013:

    Autism is an area that I am always learning about at the moment (learning never stops !) because children with autism often have bad sleep problems. I dont pretend to know as much about autism as @peter does but I know that the brain regulates sleep and it regulates behaviour and communication and that obviously, if the brain neurotransmitters and are involved in autism, then it would figure that sleep is affected also.

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  2. Photo: narwhalelite001narwhalelite001
    commented on 28 Aug 2013:

    Thanks for that answer! It really answered my question! Thanks!

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