LA Daily News: UCLA uncovers autism defect

UCLA uncovers autism defect

Autism study breaks new ground
By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer
LA Daily News

Children with autism lack a key brain activity that would normally help them understand the feelings and intentions of others, according to a groundbreaking study by UCLA researchers.

New magnetic imaging research has shown that, unlike in normal children, the mirror neuron system in autistic children fails to work while they imitate and observe emotions.

(snip)

Normally, mirror neurons fire when a person takes action or observes the same action taken by others. For example, when a girl skips rope, her mirror neurons fire in the inferior frontal gyrus of the brain. When observed by a nonautistic friend, his mirror neurons become active, as well. New studies suggest such brain activity leads us to automatically understand what people intend and how they feel.

Autistic children, however, often misunderstand verbal and other cues suggesting anger, joy or other emotions in others. In short, they lack a mature sense of empathy. What UCLA researchers found was that the more autistic symptoms a high-functioning autistic child demonstrated, the less his or her mirror neuron system functioned.

(snip)

Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew@dailynews.com

http://dailynews.com/news/ci_3278905

I thought it was caused by Mercury in vaccinations.

:sarcasm:

I am not the sharpest tack when it comes to adding stuff like that.

Does that mean that when NT people watch somebody do something, they kind of go through the mental motions of doing it themself?

NT's out there, when you watch people doing things do you visualize yourself doing the same thing, or sort of feel like you're doing it yourself?

Tucker

As an educator of austistic kids ,
I'm taking this to work with me tommorow.

It's good that they're figuring out more about the biological basis.