by Laura Heffner
Years ago, I had no idea what autism even was. In the last ten years or so, it seems that it has come much forward toward public knowledge. I have friends with autistic children and even know autistic adults. When my oldest child was younger, they thought she too might be autistic which is when I truly first read up on what this even meant but it was ruled out later by a specialist.
Now scientists are working to use brain patterns unique to autistic children to detect autism earlier. As genetics are attributed to autism, a hyper-connected brain seems to be the indicator for this condition. Scientists are using brain scans to pinpoint areas of the brain where they find hyper-connectivity as compared to the brains of non-autistic children. Stronger connectivity was found in the areas that affect introspection, vision and movement.
Also, the salience network of the brain showed significant hyper-linking and this area of the brain processes incoming information and determines which external/internal sensations need immediate attention. The researchers were able to determine 78% of the time the children with autism utilizing the brain scans meaning a more biological tool is in the works to give physicians and families a better method of determining autism.
The more connected the salience network seems to be, the more the child was prone to informational overload which is seen in more social withdrawal and obsession with one thing such as computer games. Repetitive and obsessive behaviors seem to be the child's way of coping with informational overload and their brain is more tuned to memory and skill set to a smaller range of interests. The hope is that by diagnosing younger, that possibly intervening with behavioral therapies may reconstruct parts of the brain network of neurons that would in turn help autistic children be better able to cope and function as a whole and maybe at one point they may be able to diagnose and treat in the womb.
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