Children

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

• Adults

Children

School-age lead exposures most harmful to IQ

A number of studies have connected higher blood concentration of lead in toddlers with reduced IQ at school age. Now data from two points — children in Cincinnati during the early 1980s; children Rochester, N.Y., during the mid-1990s — has revealed confirmed earlier indications that IQ losses are most predictable from comparisons of a child’s blood-lead level at age 6 compared to the level at age 2, and that the level at age 5-6 is more important than that at age 2 (although that is when most testing is done). Lead-level at age 6 also correlated with reduced brain tissue in certain brain regions in adulthood, especially in those regions relating to judgment, self-control, and mood (and an increased level of criminal behavior).

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43795/title/School-age_lead_exposures_most_harmful_to_IQ

Children more vulnerable to harmful effects of lead

A study has found that children are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of lead at age 6 than they at younger ages. The study found that children's average blood lead concentrations peaked at 13.9 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood at age 2, then declined to an average of 7.3 micrograms per deciliter by age 6. For children with the same average blood lead levels through age 6, however, those who received more of their exposure at age 6 had substantially greater decrements in intellectual ability (with lower IQ and reduced volume of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex) than those more heavily exposed at age 2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends public health actions be initiated at blood lead levels greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter, despite lower levels being consistently shown to be associated with adverse effects.

The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study was presented May 4, 2008, at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Honolulu.

http://www.physorg.com/news129129066.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/cchm-cmv050108.php

Early lead exposure impedes later recovery from brain injury

We know that lead exposure in early years can affect the brain. We also know that it increases the risk of various disorders later in life. Now a rat study reveals that animals exposed to lead earlier in life were significantly less able to recover from an induced stroke than those not so exposed. The study only looked at a short time-frame, so it is not yet known if the lead-exposed animals would catch up in their recovery in a longer period of time. There was some recovery in the lead group, but then it leveled off. The control group continued to get better. The findings support the suggestion that lead poisoning impairs neural plasticity.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/tju-jnf120307.php

ADHD linked to genetic and environmental interactions

A study of 172 children who were enrolled in a community-based study of low levels of lead exposure has found evidence that increasing lead exposure is linked to impairment on a number of executive functions (impaired in those with ADHD), but that certain genetic and biological factors seemed to predispose an individual to the negative effects of lead exposure. For instance, only children with certain variations of the DRD4 gene seemed vulnerable to lead's adverse effects on attentional flexibility. Boys were more vulnerable to this effect than girls.

The study was presented on May 1, 2006, at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in San Francisco.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/cchm-sla042606.php

Lead exposure may affect recovery from brain injury

Lead exposure at a young age can hurt the brain's development and cause learning and behavioral problems. Now it seems that it might also affect a child’s ability to recover from brain injury. A new study found young rats exposed to low levels of lead took significantly longer to recover from a brain injury than those animals that weren't lead-exposed, as well as recovering less well.

Dr. Schneider presented the findings Oct. 25, 2004, at the Society for Neuroscience's annual meeting in San Diego.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-10/tju-jnf102404.php

Environmental damage to brains of children

A new report suggests that the brains of children in many parts of Europe are suffering greater damage from environmental risks than previously recognized. A meeting in Malta of European delegates preparing for a ministerial conference on environment and health, being held in Budapest in June, were given preliminary results from a comprehensive study on environmental threats to children's health, being conducted by the WHO and the University of Udine, Italy. The full report is to be published at the Budapest conference. The findings suggest lead is the single most important damaging chemical for children. In 2001, the estimated percentage of European children in urban areas with elevated blood levels (above 10 micrograms per decilitre) ranged from 0.1% to 30.2%.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3568939.stm

Pros and cons of therapy for lead exposure

Lead chelation therapy is widely used to treat lead-exposed children, and is increasingly being used for the treatment of autism in children. However, a rat study has now found that, although the treatment can indeed significantly reduce learning and behavioral problems that result from lead exposure, when rats with no lead in their systems were treated, they showed declines in their learning and behavior that were similar to the rats that were exposed to lead. The findings suggest that lead chelation therapy should only be used, as recommended, for children with at least moderate lead exposure.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/cuns-csr121306.php

Adults

Workers exposed to lead show more cognitive problems later in life

A follow-up of the 1982 Lead Occupational Study, which assessed the cognitive abilities of 288 lead-exposed and 181 non-exposed male workers in eastern Pennsylvania, has found that among the lead-exposed workers, those with higher cumulative lead had significantly lower cognitive scores. The clearest inverse relationships were between cumulative lead and spatial ability, learning and memory, and overall cognitive score. This linkage was more significant in the older lead-exposed men (55 years and older). Their cognitive scores were significantly different from those of younger lead-exposed men even when the researchers controlled for current blood levels of lead. In other words, even when men no longer worked at the battery plants, their earlier prolonged exposure was enough to matter.

Full text available at http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/neu23110.pdf
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/apa-wet010709.php

Reading ability protects brain from lead exposure

Cognitive reserve is a concept that has been chiefly discussed in terms of protecting against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, but a new study has found evidence that it can also protect against long-term lead exposure. The study of 112 smelter workers found that the cognitive effects of lead were 2.5 times greater in workers with low reading ability, compared to those with high reading ability (defined as a reading level of 12^th grade or higher). Motor speed, however, was comparable in both groups — demonstrating that the nervous system was impaired similarly in both groups.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/aaon-rap072407.php

Long-term lead exposure linked to cognitive decline in older adults

A study of nearly a thousand randomly selected Baltimore residents, all between 50 and 70 years old and consequently exposed to higher levels of lead prior to the 1980s when lead was used extensively in commercial products, has revealed higher lead levels in the bone were consistently associated with worse cognitive performance on tests, equivalent to two to six years of aging. Blood lead levels were not associated with a difference in cognitive performance. The study also found bone lead levels were significantly higher in African Americans compared to Caucasians.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/aaon-lle091306.php

Lead exposure leads to brain cell loss and damage years later

A study of 532 former employees of a chemical manufacturing plant who had not been exposed to lead for an average of 18 years has found that the higher their lead levels were, the more likely they were to have smaller brain volumes and greater amounts of brain damage. 36% had white matter lesions. The results confirm earlier findings in this same population that people with occupational lead exposure experience declines in their thinking and memory skills years after their exposure.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/aaon-lel051806.php

Additional brief reports

Genes for autism and schizophrenia only active in developing brains

February 11, 2013

Genes linked to autism and schizophrenia are only switched on during the early stages of brain development, according to a study in mice.

It has been suspected for a long time that if the development of the cortex is disrupted by genetic abnormalities or environmental stress (such as prematurity) this would have long-lasting adverse effects on brain development and could lead to problems like ADHD or autism. This study defines genes that are important in mice at this critical period and this does indeed seem to include genes known to predispose to autism and schizophrenia.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-genes-autism-schizophrenia-brains.html

Scientists investigate inherited causes of autism

February 4, 2013

Two new studies investigate the role recessive genes play in ASD. These genes can be passed on through generations, but their effects are seen only if an individual inherits two identical copies of the gene – one from each parent.

One study found that approximately 5% of autism cases could be linked to inherited, recessive mutations that completely disrupt gene function. A second study found that autism risk could also be attributed to inherited mutations that resulted in only a partial loss of gene function.

The number of different genetic mutations uncovered by the two studies supports the long-held theory that autism is a heterogeneous condition with many different genetic causes.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-scientists-inherited-autism.html

Gene target shows promise for autism

January 3, 2013

Mouse study found that chemically normalizing excessive levels of protein synthesis induced by a variant of the EIF4E gene, whose mutation is associated with autism, significantly reduced autistic-like behaviors. The mice were less likely to engage in repetitive behaviors, more likely to interact with other mice, and were successful in navigating mazes that differed from those they previously solved.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/gene-target-shows-promise-for-autism/

Air pollution drives up autism risk

Exposure to traffic-related air pollution during pregnancy and the first year of life was associated with a more than two-fold risk of autism. Exposure to regional pollution was also associated with autism even if the mother did not live near a busy road.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/air-pollution-drives-up-autism-risk/

note criticism of the study: http://www.forbes.com/sites/emilywillingham/2012/11/27/5-caveats-about-the-autism-and-air-pollution-study/

Autism risk test is 70% accurate

September 12, 2012

A new genetic test predicted a person’s risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder with over 70% accuracy. Participants were all of central European descent. The test uses 237 genetic markers (SNPs) in 146 genes and related cellular pathways.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/autism-risk-test-is-70-percent-accurate/

Unreliable neural response in autistic adults

September 20, 2012

A small study shows that autistic adults have unreliable neural sensory responses to visual, auditory, and somatosensory, or touch, stimuli. This poor response reliability appears to be a fundamental neural characteristic of autism. Non-autistic individuals showed reliably consistent brain activity to sensory information, while autistic individuals showed marked trial-by-trial variability. It’s suggested that such unreliable activity might be what’s limiting the development of social and language abilities.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/unreliable-neural-response-in-autistic-adults/

Electrical Activity in the Brain Can Distinguish Children With Autism

June 27, 2012

A large study found that patterns of electrical activity in the brain can distinguish children with autism from children with typical brains as early as age 2. In general, autistic children showed reduced connectivity.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/speced/2012/06/electrical_activity_in_the_brain_can.html

Autism and schizophrenia may share root cause

July 3, 2012

The risk of an autism spectrum disorder may be higher among people whose parents or siblings have been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

The presence of schizophrenia in parents was associated with an almost three times increased risk for autism spectrum disorders in Swedish groups. Schizophrenia in a sibling also was associated with roughly two and a half times the risk for autism in the Swedish national group and a 12 times greater risk in a sample of Israeli military conscripts (perhaps because of individuals with earlier onset schizophrenia, “which has a higher sibling recurrence”).

Bipolar disorder showed a similar pattern of association but of a lesser magnitude, study results indicate.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/autism-and-schizophrenia-may-share-root-cause/

The ‘autism epidemic’ and diagnostic substitution

Excellent article on the question of why there’s been such an increase in autism diagnoses. The researcher makes a strong case that it is because of changes in diagnosis rather than a true increase.

http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2012/06/autism-epidemic-and-diagnostic.html

Oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism

Preliminary results from an ongoing, large-scale study shows that oxytocin increased brain function in regions that are known to process social information in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/yu-oib051812.php

Research shows how PCBs promote dendrite growth, may increase autism risk

New research shows that PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, launch a cellular chain of events that leads to an overabundance of dendrites and disrupts normal patterns of neuronal connections in the brain. "Impaired neuronal connectivity is a common feature of a number of conditions, including autism spectrum disorders." It’s suggested that PCB exposure "may increase the likelihood of autism in children whose genetic makeup already compromises the processes by which neurons form connections."

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/uoc--rsh042512.php

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/toxic-pcbs-scramble-brain-connections/

Full text available at http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1104833

Protein in overdrive links to autism

March 21, 2012

A mouse study suggests that early disruptions in serotonin signaling in the brain may contribute to autism spectrum disorder. It has long been known that many children with autism have elevated blood levels of serotonin (hyperserotonemia).

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/serotonin-in-overdrive-links-to-autism/

People with autism possess greater ability to process information, study suggests

A small study suggests that people with autism spectrum disorders have a greater than normal capacity for processing perceptual information even from rapid presentations and are better able to detect information defined as 'critical'.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-03/wt-pwa032212.php

Autism mutations, scattered across many genes, merge into common network of interactions

A large study looking at the genes of children with sporadic autism" (no family history) has found that many mutations related to modifying chromatin (the tightly coiled spools of DNA in the cell), changing the way DNA is packaged. They also found that new mutations were overwhelming paternal in origin (in a ratio of 4:1), that the new mutations occurred at a rate that correlated with the age of the father.

What is also very clear from this and other recent studies is that autism risk mutations are scattered across many genes. It’s suggested that although no single gene will account for more than 1% of autism cases, collectively all of these rare mutations will account for much of the genetic basis of the disease.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/uow-ams040212.php

Evolution's gift may also be at the root of a form of autism

May 10th, 2012

A study has identified the evolutionary changes that led the NOS1 gene to become active specifically in the parts of the developing human brain that form the adult centers for speech and language and decision-making. This pattern of NOS1 activity is controlled by a protein called FMRP and is missing in Fragile X syndrome. Fragile X syndrome, the leading inherited form of intellectual disability, is also the most common single-gene cause of autism.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-evolution-gift-root-autism.html

Researchers discover new genes contributing to autism, links to psychiatric disorders

April 19th, 2012

A new approach to investigating hard-to-find chromosomal abnormalities has identified 33 genes associated with autism and related disorders, 22 for the first time. Several of these genes also appear to be altered in different ways in individuals with psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-genes-contributing-autism-links-psychiatric.html

RNA discovery offers clue in autism puzzle

April 5, 2012

Scientists have discovered the first gene associated with autism that has genome-wide significance. Expression of MSNP1AS was increased 12-fold in the brains of people with autism. This gene controls expression of a protein called moesin, which influences brain development and immune response.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/rna-discovery-offers-clue-in-autism-puzzle/

Study identifies gene expression abnormalities in autism

March 22nd, 2012

Following previous research showing a link between autism and excess brain cells in the prefrontal cortex, a study has showed that genetic mechanisms that normally regulate the number of cortical neurons are abnormal in such cases. This abnormality may not only result in too many neurons in some regions, but not enough in others.

Moreover, while the adolescent prefrontal cortex showed dysregulation in the pathways that govern cell number, cortical patterning and cell differentiation, adults showed dysregulation of signaling and repair pathways — indicating that gene expression abnormalities change across the lifespan in autism.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-gene-abnormalities-autism.html

With autism, altered white matter in brain

March 7, 2012

Brain imaging and computer modeling shows how autistic brains tend to have poor quality white matter tracts connecting the frontal and posterior regions of the brain. This may explain social and language impairments.

This may mean that appropriate training could improve the white matter — compromised white matter in children with reading difficulties has been shown to be reparable with extensive behavioral therapy.

http://www.futurity.org/health-medicine/with-autism-altered-white-matter-in-brain/

Autism can be detected in babies, say scientists

A study involving six- to 10-month-old babies who had an older brother or sister with autism found that brain activity while the infants were shown faces that switched between looking at them or away from them was indicative of later diagnoses of autism.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jan/27/autism-detected-babies-say-scientists

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/cp-itb012012.php

Neuroscientists find that two rare autism-related disorders are caused by opposing malfunctions in the brain

November 24, 2011

Most cases of autism are not caused by a single genetic mutation. However, several disorders with autism-like symptoms, including the rare Fragile X syndrome, can be traced to a specific mutation that leads to overproduction of proteins found in brain synapses. A new study shows that tuberous sclerosis, another rare disease characterized by autism and mental retardation, is caused by the opposite malfunction — too little synthesis of those synaptic proteins.

The findings fit into the theory that autism can be caused by a wide range of brain-synapse glitches. “The general concept is that appropriate brain function occurs within a very narrow physiological range that is tightly maintained. If you exceed that range in either direction, you have an impairment that can manifest as this constellation of symptoms, which very frequently go together — autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and epilepsy.”

The findings also show that not all cases of autism spectrum disorder will respond to the same kind of treatment.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-neuroscientists-rare-autism-related-disorders-opposing.html

Research reveals autistic individuals are in fact superior in multiple areas

Articles about neurocentrism etc

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-reveals-autistic-individuals-fact-superior.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v479/n7371/full/479033a.html

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v479/n7371/full/479005a.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2011/oct/07/1

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-hidden-potential-of-autistic-kids

Researchers find alterations of a single gene associated with intellectual disability, epilepsy and autistic features

October 7, 2011

A study has identified the gene MBD5 as the sole causative gene for 2q23.1 deletion syndrome. MBD5 functions in regulating the expression of many genes and is responsible for the core clinical features in these individuals, including intellectual disability, epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder. They have also shown that there is an association between autism and MBD5.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-gene-intellectual-disability-epilepsy-autistic.html

New evidence for genetic basis of autism found

October 3, 2011

Some children with autism have a small deletion on chromosome 16, affecting 27 genes in a region of our genomes referred to as 16p11.2. The deletion -- which causes children to inherit only a single copy of the 27-gene cluster -- is one of the most common copy number variations (CNVs) associated with autism. A new study has found that deleting this set of genes in mice produces autistic-like behaviors: hyperactivity, difficulty adapting to a new environment, sleeping deficits, and restricted, repetitive behaviors.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-evidence-genetic-basis-autism.html

Prenatal SSRI Exposure Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder

A study suggests that use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy increases the risk of autism spectrum disorder.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.73

Inflexibility may give pupils with autism problems in multitasking

A study finds that young people with autism are inflexible when given multiple tasks, sticking rigidly to tasks in the order they are given to them, even when changing the order could save them time. They also had more difficulty remembering all the tasks they had to do.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-08/uos-img081511.php

The Risk of Aging Fathers

August 30, 2011

A mouse study has found that older males sire offspring with more copy number mutations in gene regions associated with developmental disorders, perhaps explaining why the children of older men have higher rates of schizophrenia and autism than those with younger fathers.

http://the-scientist.com/2011/08/30/the-risk-of-aging-fathers/

Diagnosed autism is more common in an IT-rich region

June 20, 2011

A Dutch study comparing prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in three geographical regions has found that diagnosed autism was significantly higher conditions in the IT-intensive region of Eindhoven (229 per 10,000, vs 84 per 10,000 and 57 per 10,000 in IT-lower regions — Haarlem and Utrecht).

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-autism-common-it-rich-region.html

Balance tips toward environment as heritability ebbs in autism?

July 4, 2011

A large twin study found that shared environmental factors accounted for 55% of strict autism and 58% of more broadly defined autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Genetic heritability accounted for 37% of autism and 38% of ASD. This dramatically reduces previous estimates of genetic heritability of autism from twin studies.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-environment-heritability-ebbs-autism.html

Gene linked to severity of autism's social dysfunction

April 6, 2011

Variants in the gene GRIP1 (glutamate receptor interacting protein 1) have been found to contribute to the severity of social interaction deficits in autistic individuals. This gene regulates how fast receptors travel to a cell's surface, where they are activated by a brain-signaling chemical called glutamate, allowing neurons to communicate with one another. The finding lends support to a prevailing theory that autism spectrum disorders reflect an imbalance between inhibitory and excitatory signaling at synapses.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-gene-linked-severity-autism-social.html

Why Autism Strikes More Boys Than Girls

July 19, 2011

The marked gender imbalance in autism may related to a gene called retinoic acid–related orphan receptor-alpha (RORA), which interacts with certain types of estrogen and testosterone found in the brain. Autistic individuals tend to have low levels of RORA protein and the enzyme it produces (arom­a­tase). This enzyme converts testosterone to estrogen, but RORA is less active in the presence of tes­tosterone made RORA, and more active in the presence of estrogen. While the balance of sex hormones usually regulates RORA activity, an imbalance can be exacerbated by this feedback loop.

It’s suggested that low levels of RORA protein and enzyme result in an excess of testosterone, while most females are protected by their higher levels of estrogen.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-autism-strikes-more-boys-than-girls

'Most adults with autism go undiagnosed' -- new findings

The first ever general population survey of autism in adulthood has found that 9.8 per thousand adults in England meet official diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, none of the cases with autism found knew that they were autistic or had received an official diagnosis of autism or asperger syndrome. The findings add support to the theory that autism is not increasing, diagnosis is just more common.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-05/uol-aw050411.php

Autism linked to hundreds of spontaneous genetic mutations

June 9. 2011

The most comprehensive search yet for spontaneous genetic mutations associated with autism spectrum disorders suggests that hundreds may play a part. It also finds that girls with autism tend to have many more mutated genes than boys with the disorder, suggesting that it generally takes a larger genomic change to cause autism in girls.

A particularly interesting finding was that, while deletion of a segment of chromosome 7 (specifically, 7q11.23) is associated with Williams Syndrome (marked by hypersocial behavior), duplication of this region is associated with autism.

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110609/full/news.2011.359.html

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-genetic-keys-autism.html

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=autism-genetic-mutations

How common is autism?

Great discussion of why prevalence estimates can be so different, and why diagnosing autism spectrum disorders is so difficult.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2011/jun/07/how-common-autism-diagnosis

Mapping data shows enhanced activity in the 'perception' part of the brain

Brain scans have determined that people with autism concentrate more brain resources in the areas associated with visual detection and identification (temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes), and conversely, have less activity in the areas used to plan and control thoughts and actions (frontal lobe).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-04/uom-nre032811.php

An autism brain signature?

May 25, 2011

A genome-wide analysis of the RNA in the brains of individuals with autism has revealed that, while gene expression in the frontal lobe normally varies significantly from that in the temporal lobe due to their different functions, this tended not to be true of autistic brains. Instead, in more than 2/3 autistic individuals, the levels of gene expression between the two lobes were homogenized, as if they had similar functions.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/29713/title/An-autism-brain-signature-/

New Genetics Work Challenges Basic Ideas about Mental Illness

May 17, 2011

Some background on genetic mutations — explaining single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), copy-number variants (CNVs), genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and how they’re being used in research into the causes of various disorders.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-genetics-work-challenges-basic-ideas-about-mental-illness

Researchers link spontaneous gene mutations to autism

May 16, 2011

Preliminary results suggest that as many as % of sporadic autism cases can be explained by spontaneous gene mutations. The findings are also consistent with other studies suggesting that ASDs are more likely in children born to older parents, and in particular, older fathers.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-link-spontaneous-gene-mutations-autism.html

Children conceived in winter have a greater risk of autism, study finds

May 5, 2011

An examination of the birth records of children born in California during the 1990s and early 2000s has found a clear link between the month in which a child is conceived and the risk of that child later receiving a diagnosis of autism, with those conceived during winter having a significantly greater risk of autism.

Earlier studies (all much smaller) have found inconsistent results in linking autism risk to month of conception.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-children-winter-greater-autism.html

The mirror neuron system in autism: Broken or just slowly developing?

May 3, 2011

It’s been suggested that the mirror neuron system (neurons that activate in similar ways whether we perform actions or watch other people perform the same actions) is broken in autistic individuals, but a new study suggests that it just develops more slowly.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-mirror-neuron-autism-broken-slowly.html

An interview with mirror neuron guru Vilayanur S. Ramachandran about autism and mirror neurons.

http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2011/03/ramachandran_broken_mirror.php

A world first: The discovery of a common genetic cause of autism and epilepsy

April 8, 2011

Researchers have identified a new gene that predisposes people to both autism and epilepsy. The synapsin gene (SYN1) plays a crucial role in the development of the membrane surrounding neurotransmitters (the synaptic vesicles), affecting communication between neurons.

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-04-world-discovery-common-genetic-autism.html

Knowing Me, Knowing You: How Social Intuition Goes Awry in Autism

March 7, 2011 

It’s suggested that the social impairment characteristic of autism spectrum disorders may be related to a lack of a type of spindle neurons called Von Economo neurons. These neurons are only found in very social species, such as the great apes, elephants, and whales and ­dolphins, and are found only in the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortex.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=knowing-me-knowing-you

Cognitive skills in children with autism vary and improve, study finds

September 15, 2010

A three year study looking at how the cognitive skills of children with ASD change over time has found that most of the children (aged 5-6 at the beginning of the study) developed better appreciation of others' thoughts and feelings, and improved ability to plan, regulate, and control their thoughts and actions. However, their ability to construct patterns from wooden blocks and search for shapes hidden in pictures did not improve over time.

www.physorg.com/news203744311.html

Too Much, Too Young: Brain Overgrowth Correlates with the Severity of Autism Symptoms

July 27, 2010

Excess brain growth may be the first sign of autism, starting in the first year of life, if not sooner.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=too-much-too-young

Scientists have the genetic causes of autism in their sights

The Autism Genome Project has identified rare genetic mutations (copy number variations (CNVs)), that were 20% more frequent in children with autism than in children without the disorder.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/09/autism-study-genetic-causes

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/uoc--wld060710.php

Alternative Biomedical Treatments for Autism: How Good Is the Evidence?

October 7, 2010

Review of alternative autism treatments.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=alternative-biomedical-treatments

A Crack in the Mirror Neuron Hypothesis of Autism

May 12, 2010

A new test of mirror neuron activity suggests that autistic individuals’ mirror neurons may behave normally. However, they showed more variable activity in brain regions that process visual images and execute movements. The researchers suggest that it may be faulty signaling, rather than mirror neuron problems, that underlies some of their social difficulties.

The researchers’ tests and interpretations are controversial.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/05/a-crack-in-the-mirror-neuron-hyp.html?etoc

Video Q&A: What is autism? - A personal view

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/42

Stem cells restore cognitive abilities impaired by brain tumor treatment

A rat study has found that transplanted stem cells restored learning and memory to normal levels four months after radiotherapy. This compares with a greater than 50% decline in cognitive function in those rats that didn’t receive the therapy. Cranial irradiation is a common treatment for brain tumors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc--scr110509.php

Childhood brain tumors permanently impact cognition & lifestyle

A survey involving 785 CNS cancer survivors, 5,870 survivors of non-CNS cancers (such as leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and bone tumors), and 379 siblings of CNS cancer survivors, sent at least 16 years after diagnosis, has found that CNS cancer survivors reported significantly greater neurocognitive dysfunction than their siblings and survivors of other types of cancer. Moreover, these problems were linked to lower achievement in education and in full-time employment and income, as well as less chance of being married. The worst problems were found in those who had tumors in the cortex, and those who had cranial radiation treatment.

Ellenberg, L. et al. 2009. Neurocognitive Status in Long-Term Survivors of Childhood CNS Malignancies: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study. Neuropsychology, 23 (6), 705-717.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/apa-bti102709.php

Therapy program has significant effect on autistic toddlers

A randomized controlled trial involving autistic toddlers aged 18 to 30 months has found that those who participated for two years in an intensive program of behavioral therapy known as the Early Start Denver Model improved 17.6 standard score points in IQ, on average, compared with 7 points in the group who received standard community intervention. They were also more likely to be re-diagnosed from autism to pervasive developmental disorder.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18221-treating-toddlers-for-autism-boosts-iq-later.html

Study finds autistics better at problem-solving

A study involving 15 autistics and 18 non-autistics, aged 14 to 36 and IQ-matched, has found that while both groups completed patterns in a complex problem-solving test (the widely-used Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices) with equal accuracy, the autistics responded significantly faster, and showed a different pattern of brain activity. Specifically, they showed increased activity in extrastriate areas, and decreased activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex and the medial posterior parietal cortex — suggesting visual processing mechanisms may play a more prominent role in reasoning in autistics. The differences between groups did not appear when participants performed a simpler pattern-matching task.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/uom-sfa061609.php

New genes implicated in autism; support new theory of cause

Research involving 104 large Middle Eastern families has implicated half a dozen new genes in autism, and more importantly, strongly supports the emerging idea that autism stems from disruptions in the brain's ability to form new connections in response to experience – consistent with autism's onset during the first year of life, when many of these connections are normally made. Just over 6% of the 88 families with autistic members showed rare, inherited deletions within DNA regions linked to autism. These affected DNA regions varied among families, further indication of autism's large variety of genetic causes. In all, the technique identified five chromosome deletions affecting at least six identifiable genes. Although the genes discovered are diverse in function, all seem to be part of a fundamental network that orchestrates the refinement and maturation of synapses in response to input from the outside world. The network itself is already known to activate at least 300 genes, so it’s no surprise that there are many ways it can be disrupted, explaining why there might be myriad genetic causes of autism, even though in essence it might be all the same problem: a disruption of the brain's ability to modify its synaptic connections in response to experience. The good news is that in all but one case the chromosome deletions didn’t actually remove a gene, they just turned it off — suggesting a possible ‘cure’ if researchers can figure out how to turn them back on.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/chb-mef070808.php

Autism's social struggles due to disrupted communication networks in brain

And a timely imaging study has now provided the clearest evidence to date that synchronization in what might be termed the Theory of Mind network is impaired in autistic people. The Theory of Mind network (which includes the medial frontal gyrus, the anterior paracingulate, and the right temporoparietal junction) is responsible for processing the intentions and thoughts of others. In the study 12 high-functioning autistic adults and 12 controls viewed animated interacting geometric figures, and then asked to select the word from several choices that best described the interaction. The control subjects were consistently better at inferring the intention from the action than the participants with autism were. Brain scans revealed that synchronization between the frontal and posterior regions in the network was reliably lower in the group with autism. The autistic participants' brains also showed much lower activation levels in the frontal regions, and an independent assessment of their Theory of Mind abilities found these reliably correlated with activation in the right temporoparietal junction. The findings point to the need to develop interventions that could target this problem, and also indicate a way to measure an intervention’s effectiveness.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/cmu-ass072308.php

New genetic link to autism identified

Three new studies, using different methods, have all implicated the same gene in the development of autism. The research follows earlier findings implicating a specific region of Chromosome 7 called 7q35. The gene — contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CNTNAP2) — is a gene in this region. The research not only points to this gene predisposing an individual to autism, it also may explain the association with late language onset, a characteristic of most autistic children. The gene was most active in developing brain structures involved in language and thought. The finding may also help explain why autism is so much more common among boys. Statistical evidence for the gene was strongest in families with autistic boys. Less of an association appeared in families with autistic boys and girls, or in families with autistic girls only.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/uoc--usi010808.php

Autism non-verbal not unintelligent

New findings suggest that the association of autism with low intelligence is a product of their language difficulties. Testing autistic kids and normal kids on two popular IQ tests — the WISC (which relies heavily on language) and Raven's Progressive Matrices (considered the best test of "fluid intelligence", and a test that doesn't require much language) found that while not a single autistic child scored in the "high intelligence" range of the WISC, a third did on the Raven's. A third of the autistics had WISC scores in the mentally retarded range, but only one in 20 scored that low on the Raven's test. The non-autistic children scored similarly on both tests. The same results occurred when the experiment was run on autistic and normal adults.

http://www.physorg.com/news105376203.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/afps-tmo080307.php

Monkeys can reflect on their thoughts

A study involving two rhesus macaque monkeys has shown that a monkey can reflect on its own thoughts and assess its performance. The experiment trained the monkeys to play a video game that tested their ability to remember a particular photograph while also allowing them to make a large or a small bet on how likely they were to be right. The monkeys could also request hints for problems that would otherwise have to be solved by trial and error. Not only did the results provide clear evidence of their ability to engage in metacognition, but the study also points to a means of testing nonverbal humans, such an infants and autistic children.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/afps-mat042007.php

Oxytocin may help treat two core autism symptoms

In a pilot study, researchers have found administration of oxytocin has beneficial effects on repetitive behaviors and aspects of social cognition in high-functioning autistic adults.

The research was presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's Annual Meeting.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/g-nrs120106.php

A gene for autism

A study has found that those with two copies of a specific variant of a gene within chromosome 7, that regulates production of a protein that influences cell proliferation in various parts of the body, are substantially more likely to be autistic. The link between the MET variant and autism appears primarily in families with two or more affected children. The gene variant is not rare — roughly 47% of the population carry at least one copy of it. It may be that it is affected by prenatal environmental factors or that it interacts with other genes to derail brain formation. It is likely that there are a number of genes associated with autism. But this particular gene variant would explain controversial reports that people with autism often have immune and gastrointestinal problems.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061021/fob1.asp

Brain enlargement may be characteristic of autism

Comparison of 164 children with autism and 214 control children (all younger than 3 years) has found significant enlargement in the volume of the cerebral cortex, in both white and grey matter, and generalized throughout the cortex. Head circumference was not significantly different at birth — an increased rate of growth occurred from around 12 months.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-12/jaaj-bem120105.php

Breakdown of myelin insulation in brain's wiring implicated in childhood developmental disorders

Previous research has suggested that the production of myelin (a fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring) is a key component of brain development through childhood and well into middle age, when development peaks and deterioration begins, and that midlife breakdown of myelin is implicated to onset of Alzheimer's disease later in life. Now new research suggests the disruption of myelination is a key neurobiological component behind childhood developmental disorders, such as autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and addictive behaviors. The analysis also suggests that alcohol and other drugs of abuse have toxic effects on the myelination process in some adolescents.

Bartzokis, G. 2005. Adolescent Psychiatry. Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press Inc.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uoc--bom111405.php

Why autism is associated with executive function problems

A new imaging study has revealed that autistic boys have less activation in the parts of the brain responsible for executive function (attention, reasoning and problem solving) — specifically, in the caudate nucleus, a critical part of circuits that link the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The researchers have noted similarities in the impairment of specific executive function in children with ADHD and autism.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-10/ra-ape102305.php

Finding supports theory that autism results from failure of brain areas to work together

An imaging study indicates people with autism remember letters as geometric shapes, compared to the more usual remembering by their names. Moreover, compared to the control group, the activated brain areas of the people with autism were less likely to work in synchrony (at the same time) while recalling the letters. This supports a theory that autism results from a failure of the various parts of the brain to work together. This theory suggests that therapies emphasizing problem solving skills and other tasks that activate multiple brain areas at the same time might benefit people with autism.

Koshino, H., Carpenter, P.A., Minshew, N.J., Cherkassky, V.L., Keller, T.A. & Just, M.A. 2005. Functional connectivity in an fMRI working memory task in high-functioning autism. NeuroImage, 24 (3), 810-821.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/nioc-bop112904.php

Special training may help people with autism recognize faces

People with autism tend to activate object-related brain regions when they are viewing unfamiliar faces, rather than a specific face-processing region. They also tend to focus on particular features, such as a mustache or a pair of glasses. However, a new study has found that when people with autism look at a picture of a very familiar face, such as their mother's, their brain activity is similar to that of control subjects – involving the fusiform gyrus, a region in the brain's temporal lobe that is associated with face processing, rather than the inferior temporal gyrus, an area associated with objects. Use of the fusiform gyrus in recognizing faces is a process that starts early with non-autistic people, but does take time to develop (usually complete by age 12). The study indicates that the fusiform gyrus in autistic people does have the potential to function normally, but may need special training to operate properly.

Aylward, E. 2004. Functional MRI studies of face processing in adolescents and adults with autism: Role of experience. Paper presented February 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle.

Dawson, G. & Webb, S. 2004. Event related potentials reveal early abnormalities in face processing autism. Paper presented February 14 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-02/uow-stm020904.php

Autistic preschoolers don't recognize emotions from facial photographs

Normally developing infants notice their mothers' facial expressions and emotions in the first six months of life and are able to recognize emotions from facial expressions by age 7 months. In a recent study reported at the first International Meeting for Autism Research in San Diego last month, 3- and 4-year-old autistic, developmentally delayed and normally developing children were shown photographs of faces depicting fear and a neutral expression while brain activity was monitored. It was found that the brains of normally developing and developmentally delayed children exhibited different activity depending on the picture being viewed. However, the brain activity of the autistic children remained the same when the different pictures were shown.

Dawson, G. & Dager, S. 2001. Paper presented at the first International Meeting for Autism Research in San Diego in November. The autism meeting was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-12/uow-ahl120401.php

Differences in face perception processing between autistic and normal adults

An imaging study compared activation patterns of adults with autism and normal control subjects during a face perception task. While autistic subjects could perform the face perception task, none of the regions supporting face processing in normals were found to be significantly active in the autistic subjects. Instead, in every autistic patient, faces maximally activated aberrant and individual-specific neural sites (e.g. frontal cortex, primary visual cortex, etc.), which was in contrast to the 100% consistency of maximal activation within the traditional fusiform face area (FFA) for every normal subject. It appears that, as compared with normal individuals, autistic individuals `see' faces utilizing different neural systems, with each patient doing so via a unique neural circuitry.

http://brain.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/10/2059

Autistic 3- and 4-year-olds react to a picture of a familiar toy but not to a picture of their mother

Face recognition is a specialized and highly developed memory system in humans, and a preference for face-like stimuli is evident even in newborn babies. New research has found that, unlike normally developing and even mentally retarded children, autistic 3- and 4-year-olds do not react to a picture of their mother, although they do react when they see a picture of a familiar toy. This highlights that autism is a disorder of the social brain, and may allow diagnoses of autism to be made much earlier than is now possible.

The study was reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-04/UoW-Mija-1604101.php

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

New screening tool helps identify children at risk

An exam, called the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS), has been created to identify newborns who may have problems with school readiness and behavior at age four. This opens up the possibility of early intervention to prevent these problems. The screening exam has been tested on 1248 babies, mostly black and on public assistance. Five discrete behavioral profiles were reliably identified; the most extreme negative profile was found in 5.8% of the infants. Infants with poor performance were more likely to have behavior problems at age three, school readiness problems at age four, and low IQ at 4 ½ — 40% had clinically significant problems externalizing (impulsivity and acting out), internalizing (anxiety, depression, withdrawn personalities), and with school readiness (delays in motor, concepts and language skills), and 35% had low IQ.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-12/bu-nst120709.php

Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome

Down syndrome is characterized by specific learning impairments (for example, difficulties in using spatial and contextual information to form new memories, but less difficulty at remembering information linked to sensory cues) that point to the hippocampus as a problem area. Investigation has revealed that the problem lies in degeneration of the locus coeruleus, which sends norepinephrine to neurons in the hippocampus. Now a study using genetically engineered mice has found that norepinephrine precursor drugs improved performance in the mice within a few hours. However, the effect did wear off quite quickly too. Other research has looked at acetylcholine, which also acts at the hippocampus. The present findings suggest the best medication regimen will be one that improves both norepinephrine and acetylcholine signals. Locus coeruleus degeneration is also seen in dementia; Alzheimer’s develops among those with Down syndrome at a significantly higher rate than in the general population.

Salehi, A. et al. 2009. Restoration of Norepinephrine-Modulated Contextual Memory in a Mouse Model of Down Syndrome. Science Translational Medicine, 1 (7), 7-17.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/sumc-nds111309.php
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uoc--cdr111609.php http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/56154/

Testing one time is not enough

A study demonstrating the perils of one-time testing gave 16 common cognitive and neuropsychological tests to groups of people ages 18-39, 50-59 and 60-97 years. The variation between scores on the same test given three times during a two-week period was as big as the variation between the scores of people in different age groups. “It's as if on the same test, someone acted like a 20-year-old on a Monday, a 45-year-old on Friday, and a 32-year-old the following Wednesday”. The study makes clear the dangers of diagnosing learning disability, progressive brain disease or impairment from head injury on the basis of testing on a single occasion. The researcher suggests we should view cognitive abilities as a distribution of many potential levels of performance instead of as one stable short-term level; that people have a range of typical performances, a one-person bell curve. It may also be that within-person variability could be a useful diagnostic marker in itself — for example, extreme fluctuations might be an early warning of mental decline.

http://www.physorg.com/news102689828.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-07/apa-csv062507.php

Common cholesterol-lowering drug reverses learning disabilities in mice

Following their discovery that neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) — the leading genetic cause of learning disabilities — is linked to dysfunction in a protein called Ras, researchers have successfully used a commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering statin drug (lovastatin) to reverse the learning deficits in mice. Clinical trials with humans are being planned.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uoc--rf110405.php
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn8276

More light on a common developmental disorder

Chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is the most common genetic deletion syndrome, and causes symptoms such as heart defects, cleft palate, abnormal immune responses and cognitive impairments. Two related studies have recently cast more light on these cognitive impairments. Previously it was known that numerical abilities were impaired more than verbal skills. The new study found children with the chromosome deletion performed more poorly on experiments designed to test visual attention orienting, enumerating, and judging numerical magnitudes. All three tasks relate to how the children mentally represent objects and the spatial relationships among them, supporting previous arguments that such visual-spatial skills are a fundamental foundation to the later learning of counting and mathematics. The second study found that such children had changes in the shape, size and position of the corpus callosum, the main bridge between the two hemispheres.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/chop-lbt030205.php

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Inconsistent processing speed among children with ADHD

A new analytical technique has revealed that the problem with children with ADHD is not so much that they are slower at responding to tasks, but rather that their response is inconsistent. The study of 25 children with ADHD and 24 typically developing peers found that on a task in which a number on one screen needed to be mentally added to another number shown on a second screen, those with ADHD were much less consistent in their response times, although the responses they did give were just as accurate. Higher levels of hyperactivity and restlessness or impulsivity (as measured by parent survey) correlated with more slower reaction times. The finding supports the idea that what underlies impaired working memory is a problem in how consistently a child with ADHD can respond during a working memory task.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uoc--ips032409.php

Hyperactivity enables children with ADHD to stay alert

A study of 12 8- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD, and 11 of those without, has found that activity levels of those with ADHD increased significantly whenever they had to perform a task that placed demands on their working memory. In a highly stimulating environment where little working memory is required (such as watching a Star Wars video), those with ADHD kept just as still as their normal peers. It’s suggested that movement helps them stay alert enough to complete challenging tasks, and therefore trying to limit their activity (when non-destructive) is counterproductive. Providing written instructions, simplifying multi-step directions, and using poster checklists are all strategies that can be used to help children with ADHD learn without overwhelming their working memories.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/uocf-ush030909.php

Transcendental Meditation reduces ADHD symptoms among students

A pilot study involving 10 middle school students with ADHD has found that those who participated in twice-daily 10 minute sessions of Transcendental Meditation for three months showed a dramatic reduction in stress and anxiety and improvements in ADHD symptoms and executive function. The effect was much greater than expected. ADHD children have a reduced ability to cope with stress.
A second, recently completed study has also found that three months practice of the technique resulted in significant positive changes in brain functioning during visual-motor skills, especially in the circuitry of the brain associated with attention and distractibility. After six months practice, measurements of distractibility moved into the normal range.

Grosswald, S.J., Stixrud, W.R., Travis, F. & Bateh, M.A. 2008. Use of the Transcendental Meditation technique to reduce symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by reducing stress and anxiety: An exploratory study. Current Issues in Education, 10 (2)

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/muom-tmr122408.php

How Ritalin works to focus attention

Ritalin has been widely used for decades to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but until now the mechanism of how it works hasn’t been well understood. Now a rat study has found that Ritalin, in low doses, fine-tunes the functioning of neurons in the prefrontal cortex, and has little effect elsewhere in the brain. It appears that Ritalin dramatically increases the sensitivity of neurons in the prefrontal cortex to signals coming from the hippocampus. However, in higher doses, prefrontal neurons stopped responding to incoming information, impairing cognition. Low doses also reinforced coordinated activity of neurons, and weakened activity that wasn't well coordinated. All of this suggests that Ritalin strengthens dominant and important signals within the prefrontal cortex, while lessening weaker signals that may act as distractors.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-06/uow-suh062408.php

Study raises questions about diagnosis, treatment of ADHD

The first large, longitudinal study of adolescents and ADHD has revealed that only about half of children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder exhibit the cognitive defects commonly associated with the condition. Part of the explanation may lie in the fact that ADHD is simply the extreme end of a normal continuum of behavior that varies in the population, and its diagnosis is defined by where health professionals "draw the line" on this continuum. This finding suggests that behavior-rating scales alone are not sensitive enough to differentiate between the two groups. Researchers also found surprising results regarding the effectiveness of medicine in treating ADHD. In contrast to children in United States, youth in northern Finland are rarely treated with medicine for ADHD, yet the prevalence, symptoms, psychiatric comorbidity and cognition of the disorder is relatively the same as in the U.S., where stimulant medication is widely used. Although the medication is very effective in the short-term, the study raises questions concerning its long-term efficacy. The study also confirmed that hyperactivity and impulsivity decrease with age, while inattention increasingly predominates; that ADHD is associated with increased rates of other psychiatric problems, especially depression, anxiety, oppositional behaviors, conduct disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The study of Finnish adolescents found a prevalence of 8.5% with a male/female ratio of 5.7:1.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/uoc--srq012208.php

Gene predicts better outcome as cortex normalizes in teens with ADHD

Recent research found that thickening of brain areas that control attention in the right cortex (right orbitofrontal/inferior prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex ) was associated with better clinical outcomes in ADHD. A new study has found that these brain areas are thinnest in those who carry a particular variant of a gene. The version of the dopamine D4 receptor gene, called the 7-repeat variant, was found in nearly a quarter of youth with ADHD and about one-sixth of the healthy controls. Although this particular gene version increased risk for ADHD, it also made it more likely that the areas would thicken during adolescence, with consequent improvement in behaviour and performance.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/niom-gpb080107.php

Frequent TV viewing during adolescence linked with risk of attention and learning difficulties

A long-running study of 678 families in upstate New York, surveyed children at 14, 16 and 22 years old (averages), and again when the children in the study had reached an average age of 33. At age 14, 225 (33.2%) of the teens reported that they watched three or more hours of television per day. Those who watched 1 or more hours of television per day at mean age 14 years were at higher risk of poor homework completion, negative attitudes toward school, poor grades, and long-term academic failure. Those who watched 3 or more hours of television per day were most likely to experience these outcomes, and moreover were at higher risk of subsequent attention problems and were the least likely to receive postsecondary education. Analysis of the data also indicated that television watching contributes to learning difficulties and not vice versa.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/jaaj-ftv050307.php

Drug for teen drivers with ADHD

A comparison of the effects of OROS methylphenidate (Concerta), a controlled-release stimulant, and extended release amphetamine salts (Adderall XR) on driving performance in teens with ADHD has found that treatments with Concerta led to fewer inattentive driving errors and less hyperactive or impulsive driving errors, such as speeding and inappropriate braking, compared with Adderall XR and placebo.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060905225503.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/uovh-rfn090506.php

ADHD linked to genetic and environmental interactions

A study of 172 children who were enrolled in a community-based study of low levels of lead exposure has found evidence that increasing lead exposure is linked to impairment on a number of executive functions (impaired in those with ADHD), but that certain genetic and biological factors seemed to predispose an individual to the negative effects of lead exposure. For instance, only children with certain variations of the DRD4 gene seemed vulnerable to lead's adverse effects on attentional flexibility. Boys were more vulnerable to this effect than girls.

The study was presented on May 1, 2006 at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in San Francisco.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/cchm-sla042606.php

Drug improves information processing in adults with ADHD

Mixed amphetamine salts extended release (MAS XR) substantially improved the speed and accuracy in information processing of young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Excitingly, the improvement persisted after the 3 weeks of treatment had been stopped for 3 weeks.

Kay, G.G. & Kardiasmenos, K.S. 2006. Effect of Mixed Amphetamine Salts Extended Release on Neurocognitive Speed in Young Adults with ADHD. Paper presented at the annual American Psychiatric Association Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Poster #NR678

Kay, G.G. & Kardiasmenos, K.S. 2006. Effect of Mixed Amphetamine Salts Extended Release on Neurocognitive Accuracy in Young Adults with ADHD. Paper presented at the annual American Psychiatric Association Meeting in Toronto, Canada. Poster #NR679

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/pn-mas_1052406.php

Breakdown of myelin insulation in brain's wiring implicated in childhood developmental disorders

Previous research has suggested that the production of myelin (a fatty insulation coating the brain's internal wiring) is a key component of brain development through childhood and well into middle age, when development peaks and deterioration begins, and that midlife breakdown of myelin is implicated to onset of Alzheimer's disease later in life. Now new research suggests the disruption of myelination is a key neurobiological component behind childhood developmental disorders, such as autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and addictive behaviors. The analysis also suggests that alcohol and other drugs of abuse have toxic effects on the myelination process in some adolescents.

Bartzokis, G. 2005. Adolescent Psychiatry. Hillsdale, N.J.: The Analytic Press Inc.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/uoc--bom111405.php

ADDERALL XR significantly improves driving performance, attention in young adults with ADHD

ADDERALL XR® significantly improved driving performance, cognitive function and attention in young adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a controlled driving simulator study. An earlier study found that adults with ADHD had a significant higher incidence of traffic violations, and license suspensions than patients without ADHD — ADHD patients were five times more likely than non-ADHD patients to have five or more speeding tickets and three times more likely to have had three or more vehicular crashes.

Kay, G. 2005. The Effect of Adderall XR and Atomoxetine on Simulated Driving Safety in Young Adults with ADHD. Presented at the 18th Annual U.S. Psychiatric & Mental Health Congress in Las Vegas, NV.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/pn-axs110805.php

Cognitive therapy for ADHD

A researcher that has previously demonstrated that working memory capacity can be increased through training, has now reported that the training software has produced significant improvement in children with ADHD — a disability that is associated with deficits in working memory. The study involved 53 children with ADHD, aged 7-12, who were not on medication for their disability. 44 of these met the criterion of more than 20 days of training. Half the participants were assigned to the working memory training program and the other half to a comparison program. 60% of those who underwent the wm training program no longer met the clinical criteria for ADHD after five weeks of training. The children were tested on visual-spatial memory, which has the strongest link to inattention and ADHD. Further research is needed to show that training improves ability on a wider range of tasks.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000560D5-7252-12B9-9A2C83414B7F0000&sc=I100322

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Right parietal lobe implicated in dyscalculia

By temporarily knocking out an area in the right parietal lobe (the right intraparietal sulcus), researchers have induced dyscalculia in normal subjects, providing strong evidence that dyscalculia is caused by malfunction in this area. These findings were further validated by testing participants suffering from developmental dyscalculia. Although less well-known, dyscalculia is as prevalent as dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (around 5%).

Kadosh, R.C. et al. 2007. Virtual Dyscalculia Induced by Parietal-Lobe TMS Impairs Automatic Magnitude Processing. Current Biology, online ahead of print March 22

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322132931.htm
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/ucl-tro032107.php

Scientists find brain function most important to math ability

A finding that an area of the brain widely thought to be involved in processing number information generally, in fact has two very separate functions, may be the key to diagnosing dyscalculia. One function is responsible for counting 'how many' things are present and the other is responsible for knowing 'how much'. The brain activity specific to estimating numbers of things is thought to be the brain network that underlies arithmetic and may be abnormal in dyscalculics.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-03/ucl-sfb030606.php

Calculation difficulties in children of very low birthweight

Learning difficulties, including problems with numeracy, are common in Western populations. Many children with learning difficulty are survivors of preterm birth. Although some of these children have neurological disabilities, many are neurologically normal. A neuroimaging study of neurologically normal adolescent children who had been born preterm at 30 weeks gestation or less found an area in the left parietal lobe where children without a deficit in calculation ability have more grey matter than those who do have this deficit.

http://brain.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/124/9/1701
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1512000/1512664.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=90945

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Unraveling the roots of dyslexia

There is some evidence that dyslexia is distinguished by a basic deficit in phonological processing, characterized by difficulties in segmenting spoken words into their minimally discernable speech segments (speech sounds, or phonemes). A new study investigating brain activity of dyslexics and normal adult readers when presented with letters, speech sounds, or a matching or non-matching combination of the two, has revealed that dyslexic adults showed lower activation of the superior temporal cortex when needing to integrate letter and speech sounds. The findings point to reading failure being caused by a neural deficit in integrating letters with their speech sounds.

Blau, V. et al. 2009. Reduced Neural Integration of Letters and Speech Sounds Links Phonological and Reading Deficits in Adult Dyslexia. Current Biology, 19 (6), 503-508.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-03/cp-utr030509.php

Chinese and English dyslexias stem from different brain abnormalities.

Dyslexia involves impairment in connecting the sight and sound of a word. In English, this is commonly seen in transpositions of letters, while in Chinese, the problem can affect how a person converts a symbol into both sound and meaning. Following an earlier study in which the brain areas involved in dyslexia were found to be different for English and Chinese readers, a new technique has confirmed and clarified the results. Chinese children with dyslexia had a significantly smaller left middle frontal gyrus than did Chinese children without the disorder, even though both groups had the same overall volume of gray matter. Intriguingly, this area is not associated with symbol recognition, but with working memory. Earlier research has found English-speaking dyslexics have less gray matter in the left parietal region. The findings also suggest that dyslexics in one language will probably not be dyslexic in the other.

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080407/full/news.2008.739.html
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/408/1?etoc

New evidence for the cause of dyslexia

A new study casts new light on the cause of dyslexia. Recent research has tended to focus on the magnocellular (M) pathway, one of two visual pathways in the brain that processes motion and brightness. The other visual channel, the parvocellular (P) pathway, processes detail and color. Although some studies have implicated an impaired M channel, showing that dyslexic children have trouble seeing rapidly changing or moving stimuli, results have been inconsistent. A new study suggests that the problem is rather a more general problem in basic sensory perception — an inability to shut out “noise”, that is, the sounds and patterns surrounding the target information.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/uow-sso052505.php

Dyslexia doesn't have a universal biological cause

While most of the latest research focuses on the biological causes of dyslexia, a new study reveals that the disorder affects the brains of Chinese and English speakers differently, suggesting that the neural basis of reading differs depending on the nature of the writing system. The findings have enormous implications for helping impaired readers in China, where 2% to 7% of children are dyslexic. The study also highlights the importance of paying attention to differences in languages, even languages as similar as English and Italian. It has been shown that the degree of impairment when reading can differ depending on the language.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5888011/

Dyslexics have less gray matter in the brain's language centers

A new imaging study involving people with a family history of dyslexia confirms earlier research suggesting dyslexics have a significant reduction of gray matter in centers associated with language processing. The study lends credence to earlier studies that suggested intensive reading therapy activates parts of the brain needed for decoding words.

Brain development and puberty may be key factors in learning disorders

New research suggests that the brains of children with learning problems not only appear to develop more slowly than those of their unaffected counterparts but also actually may stop developing around the time of puberty's onset. In the study, children with impairments started out about three years behind, but their rate of improvement was very similar to that of the children without impairments — until around 10 years, when further development in the children with learning problems stopped. The researchers suggest that delayed brain development and its interaction with puberty may be key factors contributing to language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. This hypothesis suggests a completely new approach to the study of learning problems. It also points to the importance of early intervention.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-06/nu-bda061604.php

Sensory processing different in people with dyslexia

An imaging study of dyslexics has found that dyslexic readers appear to process auditory and visual sensory cues differently than do normal readers. In the study 30 dyslexic readers and 30 normal readers performed three matching tasks — an auditory task, a visual task and a multisensory task — involving consonant-vowel pairs. During the auditory matching task the dyslexic readers showed increased activity in the visual pathway of the brain, while that same region deactivated in the normal readers. The dyslexic readers' increased activation patterns in the visual pathway corresponded to poorer performance on the matching task.

Burdette, J.H., Laurienti, P.J., Flowers, L., Kraft, R., Maldjian, J. & Wood, F.B. 2003. Report presented at the 89th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-12/rson-fdm112403.php

Imaging study confirms theory of dyslexia

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has confirmed part of an eighty-year-old theory on the neurobiological basis of dyslexia. Dr Orton theorized that normally developing readers learn to suppress the visual images reported by the right hemisphere of the brain because these images potentially interfere with input from the left. The imaging study found that children do in fact "turn off" the right side of the visual parts of the brain as they become accomplished readers, and also demonstrated that different phonological skills relate to activity in different parts of the brain when children read. This observation lends support to the theory that there may be several neurobiological profiles that correspond to different subtypes of dyslexia, each associated with varying deficits in one or more of these different phonological skills.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-05/gumc-wor051603.php

Older news items (pre-2010) brought over from the old website

Connection between language and movement

A study of all three groups of birds with vocal learning abilities – songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds – has revealed that the brain structures for singing and learning to sing are embedded in areas controlling movement, and areas in charge of movement share many functional similarities with the brain areas for singing. This suggests that the brain pathways used for vocal learning evolved out of the brain pathways used for motor control. Human brain structures for speech also lie adjacent to, and even within, areas that control movement. The findings may explain why humans talk with our hands and voice, and could open up new approaches to understanding speech disorders in humans. They are also consistent with the hypothesis that spoken language was preceded by gestural language, or communication based on movements. Support comes from another very recent study finding that mice engineered to have a mutation to the gene FOXP2 (known to cause problems with controlling the formation of words in humans) had trouble running on a treadmill.
Relatedly, a study of young children found that 5-year-olds do better on motor tasks when they talk to themselves out loud (either spontaneously or when told to do so by an adult) than when they are silent. The study also showed that children with behavioral problems (such as ADHD) tend to talk to themselves more often than children without signs of behavior problems. The findings suggest that teachers should be more tolerant of this kind of private speech.

http://www.physorg.com/news124526627.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=song-learning-birds-shed
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/gmu-pkd032808.php

Kids learn more when mother is listening

Research has already shown that children learn well when they explain things to their mother or a peer, but that could be because they’re getting feedback and help. Now a new study has asked 4- and 5-year-olds to explain their solution to a problem to their moms (with the mothers listening silently), to themselves or to simply repeat the answer out loud. Explaining to themselves or to their moms improved the children's ability to solve similar problems, and explaining the answer to their moms helped them solve more difficult problems — presumably because explaining to mom made a difference in the quality of the child's explanations.

http://www.physorg.com/news120320713.html

Gesturing helps grade-schoolers solve math problems

Two studies of children in late third and early fourth grade, who made mistakes in solving math problems, have found that children told to move their hands when explaining how they’d solve a problem were four times as likely as kids given no instructions to manually express correct new ways to solve problems. Even though they didn’t give the right answer, their gestures revealed an implicit knowledge of mathematical ideas, and the second study showed that gesturing set them up to benefit from subsequent instruction. The findings extend previous research that body movement not only helps people to express things they may not be able to verbally articulate, but actually to think better.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/apa-ghg102907.php

Doodling can help memory recall

A study in which 40 academics were asked to listen to a two and a half minute tape giving several names of people and places, and were told to write down only the names of people going to a party, has found that those who were asked to shade in shapes on a piece of paper at the same time, recalled on average 7.5 names of people and places compared to only 5.8 by those who were not asked to doodle. This supports the idea that a simple secondary task like doodling can be useful to stop your mind wandering when it’s doing something boring.

Andrade, J. 2009. What does doodling do? Applied Cognitive Psychology, Published online 27 February

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-02/w-dd022509.php

Actors’ memory tricks help students and older adults

The ability of actors to remember large amounts of dialog verbatim is a marvel to most of us, and most of us assume they do by painful rote memorization. But two researchers have been studying the way actors learn for many years and have concluded that the secret of actors' memories is in the acting; an actor learning lines by focusing on the character’s motives and feelings — they get inside the character. To do this, they break a script down into a series of logically connected "beats" or intentions. The researchers call this process active experiencing, which uses "all physical, mental, and emotional channels to communicate the meaning of material to another person." This principle can be applied in other contexts. For example, students who imagined themselves explaining something to somebody else remembered more than those who tried to memorize the material by rote. Physical movement also helps — lines learned while doing something, such as walking across the stage, were remembered better than lines not accompanied with action. The principles have been found useful in improving memory in older adults: older adults who received a four-week course in acting showed significantly improved word-recall and problem-solving abilities compared to both a group that received a visual-arts course and a control group, and this improvement persisted four months afterward.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-01/aps-bo012506.php

People remember speech better when it is accompanied by gestures

A recent study had participants watch someone narrating three cartoons. Sometimes the narrator used hand gestures and at other times they did not. The participants were then asked to recall the story. The study found that when the narrator used gestures as well as speech the participants were more likely to accurately remember what actually happened in the story rather than change it in some way.

The research was presented to the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in Bournemouth on Thursday 13 March.

Gesturing reduces cognitive load

Why is it that people cannot keep their hands still when they talk? One reason may be that gesturing actually lightens cognitive load while a person is thinking of what to say. Adults and children were asked to remember a list of letters or words while explaining how they solved a math problem. Both groups remembered significantly more items when they gestured during their math explanations than when they did not gesture.