Autism and the Brain

HUSSAIN SAMARA

E-mail: samara_hussain@hotmail.com

What is Autism?

▪Neurodevelopmental disorder

▪ Impaired interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication

▪ Impaired by restrictive and repetitive behavior

What is Autism?

▪Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and synapses connect and organize, which is still not well understood

▪Delays in cognitive development and language occurs

Some of the different

characteristics associated with autism

Statistics

A graph showing the

rise of Autism in the

US in the last 11 years.

(the numbers of the

left correspond to 100,

000's)

Brain Parts involved in Autism

A.Inferior Frontal Gyrus

B.Anterior Cingulate Cortex

C.Angular Gyrus

D.Insula

A.

B.

C.

D.

Inferior Frontal Gyrus

▪Movement guidance and intentions assessment

Anterior Cingulate Cortex

▪Empathy and other emotions regulation

Angular Gyrus

▪Word meaning comprehension and sensory information combination

Insula

▪ Involved in disgust and pain responses

Cerebellum

▪ Abnormalities in the cerebellum (brain structure responsible for coordinating complex voluntary muscle movements) found in children with autism

Premotor Cortex

▪ Involved in controlling voluntary movement

▪ E.g.: One neuron fires when a monkey reaches for a peanut, another will fire when it pulls a lever, and so on.

Mirror Neurons

What are Mirror Neurons

▪Newly discovered class of nerve cells

▪Have connection with autism

Mirror Neurons and Autism

Mirror neurons appear to be involved in abilities including empathy and the perception of another individual’s intentions

Thus, it was found that dysfunction of the mirror neuron system could result in some of the symptoms of autism

Mirror Neurons and Autism

• As mirror neurons appear to be engaged in social interaction, dysfunctions of this neural system could explain some of the primary symptoms of autism, including isolation and lack of empathy

• Studies have shown people with lack mirror neuron activity in several regions of the brain

• A complementary hypothesis, the salience landscape theory, could account for secondary symptoms of autism such as hypersensitivity

Reduced mirror neuron activity is found in the inferior frontal gyrus, a part of premotor cortex, which perhaps explains their inability to assess other’s intentions

Dysfunctions of mirror neurons in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex may cause related symptoms, such as the absence of empathy, and deficits in the angular gyrus may result in language difficulties

People with autism also have structural changes in the cerebellum and brain stem

Mirror Neurons and Autism

It’s not a processing error. It’s a different operating system.

How this course allowed me to better analyze events and phenomena around me

▪ Case studies provides students with examples of patients suffering from different disorders and how different cases have made valuable contributions to Psychology and Neurobiology. For instance, from the case of H.M., we now know the importance of hippocampus for human memory.

▪ Real life examples of different disorders allowed me to carefully observe people around me. For example, how people with schizophrenia would behave.

▪ Recommendations of videos and for further understanding and reading have given me the opportunity to gain more insight of topics that interest me.

▪ By providing high quality materials such as brain images, brain scans etc., students are able to form a clear and detailed framework of different brain regions and functions.

▪ Overall, it was a very comprehensive and challenging course with wide range of resources and information.