Individuals with autism rely more on words than on facial expressions when interpreting social cues, and this may result from low activity in two brain regions, according to a paper published 22 June in PLoS One.
Research into the ability of children with autism to imitate has produced contradictory results: Some studies find that those with the disorder have difficulty imitating people, whereas others find no problems. A new study explores why.
Lowering blood levels of the amino acid tryptophan, a precursor to the chemical messenger serotonin, changes how the autism brain responds to emotions, according to a report published 4 June in PLoS One.
People with autism respond emotionally to music, they just have trouble expressing it, according to a study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
Charles Nelson, who famously showed that social deprivation damages the developing brain, is analyzing brain waves in babies to study how different genetic risk factors might lead to autism.
Researchers have linked the ability to recognize emotions from facial expressions to MET, a well-known autism gene, according to a study published 27 April in PLoS ONE.
Neurons that activate signals in a brain region important for language and imitation are smaller in the brains of individuals with autism than in those of controls, according to a study published 31 March in Acta Neuropathology.
Adults with autism have regional differences in brain volume in areas that play a role in social behavior and communication compared with controls, according to a large study published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The differences correlate with the severity of autism symptoms, the study also shows.
Children with autism activate more brain regions than controls do when listening to tonal inflections in speech that convey meaning. The findings were published 19 December in Child Neuropsychology.
Can people with autism, who lack the ability to understand others’ thoughts and feelings, fall in love?