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Emotion in the Autistic Brain
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, August 03, 2009 (21:27:04)
ALPA
Music has a universal ability to tap into our deepest emotions but for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), understanding emotions is a very difficult task. Individuals with ASD particularly have trouble recognizing social emotions like facial expressions - a frown, a smirk, or a smile. This inability can rob a child from being able to communicate and socialize, and often leads to social isolation.
In a study led by Istvan Molnar-Szakacs, PhD, a researcher at the UCLA Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity and funded by the GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program, music will be used as a tool to explore the ability of children with ASD to identify emotions in musical excerpts and facial expressions.
"Music has long been known to touch autistic children," said Dr. Molnar-Szakacs. "Studies from the early days of autism research have already shown us that music provokes engagement and interest in kids with ASD. More recently, such things as musical memory and pitch abilities in children with ASD have been found to be as good as or better than in typically developing children."
Also, he said, researchers have shown that because many children with ASD are naturally interested in music, they respond well to music-based therapy. But no one has ever done a study to see if the brains of children with ASD process musical emotions and social emotions in the same way that typically developing children do.
In this study, Dr. Molnar-Szakacs will use "emotional music" to engage the brain regions involved in emotion processing. "Our hypothesis is that if we are able to engage the brain region involved in emotion processing using emotional music, this will open the doorway for teaching children with ASD to better recognize emotions in social stimuli, such as facial expressions."
The overarching goal of the study, of course, is to gain insights about the causes of autism. Dr. Molnar-Szakacs will use neuroimaging functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI to look at the brain activity of children with ASD, and compare them to the brains of typically developing kids, while both groups are engaged in identifying emotions from faces and musical excerpts. "The study should help us to better understand how the brain processes emotion in children with autism; that in turn will help us develop more optimal interventions. Importantly, this study will also help us promote the use of music as a powerful tool for studying brain functions from cognition to creativity."
Approximately 15 children with ASD ranging from 10 to 13 years of age will participate in this study, which is being conducted under the auspices of The Help Group - UCLA Autism Research Alliance.
The Alliance, directed by Elizabeth Laugeson, is a partnership between The Help Group and the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and is dedicated to enhancing and expanding research in autism spectrum disorders. The project also is in collaboration with Katie Overy, Co-Director of the Institute for Music in Human and Social Development at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
"The hope, of course, is that this work will not only be of scientific value and interest, but most of all, that it will translate into real-life improvements in the quality of the children's lives," said Dr. Molnar-Szakacs.
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New study will calculate number of British adults with autism
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, August 03, 2009 (17:04:55)
The University of Leicester is leading on a national study to calculate the number of British adults with autism, it has been announced.
Professor Terry Brugha, professor of psychiatry in the university's Department of Health Sciences, is spearheading the study in conjunction with a team of research experts including the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), Research Autism and Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge. It will report in 2009.
The British Care Services Minister, Ivan Lewis, announced an additional investment of £500,000 for government research into the numbers of adults with autism and their specific transitions needs. This prevalence study will inform the first ever government strategy on adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome.
The number of children with autism is as high as 1 in 100 (according to studies by Professor Howard Meltzer of the University of Leicester and Professpr Gillian Baird's 2006 study). The new prevalence study now under way will give the first ever accurate picture of how many adults have the condition. Part of the new research will focus on the period of transition to adult life and will inform service planning for adults with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). This will be led by Professor Baird and it will examine the lessons and challenges in the transition process and focus on areas such as mental health, social care, housing and further education needs.
Professor Brugha is Director of Research, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester and Honorary Consultant Adult General Psychiatrist, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. He operates an NHS assessment clinic for adults who may have autism spectrum disorder and liaises with adult mental health services throughout Leicester and Leicestershire, also providing training to professional staff and teams.
His area of research is psychiatric epidemiology in adulthood. He is also currently developing and testing methods for the prevention of depression.
Professor Brugha said: "This will be the world's first ever study looking at the number of adults in the community who have an autism spectrum disorder.
"There is growing recognition that this is a group of people with unrecognised 'invisible' needs but who also often have strengths to offer to society that go largely untapped.
"The cost of autism in Great Britain in children and adults has been estimated to run into many billions of pounds some of which may be due to unnecessary economic inactivity and also dependency on services that do not know how to recognise and support their needs appropriately.
"The survey involves interviews and examinations of a random sample of people who may have the condition and where possible the collection of information from family and carers. Statistical methods are then used to summarise the data and estimate how many people have the condition and what are their circumstances. The results will appear in published reports for the government, public health and local health and social care services and articles in scientific journals. The Government has stated that the information will be used to develop a national plan to support these people."
Ivan Lewis said: "Adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome are too often abandoned by services with their families left to struggle alone. Equally, people are frequently misappropriately referred to either mental health or learning disability services
"This study will inform the development of a national strategy designed to ensure that adults with autism and Asperger's syndrome are supported to have full lives.
"We still don't know enough about autism, but we do know that, left unsupported, it can have a devastating impact on those who have the condition and their families. One of the key gaps in our knowledge is simple - we don't know how many people have the condition in any given area. That is why I am ordering a study to address this. "
The prevalence study will make use of new data collected in 2007 by NatCen and Professor Brugha's team to record the number of adults with Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism. There will also be an additional part to the study on the number of people with autism who have more complex needs and learning disabilities. The aim of the combined research will provide good epidemiological information in terms of prevalence and the characteristics and problems of this group.
This work, including research into transitions, is being commissioned and funded jointly with the Department for Children, Schools and Families. An autism expert will be appointed within the Department of Health to take both studies forward.
Mark Lever, chief executive of The National Autistic Society, said: "We warmly welcome today's announcement from the Department of Health. Through our I Exist report, adults with autism told us they feel isolated and ignored, we are therefore delighted that the government has listened and is taking action . The Government has committed to establishing an autism specialist post and to undertake research into the number of adults with autism. We hope this will mark a turning point in the way that the needs of people with autism are recognised and met."
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Autistic Mannerisms Reduced By Sensory Treatment
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Posted by lightfoot on Thursday, May 29, 2008 (16:42:30)
by Temple University.
Parents of children with autism are increasingly turning to sensory integration treatment to help their children deal with the disorder, and they're seeing good results. In 2007, 71 percent of parents who pursued alternatives to traditional treatment used sensory integration methods, and 91 percent found these methods helpful.
A new study from Temple University researchers, presented this month at the American Occupational Therapy Association's 2008 conference, found that children with autistic spectrum disorders who underwent sensory integration therapy exhibited fewer autistic mannerisms compared to children who received standard treatments. Such mannerisms, including repetitive hand movements or actions, making noises, jumping or having highly restricted interests, often interfere with paying attention and learning.
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Autism and social perception: The possible role of attention
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Posted by lightfoot on Monday, May 19, 2008 (14:36:25)
Can the difficulties in social perception in Autism be due to attention deficits?
A review of: Fine, J.G., Semrud-Clikeman, M., Butcher, B., Walkowiak, J. (2008). Brief Report: Attention Effect on a Measure of Social Perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders DOI: 10.1007/s10803-008-0570-x
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Columbia University Begins Groundbreaking Search For Causes Of Autism
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Posted by lightfoot on Thursday, May 15, 2008 (23:23:06)
Columbia University researchers are involved in a multi-site consortium to gather and bank DNA samples from 2,000 autism patients and their families over the next three years.
The Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) is a coordinated effort to create a database of information about cases where there is only one family member with autism. This group, which represents the great majority of autism spectrum disorders, may lead us to new insights regarding the underlying mechanisms of autism. Earlier efforts, such as the work of Cure Autism Now and the Women's Health Initiative, studied multiplex families or families with two or more siblings with autism.
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