Scientists explore cause of autism in brain development

Yahoo! News ^ | 7/16/03 | AFP - Los Angeles

[NormsRevenge]

Autism appears to be caused by a reduction in the brain at birth and then extremely rapid development in the first few months of life, researchers in San Diego, California said.

"What we've discovered is really very startling - the first glimpse of when autism begins," said Eric Courchesne, director of the autism research center at the Pediatric Hospital of San Diego.

"Excessive brain growth does not allow time for accumulation of experiences and emotions that guide and shape normal behavior."

Autism is a developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life, resulting from a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain.

Autism and associated behaviors have been estimated to occur in two to six of every 1,000 individuals. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

The study, still in its preliminary stages, could lead to a system of measuring the brains of newborns and controlling the growth of those seeming likely to develop autism, Courchesne said.

"During this period of important learning and plasticity, when the brain is experiencing the world and deciding how to construct itself, it's growing too fast in the infant with autism," he said.

"Those who had the greatest acceleration of head growth also had the most severe autism."

[Clara Lou]

How does this latest info about brain growth fit in with childhood innoculations as a cause of autism?

[Support Free Republic]

.REMEMBER

CAN PREVENT

FUNDRAISERS

.

PLEASE SUPPORT FREE REPUBLIC Donate Here By Secure ServerOr mail checks to FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794 or you can use PayPal at Jimrob@psnw.com

STOP BY AND BUMP THE FUNDRAISER THREAD-
It is in the breaking news sidebar!

[NormsRevenge]

I don't know. How many innoculations does a baby get in its first few months these days? We never had children.

[John H K]

How does this latest info about brain growth fit in with childhood innoculations as a cause of autism?

A number of (very large) studies earlier had pretty much disproved the vaccination link.

This study certainly doesn't help the vaccination theory.

I'm sure this won't go over well with parents looking for something and someone specific to blame, and to sue.

[annyokie]

Vaccination is better than hearing loss (measles). Few children have adverse affects from MMR shots. None of mine did nor did any of my friends children.

Additionally, kids cannot attend school until their shots are caught up.

My cousin's son is autistic and she is a firm believer in the no vaccinations school of thought.

[Paul C. Jesup]

"Excessive brain growth does not allow time for accumulation of experiences and emotions that guide and shape normal behavior."

So basically the hardware of the brain out paces the software of the brain. This explains a lot and will probably lead to better treatments for autism in the near future.

This a very good thing to learn.

[Irene Adler]

"Excessive brain growth does not allow time for accumulation of experiences and emotions that guide and shape normal behavior."

"So basically the hardware of the brain out paces the software of the brain. This explains a lot and will probably lead to better treatments for autism in the near future."

This seems to me to square with what Temple Grandin (a high-functioning autistic woman) has to say about her early childhood: that she was very much over stimulated by sensory inputs that are part of the everyday environment, that she couldn't stand various sounds and physical sensations; they were tormenting to her.way too much for her to handle.

[Paul C. Jesup]

If that is the case, then putting autistic children in a lower level lighted areas with softer-noise levels might help them come out of their mental shell.

[alnick]

This seems to me to square with what Temple Grandin (a high-functioning autistic woman) has to say about her early childhood: that she was very much over stimulated by sensory inputs that are part of the everyday environment, that she couldn't stand various sounds and physical sensations; they were tormenting to her.way too much for her to handle.

My brother, who is non-verbal, will sometimes hold his hands over his ears. He can't communicate why with us, but I suspect that he's experiencing something like what Temple describes.

[Clara Lou]

I chose vaccination for all 4 of my children, and none of them had a problem beyond a sore arm or leg with the DTP. [My mother had polio back dufing the epidemic, and she was definitely pro-vaccination. She didn't want us suffering illness needlessly.] I see that none of the anti-innoculation crowd chose to address this article. I believe that autism's cause is organic. I think that innoculations are blamed because of they are administered in the same time frame that autism becomes evident-- a coincidence.