Reply #94: This is quite interesting as well - memory and autism [View All]

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(Not exactly related to the discussion... my daughter has about the best memory of anyone that I know)

July 14, 2004

UC DAVIS M.I.N.D. INSTITUTE FINDS THAT BRAIN REGIONS INVOLVING MEMORY AND EMOTION ARE LARGER IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM


(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, in collaboration with scientists in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University , have carried out a comprehensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain analysis finding that the brain regions responsible for memory and emotion are larger in children with autism. This study appears in the July 14 th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.


David Amaral, the principal investigator on the project, notes, “Our study shows that the amygdala develops abnormally in autism. This brain region grows too quickly in boys with autism and does not seem to have the opportunity to benefit from information derived from the environment for normal development. We also found that the hippocampus is about 10 percent larger in boys with autism at all ages.”


The research team studied 98 boys, aged 7 to 18 years, with a diagnosis of autism or Aspergers syndrome. One autism group had mental retardation and the second autism group had normal intelligence, and both were compared to a volunteer group of typically developing children.


The study examined two brain regions located in the temporal lobe, using high resolution MRI and specially designed computer software to measure the volume of the amygdala or hippocampus. The amygdala is involved with emotional processing, especially fear, and the hippocampus is involved in making memories of episodes from our lives.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/html/news/current/07-14-04-1.html