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A new publication in the journal Brain
describes significant anatomical differences in a facial processing
area of the brain in people with autism. As the basis for the study,
Imke van Kooten, Ph.D., and an international team of researchers have
diligently measured neuronal features in post mortem brain sections,
demonstrating that patients with autism have significant reductions in
the density, total number, and mean cell volume of neurons in the area
known as the fusiform gyrus. The authors suggest that these
reductions might contribute to the impaired face processing seen in
autism which, in turn, may contribute to some of the social deficits of
autism. Plans are underway for further study of additional cortical
areas implicated in visual processing. This continued research will be
part of the Brain Atlas Project, a larger study supported by Autism
Speaks' Autism Tissue Program. For more information, go to www.autismspeaks.com for the full article |
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