Weak Synchronization in Toddler Brains May Be a Biological Marker for Autism, page 1

I'm always on the lookout out for news and articles that relate to autism and finding a potential cure for the disorder. I recently read this article that highlighted the link between weak synchronisation in a toddlers brain and developing the condition.

The biological causes of autism are still not understood. A diagnosis of autism is only possible after ages three or four; and the tests are subjective, based on behavioral symptoms.

OK, nothing you probably didn't know there. Now it seems that scientists from the University of California have found a method that can accurately identify the hallmarks of autism in very young toddlers.

By scanning the brain activity of sleeping children, the scientists discovered that the autistic brains exhibited significantly weaker synchronization between brain areas tied to language and communication, compared to that of non-autistic children.

What is the use of an earlier diagnosis? I can imagine some of you may be thinking

“Identifying biological signs of autism has been a major goal for many scientists around the world, both because they may allow early diagnosis, and because they can provide researchers with important clues about the causes and development of the disorder,”

The key to this breakthrough is the fact that our brains never fully switch off. The electrical activity in the brain switches over to spontaneous fluctuation. This can be viewed by performing an fMRI on a toddler who has autism. The children who were autistic were found to have low levels of synchronisation between the two hemispheres of the brain. They also found that the weaker the synchronisation, the more the severe signs of autism were.

Weak Synchronization in Toddler Brains May Be a Biological Marker for Autism