[Abanijo]

http://www.emilywillinghamphd.com/20...n-and-new.html

A new book; critiqued on this science blog.

" Autism, immunity, inflammation, and the New York Times
The Preamble
On Saturday, the New York Times online ran a piece from its Sunday Review Opinion pages entitled, “An immune disorder at the root of autism.” The piece is packed with overstatements and overinterpretations and lacks much-needed modulation and qualification. More than that, it promises a "preventative" for autism that is, pardon me, off the hook(worm).

The author is Moises Velasquez-Manoff, who has a book coming up, An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases. Although I understand that someone who has written a book may well have expertise in a specific subject area, a fund of knowledge does not give them carte blanche to bring their bias without scientific counterpoint to the editorial pages of the New York Times. Velasquez-Manoff's book hits the stands on September 4.

...


Lest you think I overstate, Velasquez-Manoff’s piece has already made it onto the “mercury in vaccines causes autism” discussion boards, and someone tweetspammed me last night (with three tweets) about vaccines and autism in response to my tweet about this article. I’m sure the party has just begun. Accurate science, however, likely won't be one of the attendees.
"

[Dyerryjex]

I engaged with one of these nutters recently and it was like a strange sort of mirror experience in so far as they are everything that they accuse you of being. Kind brings truth to the old school yard taunt:

I know you are but what am I?

I'll focus my energies on the undecided for the promoters of these theories are already lost...

[Optipitle]

a fund of knowledge does not give them carte blanche to bring their bias without scientific counterpoint science is ever changing...

don't be so biased yourself

sometimes the drunk in the gutter has something meaningful to say... that is if you can understand them

seems so many just dismiss out of hand... not knowing what is now from the future.

[PZXjoe]

These conditions of the mind are frustrating, whichever way you look at them. Would be nice if anyone and everyone could contribute to the issues that concerned them productively. Might need a change in the wind for that though.

[clorkergo]

What did others think of 4 Corners last night (on iview, if you missed it)?

"Four Corners presents "The Autism Enigma". Filmed in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada the program looks at a controversial theory examining the possible links between harmful bacteria in a child's gut and ASD."

[Bonioners]

It is very speculative at this stage. Not a lot of evidence. I would personally wonder why you would write a book on speculation. It won't help anyone, and may hinder research. If something comes of the real research, then good.

In terms of the story on four corners. Interesting vaccination was never mentioned, or discussed even as a possible cause. I am sure the anti vaxxers will be all over it though.

[amberamuletuk]

I wish people wouldn't confuse Autism with Asperger syndrome. When I see the word "autism" I never know which they are talking about.

[mypharmalife]

I wish people wouldn't confuse Autism with Asperger syndrome. When I see the word "autism" I never know which they are talking about.

? Asperger Syndrome is an Autism spectrum disorder. Why wouldn't you include it?

[Knongargoapex]

Info both of EEG and regional brain blood flow differences [composite] re spectrum disorders compared with other would be interesting.
The difference in neuro-electrical would have to be evident.
What also would be most interesting is detailed self-reporting of internal monologue.

Think it is to do wth neurobranching being different, which may be related to chemistry [not excluding hormones] at some point. Something is fragile and/or overwhelmed by something else, a type of displacement. This could be runted activity in bidirectionality in some emotional-cognitive links.

Self-reporting of dreams would be interestiing area of research.

Noticed in some research way back some overlap in testing with schizophrenia, to do with shortcomings in reading intention, from comic type representations as recalled.

A good part of the cognitive apparatus must be dedicated to guessing at emotion and desire's involvement in motivation, to do with mental states.

If it were the case that self-awareness/consciousness is generated from simultaneous willed shifts of attention between focus involving global sets of tracking awarenesses and specific tasks in the service of them, then personality and kindredness are a 'product'.

Note some within spectrum range can in fact be oversocial, even indiscriminately social.

If willed compartmentalizing of ones own mental activities, as may relate to the workings and products of global tracking awarenesses along with task focus potentials were involved, then i'd expect there'd be evident anomalies of the 'spectrum' which'd exist to a sub-clinical degree across the broader population. You should be able to find minor deficits across those outside the spectrum , that should you combine those deficits you'd get something like you get of those within the spectrum.

There's more to be gotten from considerations of the transient dysequilibriums of mental states regular folk encounter.

Wouldn't rule out hormones at some stage in life being involved. Remember my lad when an adolescent reporting a 'stillness' in dreams which bothered him. Some of what he said he was experiencing had me wondering if he came close to adolescent schizophrenia.

Doubt the answer is intestinal worms.

Certainly wouldn't rule out testosterone making indiscriminate adjustments.

The sequences of neural branching growth of one brain region compared with another may be involved, and guess it only takes small variations to change the mind and a life.

[Ivanaishere]

http://medical.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp...n3-4_p175.html

Abstract: EEGs were recorded in 86 autistic patients during sleep. Epileptic discharges were observed in 37 cases (43%). Twenty-seven (73%) of these 37 cases had localized spikes, 8 had multiple spike foci, one had generalized spikes, and one had both multiple spike foci and generalized spikes. Fourty-seven epileptic discharge foci were registered in 36 cases, the exception being one with generalized spikes. Thirty-six (76.6%) of the registered 47 epileptic discharge foci were in the frontal region, one (2.1%) in the temporal region, 7 (14.1%) in the centro-parietal region, and 3 (6.4%) in the occipital region. Twenty (55.6%) of the 36 frontal spikes were at midline (11 at Fz and 9 at Cz), 8 on the left side, and 8 on the right side. The dipole of midline spikes was in the deep midline frontal region. These results suggest that frontal dysfunctions are important in the mechanism of symptoms in autism. J. Med. Invest. 48:175-180, 2001



http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/n...ry_126652.html

TUESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that shows the electrical activity of the brain, might be used to spot autism in children, a new study suggests.

The study, conducted by researchers at Harvard University Medical School, looked at the synchronization of brain activity across different brain regions, as measured by EEG.

"These scientists used sensors to record electrical brain activity across many different regions on the scalp," explained Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer at the advocacy group Autism Speaks. "They then looked at the extent to which brain activity from one region was synchronized with brain activity from another region," a phenomenon known as "EEG coherence," said Dawson, who was not involved in the research.

"Synchronization between different brain regions indicates that those regions are functioning in a coordinated, rather than independent, fashion -- in other words, they are functionally connected and communicating with each other," she said.

In the new study, Dr. Frank Duffy and Dr. Heidelise Als compared EEG measurements of nearly 1,000 children with and without autism. They found that the two groups had widespread differences in terms of brain connectivity.

EEG revealed that the children with autism had a reduced short range connectivity, indicating poor function of local brain networks. This was especially true in the left hemisphere regions of the brain responsible for language.

The children with autism also had increased connectivity between brain regions that were farther apart, which might be a mechanism developed to compensate for reduced short range connectivity, the researchers said"

[diegogo]

http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/schi.../10168/1822823

"Emerging study results suggest that there are both clinical and biological links between autism and schizophrenia. The question regarding whether there is phenotypic overlap or comorbidity between autism and schizophrenia dates back to 1943, when Kanner1 first used the term “autism” to describe egocentricity. The distinction between the two disorders remained unclear for nearly 30 years, until DSM-II included children with autism under the diagnostic umbrella of schizophrenia, childhood type. In 1971, Kolvin2 conducted seminal research that highlighted the distinction between autism and schizophrenia, which influenced the decision to include the disorders as 2 separate categories in DSM-III."

[nd90t3sf]

Aside

Aspergers is going to be taken off the autism spectrum in the new diagnostic manual.

[Roker]

Aside

Aspergers is going to be taken off the autism spectrum in the new diagnostic manual.

yes ...

I'm curious as to the why of it.

[Beragagnu]

Aside

Aspergers is going to be taken off the autism spectrum in the new diagnostic manual.

---

Just changings names on a spectrum.

[__CVineXPharm__]

Because being less able to see the forrest for the trees in the motivational landscape overlaps with characteristics of something else that is considered more a personality type.