Skip to main content

Spectrum: Autism Research News

Tag: diagnostic imaging

January 2015

Thought test hints at neural signature for autism

by  /  6 January 2015

People with autism show unique patterns of brain activation when thinking about social words, such as ‘hug.’ But new findings highlight the dangers of using thoughts as biomarkers for the disorder.

Comments
July 2014

Severity metric helps studies address autism’s variability

by  /  23 July 2014

A new method for measuring severity in disorders such as autism can help researchers correct for the widely varying autism symptoms in the study participants, according to a paper published 2 May in NeuroImage.

Comments
November 2013

Technique visualizes networks processing theory of mind

by  /  14 November 2013

Pairing brain imaging with simple videos that mimic social interactions can help pinpoint the brain regions responsible for inferring others’ thoughts. Researchers described this approach Sunday at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in San Diego.

Comments
December 2012

Perspective: Imaging autism

by  /  6 December 2012

Several studies in the past two years have claimed that brain scans can diagnose autism, but this assertion is deeply flawed, says Nicholas Lange.

Comments
February 2012

MRI devices for children reduce head motion in scanner

by  /  29 February 2012

Researchers have developed functional magnetic imaging devices that are optimized to fit children’s heads, according to a study published in the December issue of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. These tools increase the quality of the data and deter head motion, which research suggests can lead to spurious results.

Comments

Infants who develop autism show distinct brain connectivity

by  /  20 February 2012

The development of white matter tracts, the nerve bundles that join one brain region to another, is different in babies who go on to develop autism compared with those who do not, according to a study published 17 February in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Comments

Brain response to gaze predicts autism in baby sibs

by  /  6 February 2012

A longitudinal study of infant siblings of children with autism is the first to identify a particular brain pattern that is linked to later diagnosis of autism.

Comments
January 2012

Cognition and behavior: Brain scans yield few signs of autism

by  /  31 January 2012

The results of two new studies support recommendations against the use of brain scans to diagnose autism.

Comments
September 2011

Cognition and behavior: Autism brains have abnormal links

by  /  9 September 2011

The brains of boys with autism have a lower-than-normal rate of water diffusion across the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus — a bundle of neurons that connects all four major lobes of the brain, according to a new study.

Comments
August 2011

Cognition and behavior: Autism brain patterns inherited

by  /  31 August 2011

Healthy parents of children with autism have an atypical brain response to sound frequency changes that mimics the response of individuals with the disorder.

Comments