Brain imaging study reveals new autism insights

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have carried out a brain imaging and computer modelling study that offers key insights into the way autism functions.

Detailed analysis of white matter tracts – the tissue that connects the separate areas of the brain – has found that autism can cause deficiencies in the speed and rate at which information can be transmitted through these cells.

The poorer quality of this white matter leads to inferior synchronisation in the frontal and posterior areas of the brain, a disconnect that can severely impact upon a person's ability to process social and language information.

Marcel Just, director of the university's centre for cognitive brain imaging, said: "This new research and model makes way for modifying people's brains and possibly helping people with autism. It also points at the likely source of autism."

Last October, the University of California, Los Angeles published research showing that the brains of autistic youngsters develop more slowly than those who are not affected by the condition.