The connections in autistic brains are idiosyncratic and individualized

Each autistics' brain is distinct; non-autistics' brains are remarkably uniform.

Read the whole story

 

[Mondoman]

I'm confused by the story's final paragraph. The author says:

An intriguing possibility is that, because neural connections are shaped by the routine behaviors and experiences that we have every day, people with ASD each exhibit idiosyncratic connectivity patterns in their brains because they each experience the world and interact with their environment in an idiosyncratic way.

The author seems to be assuming that neural connections are shaped ONLY by the routine behaviors (and not, for example, by gene products that affect neuronal "pathfinding"), and thus suggesting that ASD might be *caused* by idiosyncratic behaviors and experiences.
Given the range of behaviors of children, this seems farfetched -- is there any evidence for this?

 

[Mondoman]

Fatesrider[/url]":1ahf8ibm]...
The question appears to be less about genetics than environmental factors. Genetically speaking, from what I've read, those who are autistic aren't fundamentally different than others.

Actually, we just don't know (since the brain/nervous system are so complex, and we haven't yet done whole genome sequencing of lots of ASD vs. control individuals for a proper comparison).

Fatesrider[/url]":1ahf8ibm]... But somewhere along the line, the thinking patterns alter - and no, it isn't caused by vaccines, either. If it was, the changes in thinking patterns would be similar, and they're not. .

You're right, it's not vaccines -- we've got good evidence for that. To clarify though, the genome is so complex and varies so much from person to person that different people's responses to a similar substance could vary widely, so you wouldn't necessarily expect similar changes in thinking patterns.

 

[Mondoman]

angrydurf[/url]":gy4m2d35]... There are a wide range of behaviors that get lumped into Autism with varied effect on the individuals ability to function. It is highly unlikely that so broad a set of symptoms has a single underlying cause.

And yet, another broad set of symptoms (the different types of cancer) is coming to be understood as type-specific defects + defects in an underlying set of common pathways affecting cell growth.

There seem to be lots of hypotheses about ASD, and interesting personal stories from those affected, but a frustrating lack of real evidence at the molecular level. What you write sounds plausible, but there are certainly plenty of "neurotypical" outliers revealed by fMRI, from what I understand, and the big issue remains: *why* certain areas of the brain seem to be associated with certain functions.

The idea that the brain is composed of specialized modules (vs. a tabula rasa) is attractive, and we are beginning to learn about genes that are responsible for establishing connections between certain groups of neurons at certain times during development. Personally, I believe (without much evidence) that ASD will turn out to be a group of defects in specific groups of connections in the brain, defects that might be caused by defective genes, by injury, or even occasional random errors in development.

 

[Mondoman]

Ralf The Dog[/url]":855yv5wb]First off, who is to say an ASD is developmentally damaged or impaired....

In the end, it's natural selection that decides. The more offspring you successfully raise, the greater your "fitness" (in a technical sense).

 

[Mondoman]

Ralf The Dog[/url]":wfa5aqqe]...
My current theory, I am not ASD, I am just messed up.

Dude, you're a dog!