Neurology Diagnostics

Posts Tagged ‘Autism’

When someone waves to them, our brain is capable of processing the gesture as something friendly and allows us to imitate. This is possible thanks to the mirror neuron system, a set of nerve cells, to date, it was thought that could go wrong in autistic spectrum disorders. However, a study published in ‘Neuron’ indicates that their normal activity in these patients.

The theory made sense. One of the most striking features of people with autism is their inability to imitation, empathy and understanding of the intent of the gestures of others. If mirror neurons are crucial for social interaction, it was logical to think that something is wrong with this brain system. In fact, some studies appeared to confirm the hypothesis.

But these works were overlooked something important. “No evaluated the selectivity of cortical activity in areas of particular movements mirror system,” says principal investigator, Ilan Dinstein, Department of Psychiatry at the University of New York (USA). This selectivity of movement is not simply the distinction that our brain makes every gesture, by storing a single neuronal response. Read the rest of this entry »

The brains of babies at 7 months shows a sensitivity to the human voice and the emotions communicated through the voice that is very similar to that observed in the brains of adults, according to a study by the University of London in United Kingdom published in the journal Neuron.

The study proves the origins of voice processing in the human brain and could provide information on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

Scientists at the Center for Brain and Cognitive Development at the University of London, led by Tobias Grossmann, conducted their study in the laboratory of Angela D. Friederici Max Planck Institute in Cognitive Science and Human Brain in Germany. The researchers used near infrared spectroscopy to investigate when during development the regions of the temporal cortex became sensitive to the human voice. These specific cortical regions have had an important role in spoken language processing in adults.

Grossmann’s team found that children of seven months and not four months showed greater responses similar to those of adults in the temporal cortex as a result of the human voice compared with no vowel sounds, suggesting that sensitivity to voice emerges between 4 and 7 months of age. Read the rest of this entry »